Massachusetts Housing Market Continues its Retreat

The once-sizzling Massachusetts housing market continued its recent decline in November, the Boston Globe reports Wednesday.

Just about all Massachusetts real estate is declining in terms of both sales activity and pricing. Sales of single-family homes and condominiums fell by double digits and the median sale price of single-family homes reached its lowest amount since 1992, according to a housing report issued today by the Warren Group.

As Massachusetts mortgage demand continues to wane, the single-family home median sale price fell 6.5 percent across the Bay State, reaching a low of $315,000 in November - down from $337,000 in November 2005.

Last month’s median home price has fallen more than 13 percent since the $364,000 peak registered in June 2005. The home price decline has now been evident in eight of the last nine months in the state.

Condo sales fell by 10.1 percent from November 2005, but the decrease was not as steep as it had been in the previous four months, when sales dropped between 19 and 28 percent.

Statewide, the median condo sale price was $269,900, a dip of 1.8 percent. Last month, 2,222 condos were sold in the state, an amount less than the same months 2004 and 2005, but more than other November sales dating back at least to 1987. Massachusetts foreclosures remain much higher than last year.

“We’re still in a decline, but the slope is not as steep as it was in the summer and early fall,” said Timothy Warren, Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “We’re starting to see some signs of stabilization.”

The information tracks real estate and financial data throughout New England, includes all sales logged at registries of deeds throughout Massachusetts.

It will be interesting to see if this beleaguered housing market starts to level off as 2007 begins, or if home loans remain out of reach for most of the state’s would-be buyers and prices continue to fall.