Given the steep home price appreciation in the first part of the decade, market changes have been viewed negatively by the media and consumers, fueling fears of an even larger correction ahead. In the past year the sub-prime mortgage and foreclosure crisis have only compounded these concerns.
Despite the negative rhetoric, Massachusetts housing market fundamentals remain sound: sales are at historically high levels; mortgage rates are at historical lows, and inventory has not outpaced demand.
A Look at 2007
Median Prices –
• 2007 median price of a single family home declined less than 2% from 2006 ($350,000 to $345,500)
•2007 median price of a condominium increased 2.5% from 2006 ($275,000 to $282,000).
Sales –
• 2007 single family home sales declined 4.3% from 2006 (from 43,378 to 41,510).
• 2007 Condominium sales declined 4.6% from 2006 (from 20,747 to 19,789). 2007 condominium sales were the third highest since 1990.
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