New Inventory Expected to Stimulate Central MA. Housing Market

The Massachusetts housing market has undergone a vibrant, yet unsteady recovery over the last few years. Judy Boyle, one of our colleagues serving clients in Worcester and Middlesex, recently wrote a thoughtful piece for the Community Advocate, which highlights the state of the Massachusetts housing market.

Boyle said that sellers currently have an edge in the market, because there is still a small supply of available housing. According to recent data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR), there is only a three month supply of housing inventory on the market.

However, Boyle and many other Realtors project that inventory will increase significantly in the coming months. Many homeowners have been reluctant to list their properties, because they felt prices were too low.

“Homeowners are now seeing a return to positive equity as real estate values have increased an average of 6 percent over the last two years,” Boyle stated. “Many of these homes will be coming to market this fall as homeowners discuss upgrading or moving to warmer climates.”

Boston.com contributor Megan Turchi has a similar outlook. After looking at MAR data, Turchi found that housing prices declined in Watertown, Hingham, Newton and several other communities over the past year. She believes the trend will be mirrored in other communities in 2017.

However, prices have risen sharply in recent years. According to Zillow, the median price of a single family home is $352,700. Prices rose 5.2% over the past year alone and are expected to increase another 2.9% by 2017.

Homeowners are pleased to see housing prices on the up-tick, so they are likely to start listing them again. As inventory supply increases, prices could drop to a new equilibrium in the coming months. Sales could trend upwards, which would further stimulate the market.