June Home Sales Down in Concord

Single-family home sales in Concord fell in June compared to 2012, but 2013 sales to date continue to outpace the total through the first six months of last year.

Year-to-date sales had been trending so far ahead of 2012 that even after last month’s 30 percent falloff, 2013 sales remain 30 percent ahead of last year’s pace.

Through June, there were 112 single-family homes sold this year, up from 86 through the same period last year, according to figures compiled by the Warren Group, publishers of Banker & Tradesman.

More good news: Median sale prices are still well above last year’s figures.

The 28 homes scooped up in June 2013 had a median sale price of $1,175,000, an almost 47 percent increase over the $800,500 for the 40 homes sold in June 2012. And with a median sale price of $843,250 sales to date in 2013 are trending more than 14 percent higher than the $737,000 for last year’s sales.

Though Concord home sales declined, June marked the second straight month of increases for Massachusetts as a whole, as single-family home sales climbed “to the highest level for any month in three years,” according to the Warren Group report.

Middlesex County also saw an increase in home sales in June, with 1,412 single-families selling last month compared to 1,381 in 2012.

"The housing market continues to boom locally, and nationally," said Timothy M. Warren Jr, the Warren Group’s CEO. "As long as mortgage rates and home prices don't spike too high, we'll see a very strong recovery year for the market in 2013."

Like in Concord, prices are on the rise across the county and state. In fact, the statewide median sale of $350,000 for single-family homes sold in June was the highest in years.

“No monthly median price had been this high for any month since August 2007. Buyers have come out to the market in droves and aggressive bidding is driving up prices,” Warren said in the report. “While not a problem at this juncture, I hope for more modest increases in the future. We don't want to see prices rise to the point where homeownership becomes unaffordable."