Wednesday, August 23, 2006

One if by land, Two if by sea, Three if by impending Real Estate Collapse!

Krikies!

Thought last months housing numbers for Massachusetts looked bad?

This month has that “Grab your musket and hunker down behind a log” type of imminent doom feel to it. Things keep up like this and we’ll all have to start getting used to the taste of human flesh!

July posted the steepest single month decline in home sales since 1995!

Again, like last month, we have to keep in mind that we are coming off of an historic run-up in home prices fueled by a speculative loony-ness that has captivated our area for almost ten years.

The following statistics were compiled by The Warren Group directly from deed transactions and present a more complete view the market than the Massachusetts Association of Realtors MLS-only numbers.

As in months past, be on the lookout for the inflation adjusted charts produced by BostonBubble.com for an even more accurate "real" view of the current market trend.

Key Statistics for July 2006

  1. Single Family Sales Down 26.9% as compared to July 2005
  2. Single Family Median Price Down 6.1% as compared to July 2005
  3. Condo Sales Down 23.5% as compared to July 2005
  4. Condo Median Price Down 4.2% as compared to July 2005
  5. Single Family average “Days On Market” stands at 109 days in June as compared to 77 days for July 2005
  6. Condo average “Days On Market” stands at 108 days in June as compared to 77 days for July 2005

Key Facts

  1. July marks the fourth consecutive month of declining sales.
  2. Inventories have now risen for 17 consecutive months.
  3. Boston leads the nation in price reductions with 46.4% of homes listed on the MLS having been reduced.
  4. Residential housing (homes and condos) inventory has increased 23% over the past 12 months.