Here’s How the Greater Boston Housing Market Fared in June 2023
Things are looking better…for now.
Photo via Getty Images/Martin Barraud
June saw temperatures rising to what can officially be considered “summer weather.” Likewise, the housing market also saw a bit of a thaw after a long freeze. The good news? Closed sales in Massachusetts rose in June after a consistent decline. The bad news? This doesn’t mean the market is on the upswing.
Home sales have declined drastically over the last few years, as the pandemic house-buying boom dissipated. In June though, we did see some improvements, according to data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. There were 4,400 single-family homes closed on, while May saw only 3,319 single-family home closings. In a similar vein, there were 1,942 condos closed in June 2023 as opposed to 1,654 in May.
However, Keller Williams agent and Massachusetts Association of Realtors President David McCarthy says we’re not necessarily looking at an overall improvement, as much as a seasonal uptick. Longer-term, there’s simply not enough moderately priced homes out there for buyers. “Inventory remains shockingly low, unfortunately low,” McCarthy said. “And there remains buyer demand…Truthfully, we didn’t see any significant change.”
Stiff competition means home prices are only increasing. The median single-family price is now $650,000 (up four percent from last year), according to MAR’s latest data, while condos are going for a median of $550,000. And sale prices are still at a 20 percent decline year-over-year.
The situation is especially challenging for first-time buyers, many of whom are trying to build wealth and escape high rents (latest numbers from Zumper show the median one-bedroom in Boston going for $2,800 a month). However, as prices and interest rates rise, more and more first-timers are being priced out of the market.
Not only that, but many of these buyers are competing with investors who see how prices are rising and buy up real estate to build up their financial profile (great for them, tough for the rest of us). “Each time there is a price increase and an adjustment in mortgage rates, you’re automatically going to take some buyers out,” McCarthy said. “It’s not going to change. As long as we have price increases, people will want to enter the market because it’s a good investment. Many buy because it’s a place to raise their family, but many people buy because they see the investment.”
