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| Jan 09, 2019
by Eric Berman - eberman@marealtor.com - 781-839-5507
WALTHAM, Mass. – January 9, 2019 – The Massachusetts Association of Realtors® (MAR) reported today that the number of single-family homes put under agreement in the month of December rose almost 10 percent over the last year, marking a full year of year-over-year increases. Condominium pending sales for the month fell from last year. The median price for pending single-family homes saw over a one percent drop to $375,000 while condominiums saw a two percent drop to $352,500 compared to December 2017.
Year-end data shows there was an increase in average median prices for both single-family homes and condominiums in 2018 compared to last year. This year also saw an increase in total pending sales for single-family homes and condominiums.
December’s ‘Hot Topic’ question shows that Realtors® have found that the stock market’s volatility in December has had a neutral impact on their client’s decisions to buy or sell.
December Pending Sales:
*Year-end pending sales data derived from monthly published pending sales reports.
“One thing this high demand market has done over the past several years is it has expanded the ‘traditional’ home buying and selling seasons to more than just the spring and fall,” said 2019 MAR President Anne Meczywor, broker/associate at Roberts & Associates Realty, Inc., in Lenox. “December was another example of buyers staying engaged in the process until they made offers that were accepted, regardless of the time of year.”
December Realtor® Market and Price Confidence Indexes:
Year-End Realtor® Market and Price Confidence Indexes:
“The combination of historically-low inventory, high prices, and mortgage rate uncertainty has helped push both confidence indexes down in December,” said Meczywor.
Monthly ‘Hot Topic’ Question:
The December ‘Hot Topic’ question asked Realtors® if the volatility of the stock market in December has had an impact on buyer and seller behaviors.
Of those who responded, less than two percent reported that the stock market’s volatility had a positive impact on Realtors® decision to buy or sell. The majority of respondents (73%) reported that there has been a neutral impact on their clients. The remaining 25 percent reported that there has been a negative impact or a significant negative impact on the buying and selling behaviors of their clients.
“Most buyers and sellers, especially those in the process, are sticking to their decisions to buy and sell. When buyers and sellers get to this point, their financial ‘ducks’ tend to already be in a row,” said Meczywor.
About the Data Sets:
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” happens 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.
Monthly pending (or under agreement) data and closed sales data comes from the three Realtor®-affiliated Multiple Listing Services in Massachusetts. They are the Berkshire County Multiple Listing Service, Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors® Multiple Listing Service, Inc.; and MLS Property Information Network, Inc. The data is compiled by 10K Research and Marketing, Inc. and updated each month. As a result, previous data may change after the reports have been run.
The Realtor® Index Methodology - The Massachusetts Realtor® Market Confidence Index (RMCI) and Price Confidence Index (RPCI) are based on monthly responses from a random sampling of Massachusetts Association of Realtors® members on the state of the housing market. More specifically, the survey asks members two basic questions pertaining to the real estate business in their market area in Massachusetts.
In addition to these standard questions, the survey each month includes one wildcard question that changes each month and is based on an industry hot topic.
The RMCI is calculated in the following way. Respondents indicate whether conditions are, or are expected to be “strong” (100 points), “moderate” (50 points), and “weak” (0 points). The results are the average score for each question. A score of 50 is the threshold between a “strong” and a “weak” condition. Similarly, the question about home prices over the next year (Realtor® Price Confidence Index) is calculated using five categories: “Rise 0-5%” (75 points), “Rise 5%+” (100 points), “Level” (50 points), “Fall 0-5%” (25 points), and “Fall >5%” (0 points).
About the Massachusetts Association of Realtors®:
Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors® is a professional trade organization with more than 24,000+ 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.
Editors and reporters: Please note that the term Realtor is properly spelled with an initial capital “R”, per the Associated Press Stylebook.