WALTHAM, Mass. – February 2, 2010 – The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that the number of single-family homes put under agreement in January was up 8 percent over the same time last year, while condominiums were up *12 percent. January marks the seventh straight month that the number of both single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement had increased over the year before.
“The Massachusetts real estate market continues to move in a positive direction and is slowly making its way back to more normal levels,” said 2010 MAR President Kevin Sears, broker/co-owner of Sears Real Estate in Springfield. “As indicated by the seventh straight month of pending sales increases, there are buyers who not only feel it is a good time to buy, but who are also going the next step and actually making offers.”
The number of single-family homes put under agreement in January was up 8 percent compared to the same time last year (2,576 homes in 2009 to 2,791 homes in 2010). On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement were up 1.7 percent from 2,743 homes in December.
The number of condos put under agreement in January was up 10 percent compared to January 2009 (*1,069 units in 2009 to 1,194 units in 2010). On a month-to-month basis, condos put under agreement were down 4.4 percent from 1,249 units in December.
About Pending Sales:
The tracking of signed purchase and sales agreements (also called “pending sales”) provide reliable information about where the real estate market is heading in coming months.
A pending sale or a sale “under agreement” is when the buyer and seller agree on the terms of the sale of a home and have a signed purchase and sale agreement, but have yet to close and be recorded as such. MAR is the only organization which compiles this statewide information from Multiple Listing Services each month.
About the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:
Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 20,000 members. The term REALTOR® is registered as the exclusive designation of members of the National Association of REALTORS® who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and enjoy continuing education programs.
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*After the pending sales numbers were released, it was discovered there was a typo and a percent change formula mistake. The actual January 2009 pending sales number for condos was 1,069 (not 1,059 as originally released) and the percent change was an increase of 12 percent (not 10 percent as reported).
Editors and reporters: Please note that the term Realtor is properly spelled with an initial capital “R”, per the Associated Press Stylebook.
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