June Market Wrap
June numbers were released today by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (pdf here). First up, prices:
Prices for both SFHs and Condos were DOWN ~1% compared to the same month last year. Sales were also off, 17% for SFHs and 14% for Condos:
Reported inventory numbers seem absurd:
Any explanations? Houses flooded by the spring rains? Sellers giving up?
2 comments:
I agree with Walthamite's list of possible causes for the drop in inventory. I would add that some condo owners may have decided to rent their unit and sell when the market is stronger in a year or two. Single family homes are harder to rent. Maybe retirees (who are more flexible with time than job transferees) decided to stay in Boston another year or two and sell into what they hope will be a tighter market.
July employment statistics are out and show robust job growth: about 29,000 jobs created in the last 12 months, 4,000 in July. All of this suggests that demand for housing will continue to grow. Purchasing power has obviously been affected by rising interest rates, and it may take a few years for income to catch up to current price levels. But price inelasticity in the housing market, stabilizing rates, and continued demand growth in line with supply growth all suggest minor up or down movements in prices (but no freefall in prices) for a few years. Again, if current conditions hold.
For the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report:
http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id=SMS2500000000000001&data_tool=%2522EaG%2522
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