WAKEFIELD — While high prices and rising mortgage rates have cooled the housing market across Massachusetts, single-family homes continued to sell at a good pace in Wakefield last month.
According to The Warren Group, a leading provider of real estate and transaction data, 21 single-family homes sold in town in July, compared to 20 sold here during the same month last year. The median price of the single-family houses sold in Wakefield last month was $740,000, up dramatically from the median price of $690,500 of those sold in July 2021.
Through the end of July, 126 single-family homes have sold in Wakefield for a median price of $725,000. Last year through the same period, 122 single-families had been sold for a median price of $657,750.
Statewide last month, there were 5,266 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, a 17.4 percent decrease from July 2021 when there were 6,374 transactions. Meanwhile, the median single-family sale price spiked 8.3 percent on a year-over-year basis to $585,000, up from $540,000 in July 2021 – a new all-time high for the month of July.
“Mortgage rates are now over five percent while a year ago they were under three percent. The single-family home median price is $45,000 higher than a year ago. Increases in wages and salaries are not keeping pace with inflation that is now running at 8.5 per cent. Plus, homebuyers face a very low inventory of homes for sale. All this leads us to a cooler real estate market,” said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. “We’ve seen the same trend occur for many consecutive months now; prices reach new highs while the total number of sales declines on a year-over-year basis. Evidence in the cooling is seen in prices. They are rising at a slower rate, gaining just 9 percent so far this year after gaining 14 percent last year.”
Year-to-date, there have been 29,819 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, an 11.8 percent decrease from the first seven months of 2021. Meanwhile, the year-to-date median single family home price increased 9 percent on the same basis to $553,000.
Condominiums
There were 2,201 condominium sales across Massachusetts in July 2022, compared to 2,916 in July 2021 – a 24.5 percent decrease on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 10.9 percent on a year-over-year basis to $521,000 – the fourth consecutive month that the median condo price has hovered above $500,000.
“The median condo price has now been above $500,000 for four consecutive months, and $521,000 marked a new all-time high for the month of July,” Warren added. “The median condo price is up 10.9 percent in July, outpacing the 8.3 percent gain in the single-family median price.”
Year-to-date, there have been 14,465 condo sales, a 13.9 percent decrease from the first seven months of 2021 with a median sale price of $500,000, an 8.7 percent increase on the same basis.
In Wakefield, seven condos sold last month for a median price of $483,500. In July 2021, 12 condos sold for a median price of $522,500.
Through the end of July, 69 condos have been sold in Wakefield this year. They brought a median price of $515,000. For the same period in 2021, 116 condos had been sold for a median of $468,750.
