HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
supply,” said Burns, noting that bidding wars and rising prices are locking out many middle-level buyers in the $350,000 to $550,000 price range. “People are fighting for a place to live.” The greater Boston rental market is a tight, pricey market. Boston ranked No.3 as a strong multi-family rental market in 2016, up from No. 8 in 2010, according to the real estate data firm Reis Inc . Boston trails only New York City and San Francisco. Citywide, home prices are rising. Greater Boston home prices scaled new heights in June, with shrinking inventory levels fueling price hikes, experts claim. According to the Greater Boston Association of Realtors , sales of single family homes in June 2016 increased 1.4 percent with 1,916 sales, compared with 1,870 homes sold in June 2015. Condominium sales remained flat this June
compared with June 2015, slipping 0.1 percent year-over-year. Home sales have increased for 13 consecutive months. Home Prices Rising The median sales price for a single-family home in Greater Boston was $585,000 in June, up 4.5 percent from $560,000 last year, and $505,000 for condominiums, up 9.8 percent from $460,000 in June 2015, reported GBAR. Meanwhile, inventory plummeted for both single family homes and condominiums. In the single-family market, inventory dropped 18.5 percent from 3,698 homes for sale in June 2015 to 3,015 in June 2016. Likewise, inventory of condos fell 24.6 percent to 1,457 condos in June 2016 from 1,933 condos in June 2015.
economy, we’ve seen buyer motivation and consumer confidence continue to trend upwards and that is reflected by these high sales totals,” said GBAR president Andrew Sarno, broker associate with RE/ MAX Andrew Realty Services in Medford. “Consumers are taking advantage of the increased equity from the rising home values and low mortgages rates as well, so despite higher median sales prices; the market has remained very active.” A shrinking supply of homes for sale has intensified competition from buyers and forced up prices, local experts claim. Demand has been further fueled by a healthy job market and historically low mortgage rates, which have made people more comfortable about paying higher home prices. The rise in home prices coincides with a vibrant and strengthening Boston economy — fueled by the city’s flourishing medical, CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
“The desirability for homeownership in Greater Boston is extremely high, and with a thriving local job market and
BOSTON NEW HOME BUILDING PERMITS BY YEAR
17,442
15,423
15,036
13,916
12,021 12,024
11,248
8,851
7,634
6,672 6,139
5,476
2004 2005
2006
2007
2008
2009 2010 2011 2012
2013
2014
2015
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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