June Home Sales Down in Lexington

Single-family home sales in Lexington fell in June compared to 2012, and 2013 sales to date have fallen behind the total through the first six months of last year.

Year-to-date sales had been trending ahead until last month’s 29 percent falloff completely erased the gap. Through June, there were 198 single-family homes sold this year, down from 204 through the same period last year, according to figures compiled by the Warren Group, publishers of Banker & Tradesman.

The good news is: Median sale prices are still well above last year’s figures.

The 51 homes scooped up in June 2013 had a median sale price of $812,800, an almost 24 percent increase over the $657,444 for the 72 homes sold in June 2012. And with a median sale price of $775,000, sales to date in 2013 are trending nearly 12 percent higher than the $693,500 for last year’s sales.

Though Lexington home sales declined, June marked the second straight month of increases for Massachusetts as a whole, as single-family home sales climbed “to the highest level for any month in three years,” according to the Warren Group report.

Middlesex County also saw an increase in home sales in June, with 1,412 single-families selling last month compared to 1,381 in 2012.

"The housing market continues to boom locally, and nationally," said Timothy M. Warren Jr, the Warren Group’s CEO. "As long as mortgage rates and home prices don't spike too high, we'll see a very strong recovery year for the market in 2013."

Like in Lexington, prices are on the rise across the county and state. In fact, the statewide median sale of $350,000 for single-family homes sold in June was the highest in years.

“No monthly median price had been this high for any month since August 2007. Buyers have come out to the market in droves and aggressive bidding is driving up prices,” Warren said in the report. “While not a problem at this juncture, I hope for more modest increases in the future. We don't want to see prices rise to the point where homeownership becomes unaffordable."