Single-family home sales in Massachusetts were down year-over-year in February after 13 consecutive months of increases, ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com/ reported.
[IMAGE]Home sales for February stood at 2,246, down 5 percent from 2,366 sales in February 2012. According to the real estate data provider, February marked the first decrease since December 2011.
[COLUMN_BREAK]""Two factors caused this modest drop in February: low inventory and a comparison with a strong previous year of sales,"" said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. ""Even so, I'm still hopeful for a strong spring market. As more sellers list their homes in the spring, activity will pick back up.""
While low inventory may have hurt sales, prices benefited from the lack of supply.
The median price for a single-family home averaged $275,000 in February, up 12 percent year-over-year.
""With such low inventory, we're seeing bidding wars--homes selling above the asking price,"" Warren said. ""As prices rise, more sellers will begin to list their property which in turn pumps up sales volume.""
Condominium sales managed to post a modest increase, rising just 1.4 percent to 925 condo sales over a 12 month period ending in February.
The Warren Group also reported the median price for condos sold was up nearly 6 percent to $245,000.