Real Estate
Home Sales Drop in Wayland, Rise in Middlesex County
Wayland saw a significant drop in homes sales in February, but Middlesex County remained nearly level.
Wayland homes sales in February 2013 dropped by 38 percent from the same month in 2012, but Middlesex County home sales overall rose ever so slightly for the month, according to a recent report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
Middlesex County saw 487 home sales in February, which was an increase of just more than 1 percent from the 481 homes sold in February 2012. Wayland specifically, however, saw just five sold homes in February, down from eight in February 2012.
Wayland continued the trend of showing 2013 numbers lower than those reported in 2012. With January and February numbers in, Wayland sales were down 36 percent year-to-date, from 25 homes sold in the first two months of 2012 to 16 homes in the same period in 2013.
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The median sale price in Wayland, however, was up by 98 percent from February 2012 to February 2013, from $665,000 to $910,000. Middlesex County's median home price was also up in February 2013 compared to February 2012 -- from $330,000 to $360,000.
Throughout the entire state, home sales dropped 5 percent in February compared to a year ago. It was the first drop since December 2011.
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"Two factors caused this modest drop in February: low inventory and a comparison with a strong previous year of sales," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "Even so, I'm still hopeful for a strong spring market. As more sellers list their homes in the spring, activity will pick back up."
Median sale prices are up across Massachusetts, which Warren connected to low inventory.
"With such low inventory, we're seeing bidding wars - homes selling above the asking price," Warren said. "As prices rise, more sellers will begin to list their property which in turn pumps up sales volume."
Massachustts single-family home sales by county
Source: The Warren Group
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