2011 home sales down

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February 1, 2012

Realtors see some signs of hope for 2012

By Ethan Forman Staff writer The Salem News Wed Feb 01, 2012, 05:00 AM EST

Home sales in Massachusetts continued to drop in 2011, with fewer homes sold than the year before, and the trend appears to be the same on the North Shore.

In fact, single-family home sales in the state hit their lowest point since 1990, according to The Warren Group, which released statistics last week.

In 1990, 35,819 homes were sold; in 2011, the number was 38,994. That's a 6 percent plunge from 2010, and condominium sales were worse, plummeting 16.2 percent.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors released slightly different — and slightly rosier — numbers, drawing from a smaller pool of sales than The Warren Group.

But the message was still the same: Home sales were down.

Some of the difference between this year and last can be attributed to the influence of a federal homebuyer tax credit that was still in effect in the first part of 2010.

"I think the biggest difference is, remember, you have the tax credit in 2010," said Bert Beaulieu, regional vice president for the state Realtors group.

It wasn't just the number of sales that was down. Sale prices continued to drop between 2010 and 2011.

The Warren Group said the median price for single-family homes dropped by more than 3 percent to $286,000 in 2011.

One encouraging sign is that home sales surged in the five months leading up to December, when they ticked down less than half of a percentage point, Beaulieu said. He thinks a late October snowstorm and resulting power outages may have had an effect.

On the other hand, Beaulieu said he was busy in December, in part because of the mild weather. This sales activity will not show up for a few months.

"Prices are the lowest I've ever seen, and interest rates are historically low," Beaulieu said.

A Web search on bankrate.com Friday showed most rates in the Boston area between 3.68 percent and 6 percent for a 30-year fixed loan of $290,000 with no points.

Beaulieu said his office, Northrup Associates in Lynnfield, had a strong January. Last year in January, his office sold about four homes. This year, it sold a dozen.

"People think it's spring," said Phyllis Sagan, owner of Sagan Agency Realtors in Swampscott.

Both Marblehead and Swampscott saw increases in home sales last year, about 8 percent for both towns. Marblehead was one of the few communities on the North Shore, along with Middleton, to see more sales and an increase in home prices in 2011 compared with 2010.

"My feeling is we've got a great place to live," said Sagan, who touted a pent-up demand due to a lack of inventory in Swampscott and Marblehead. Rates that are at a 50-year low also help, as does a sense of realism among sellers.

"Sellers have become more realistic as to the market value of their home," Sagan said. "We think ... we are definitely leveling, and maybe we will go up a point."

Jason Parisella of Keller Williams Realty of Beverly, who is president of the North Shore Association of Realtors, said he was a bit surprised by the numbers showing 2011 was slower than 2010, but he was heartened that the drop was not a more dramatic one.

Given interest rates are low and houses are affordable, "it's a very good time to buy," he said.

A mild winter and favorable economic trends, such as a lower unemployment rate, may help boost the market in 2012, Parisella said.

"Those all seem to be good elements for a positive year," he said.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at eforman@salemnews.com or on Twitter @DanverSalemNews.

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