Home, Condo Sales Figures Show Deeper Chill

There's more confirmation of the chill in Boston's housing market. According to figures from the Warren Group, for single-family homes, the median price was down by more than 19%--almost the average for the whole state. Compared with January of last year, the number of sales was down by 5.9%. The statewide figure was 10.3%.

In West Roxbury, sales for single families were down by more than 41.7%, but the median price was up, by almost 28.9%. In Dorchester, there was only a slight increase in the number of sales for January (from 7 to 8), but the median price was down by 35.1%.

In Boston's condo market, sales and prices were below the state average. Even in what recently been the strongest market, the mostly high-end areas near downtown Boston, the median price was down by 18.5% and the sales volume was down by 46.7% Citywide in January, condo sales were off by almost 29.7%, while the median price was down by almost 32.7%.

In areas with more than a half dozen transactions, the largest drop in the median price for condos was in Dorchester, with a decrease of more than 69.3%. Dorchester had more condo sales than last January--an increase of 45.8%. Market observers say many of these involved properties in foreclosure.

“The inventory in the foreclosure market is just so great now,” said the Dorchester office manager for Jack Conway & Co., Julie Simmons.

“Investors are coming out of the woodwork that we haven’t seen since the 1990’s,” she said.

Simmons says clearing away the inventory of distressed properties will help the rest of the market. But observers note that bargains don’t always attract buyers who improve the property and increase values.

Simmons points to one condo unit in a three-decker on Draper Street, on Meetinghouse Hill, that recently sold for $40,000. According to real estate analyst John Anderson, two-thirds of the units recently sold in Dorchester went for less than $100,000. His figures show Dorchester condos have lost 72.4% of their market value since the last peak of the market, in mid-2006.

Though the number of condo sales in Dorchester has increased dramatically over January 2008, observers say other buyers and sellers are staying out of the market, or at least stopping short of closing a deal.

“They’re just not out there,” said Anderson. “They’re sitting on the sidelines, looking to see how far down things are going to go.”

Mattapan, Dorchester Lead Housing Slump

The Warren Group reports single-family home sales were down last year in Boston by almost 15%. The median price decreased by more than 11%. The largest decreases in sales were in Brighton, South Boston and West Roxbury. The largest price drops were in Mattapan, at almost 31%, and East Boston, at more then 26%.

For condos in Boston, the number of sales was down by almost 20%, but the median price was up by more than 4%. The neighborhoods with the largest fall-off in condo sales were Brighton, Mattapan, East Boston and Hyde Park, all more than 30%. The largest price drops were in Mattapan, at almost 55%, and Dorchester, almost 18%. The largest increase in the price of a condo was in Roxbury, at more than 10%.

Besides having the largest price drops for all of 2008, Mattapan—among comparisons of more than a handful of transactions—had the largest price drop in December for condos (70.37%). The decreases in December condo sales were almost as high in West Roxbury (61.54%) and Charlestown (60%), but the decreases in median price were less than 10%. In East Boston’s condo market for December, the number of sales was down 46%, while the median price was down more than 30%.

Neighborhoods where the 2008 median price increased (for single-family homes) were Jamaica Plain, Brighton, Roslindale, and South Boston. There were price increases for condos in Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and areas close to downtown Boston, though the numbers of sales in those areas were all lower. The number of condos sold in Dorchester increased in December, compared with the same month in 2007, but the median price declined by 61.44%. The largest increase in condos sales for December was in Roxbury—more than doubling, from 13 to 27—but was price was down slightly, by 1.22%.