Published January 31, 2020

MELROSE — The year just ended was a good one if you were selling a home in Melrose.

According to The Warren Group, a leading provider of real estate and transaction data, the median sale price of the single-family homes sold in Melrose in 2019 was $645,000, exactly the same as the median price of a house sold in 2018. There were 261 single-families sold in the city last year, up from 249 the year before.

At the county level, Middlesex County recorded the most single-family home sales in 2019 with 11,777 transactions with a median sale price of $557,500 – a 1.4 percent increase from 2018. Worcester County recorded the second-most single-family home sales in 2019 with 8,580 transactions with a median sale price of $290,000 – a 5.5 percent increase from 2018. Essex County recorded the third-most single-family home sales in 2019 with 6,762 transactions with a median sale price of $457,000 – a 3.9 percent increase from 2018. Not one county in Massachusetts recorded a decline in the median single-family home price in 2019 on a year-over-year basis.  

“The trend was fairly obvious all year long – 2019 was another record-setting year for Massachusetts real estate prices,” said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. “Despite a slight dip in single-family sales compared to 2018, the streak of the median sale price increasing on a year-over-year basis continues. The last time the year-end median single-family home price declined was at the tail end of the housing market crash in 2011. Barring anything drastic, I fully expect this record-setting trend to continue in 2020.”  

In December, 24 single-family homes sold in Melrose and brought a median sale price of $608,500. In December of 2018, 20 houses sold for a median price of $600,000.

Last month, there were 4,971 single-family home sales recorded in Massachusetts, a 13.1 percent increase from December 2018 when there were 4,396 transactions. Meanwhile, the median single-family sale price spiked 10.4 percent on a year-over-year basis to $397,500, which marked an all-time high for the month of December. Year-to-date, there were 59,136 single-family home sales in 2019 – a 1.2 percent decrease from 2018 – with a median sale price of $400,000 – a 3.9 percent increase compared to 2018 and a new all-time record.  

In December, there were 2,099 condominium sales, compared to 1,752 sales in December 2018 – a 19.8 percent increase. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 4.1 percent on a year-over-year basis to $379,000 – an all-time high for the month of December. Year-to-date, there were 24,522 condo sales in 2019 – a 0.03 percent increase – with a median sale price of $380,000 – a 4.1 percent increase from 2018.  

At the county level, Middlesex County recorded the most condo sales in 2019 with 6,529 transactions with a median sale price of $467,000 – a 3.8 percent increase from 2018. Suffolk County recorded the second-most condo sales in 2019 with 5,337 transactions with a median sale price of $618,000 – a 0.5 percent increase from 2018. Essex County recorded the third-most condo sales in 2019 with 3,050 transactions with a median sale price of $312,500 – a 9.6 percent increase from 2018.  

“The number of condo sales in 2019 was on par with the number of sales in 2018,” Warren continued. “The spike in the median sale price was largely spurred by the number of luxury developments brought to market during the course of the year in the Boston metro area. Last year was an active year for new developments and there’s no sign of it slowing down in 2020. With major projects in the works like Allston Yards, Winthrop Center, Cambridge Crossing, and Suffolk Downs, Suffolk County should have another bullish year, and the ripples will be felt throughout the rest of the commonwealth.”

In Melrose, 111 condos sold in the city in 2019, up from 88 the year before. The median price was $415,000, down from $421,250 in 2018.