Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose more than 10 percent year-over-year in January, according to new data from ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com/, publisher of ""_Banker & Tradesman_"":http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/.
[IMAGE]Single-family sales reached 2,680--the highest January sales level since 2007, when there were 2,953 transactions. January 2012 single-family home sales were 2,436.
[COLUMN_BREAK]""We ended 2012 on a pretty positive note, and this is carrying into January,"" said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. ""Recent pending sales data are a hopeful sign for a strong spring market. And given low mortgage rates and steady prices, there are positive signs that 2013 will be a second year of recovery.""
According to The Warren Group's data, the median sale price of single-family homes in the Bay State increased for the fourth consecutive month in January, rising 6.8 percent to $277,750, the highest median price for January in three years.
Warren attributed the price increase to low inventory and noted that rising prices ""should in turn give sellers more confidence to put their homes on the market.""
Condominium sales also increased statewide in January, rising 11 percent on an annual basis to 1,006. This is the first January since 2008 in which condo home sales broke the 1,000 mark.
Meanwhile, the median condo price in January slipped a bit, dropping 2 percent year-over-year to $240,000. The Warren Group notes this is the lowest price for condos in Massachusetts since 2009, when the median price was $209,900.