Real estate sales, prices cool in SouthCoast

The once red-hot Southeastern Massachusetts real estate market has officially cooled, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors announced yesterday.
The fewest detached single-family houses in 10 years sold last year, and prices moderated, the group said in its fourth-quarter report.
"The market is balancing," said Realtor Maggie Tomkiewicz of Dartmouth, adding, "and that is a good thing."
The region had the biggest drop in sales of single-family homes and condominiums in the state, down 25.5 percent.
The median price for a single-family home in Southeastern Massachusetts, however, dropped only 1.1 percent to $281,850. Condo prices shot up by 10.9 percent, with the median price increasing from $153,250 to $170,000.
"This is a much more normal market," said Ms. Tomkiewicz, past president of the association. "If you are pricing a property properly, it will sell."
A market segment of real estate that is of particular interest to New Bedford is that of multi-family dwellings. Multi-family sales in Massachusetts declined by 18.4 percent. The median sales price of a multi-family dwelling dropped 2.7 percent to $360,000.
Financing is still favorable and the supply of housing is dropping across the state, association president Doug Azarian said yesterday.
Housing stock declined by 33 percent during 2006, from 15.9 months to 10.6 months, Mr. Azarian said yesterday. A balanced market is created when there is a 7.5- to 8.5-month supply, the association said.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported yesterday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.30 percent this week, up from 6.28 percent last week, according to the Associated Press.
Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, edged up to 6.03 percent, compared to 6.02 percent last week.
Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 6.01 percent, up from 5.99 percent last week.
One-year ARMs rose to 5.52 percent, up from 5.49 percent last week.
"It is still a buyer's market, because there are still lower rates and because buyers have more houses to look at," said Judith Perry, a real estate agent for Jack Conway in Mattapoisett and southeast regional vice president of the Realtors Association.
"People were buying in 2006 but they were hesitating because they thought there was a better deal out there. They looked at more houses, 10 or 12, where in the past they would look at an average of about six," Ms. Perry said.
Despite the drop in sales volume, 2006 was still a busy year in the state, the third-highest volume year on record for condominiums and houses, following only the sizzling 2005 and 2004, respectively, the association said.
"For people looking to buy, 2006 was definitely a great year to do it," Mr. Azarian said. "The strong supply gave buyers the opportunity to find the right house at the right price, while sellers who priced their homes correctly were still able to realize significant gains."
The association asserted that real estate remains a profitable investment, offering the example of a home bought in 2002 at the median sales price of $279,000, reselling in 2006 at the median price of $350,000, an appreciation of 25.5 percent.