More Warming in Boston Housing Market

Figures from the Warren Group show areas near downtown Boston accounting for much of the upswing in the city's housing market, at least in condos.

The latest figures are for the month of February, and the comparisons are with Febraury of 2009.

Among the highlights in areas with more than a handful of transactions:

Areas near downtown Boston. Condo sales increased in February by more than 22 percent, and they're up so far this year by 26 percent. The median price was up in February by 31percent, and it's up so far this year by almost 29 percent.

Roxbury and the part of the South End. The median price for February was up by almost 54%, and it's up this year by almost 59 percent. But sales are down, with a smaller drop in February.

Sales of condos in Dorchester were down by 34 percent, but the median price was up by thirty-four percent. Last year many of the condo transactions in Dorchester were distressed sales, which helps explain how the increase over the year before was from $110,000 to $143,000.

Sales were up by more than 40 percent in Jamaica Plain, but the median price was down by almost 19 percent. In Charlestown, condo sales for February quadrupled (from only 4 in 2009), with the number of sales for this year almost tripled. There was little change in the median price this year for condos in South Boston, but sales were up in February by almost 26 percent, and for the first two months of 2010 by more than 37 percent.

The Warren Group also reports single-family home sales increasing in areas such as Dorchester, West Roxbury, and Roslindale. In Hyde Park, single-family home sales increased by 20 percent, with the median price going up in February by almost 38 percent. In West Roxbury, the median price for February was up by more than 12 percent.

Downtown Leads Housing Rebound

If there’s a recovery in Boston’s housing market, it’s less apparent with condos than single-family homes, and strongest for both categories near downtown.

Figures from the Warren Group show Boston single-family home sales increased slightly in 2009, with a very strong finish for the month of December. For the whole year, sales were up by less than two percent, and the median price was down by 2.24 percent. With many buyers racing to meet the deadline (since extended) for tax credits, sales for the last month increased over December of 2008 by almost 48%, while the median price increased by 24 percent.

Among the areas with more than a handful of single-family transactions, the most dramatic improvement for 2009 was around downtown Boston. In these parts of the city, sales were up slightly, but the median price increased by 36 percent. There was also a surge in Dorchester, but only for December, with single-family home sales up by 45% and the median price up by 25 percent.

Also showing a gain for the whole year was West Roxbury, where sales of single-family homes decreased slightly in 2009, while the median price increased by almost 6 percent. The largest decreases in the median price for a single-family home were in Roxbury (almost 33%), East Boston (more than 16%), Brighton (almost 15%), Hyde Park (just over 11%) and South Boston (almost 11%).

Dorchester has been hit hard by the rash of foreclosures over the past few years, especially in the condo market. In 2009, the number of condo sales in Dorchester was slightly down from 2008, but the median price fell by almost 50 percent.

For all of Boston in 2009, condo sales decreased by almost 10% and the median price decreased by almost 9 percent. In the month of December, sales increased over the same month in 2008 by almost 21%, while the median price was up by more than 15 percent.

The strongest finish for condos last year was in areas near downtown Boston. In this part of the city, condo sales for December were up by more than 43%, while the median price was up by slightly more than 12 percent. For the whole year, sales were down by almost 21% and the median price was down by more than 6 percent.

In some other parts of Boston condo sales for December increased without any gain in the median price. These areas included Charlestown, Roslindale and Jamaica Plain. For all of 2009, Roslindale condo sales increased by more than 42%, though the median price was off by almost 6 percent.

Housing Rebound Less Dramatic in Boston

Boston shows only a mild case of the pick-up in housing and condo sales reported for Massachusetts by The Warren Group.

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts increased last month over October of 2008 by 17.2%, with the median price falling by 2.8 percent. For condos, the sales were up by 12%, with prices down by 8.1 percent.

In Boston, home sales for October were up by 7.41%, with a slight increase in the average price, at 1.91 percent. Among areas with more than five transactions this year, the largest increases in the number of sales were in Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale and Hyde Park. Percentagewise, sales prices were up by double digits in Hyde Park and Mattapan, though none of these neighborhoods had more than 12 sales. The prices were also up for single-family homes in Dorchester, by 36.90%, though the number of sales was down this year by 44.44%, from 18 to 10.

For condos in Massachusetts, The Warren Group reports sales were up by 12%, while the median price was down by 8.1 percent. In Boston, the fall-off in price was almost as high, at 7.39%, but condo sales increased by less than one percent.

In neighborhoods with at least five transactions, the largest jumps in the number of sales were in Hyde Park, East Boston and West Roxbury, followed by Jamaica Plain and Brighton. The largest decreases in price were in Allston (54.64%), West Roxbury (27.06%) and downtown Boston (26.60%). One of the few areas with a substantial gain in median price was Roxbury and the South End, at 31.29 percent.

Like other observers, The Warren Group’s CEO, Timothy M. Warren Jr., attributes some of the increase in sales to the temporary tax credit for first-time homebuyers. He also calls the increase in condo sales a “significant reversal” after double-digit declines earlier this year. If the October figure for Boston is well short of a reversal, it’s still quite different from earlier this year, when monthly condo sales were down by more than 20 percent.