. . . Data released today by HouseSavvy (www.housesavvy.com)
In this market, year-to-year sales activity is up 27.3% in October, from 2,282 to 2,906, compared to the national increase of only 7.8%. Average sale price, year-to-year is only down 3.7%, from $405,737 to $390,784, while national has experienced a 6.46% drop.
Lastly, and most critical in evaluating the health of any real estate market, is the unsold home inventory, expressed in months. This is determined by dividing the number of unsold listings at the end of the month by the number of sales that occurred during the same month. Experienced real estate professionals have long believed that a five to six month supply of unsold listings indicates a “Balanced Market” with sellers and buyers about equal and home values holding steady. At the end of October, the supply of unsold listings in the Greater Boston Market was 4.77 months, a year-to-year drop of 37.15% from October of 2008 when the supply was 7.59 months. Walter Hall, one of the founders of HouseSavvy said, “clearly, we’ve entered Sellers’ Market territory.”
He went on to say, “however, it should be noted that the Greater Boston Market is a macro-market which is made up of thousands of micro-markets consisting of broad suburban areas, specific communities and neighborhoods, as well as distinct price ranges. Home values and trends in these micro-markets can vary significantly from the macro-market in which they reside.
