May Pending Home Sales in Massachusetts up from Last Year

First year-over-year increase since December 2010

WALTHAM, Mass. – June 7, 2011 – The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that the number of single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement in May went up over the same time last year. This is the first year-over-year increase since December 2010. Condominiums were up one percent, for the first year-over-year gain since April 2010. On a month-to-month basis, the number of both single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement were up from April.

“We were fairly confident that we would see an increase in the number of homes put under agreement this May compared to the same time last year,” said 2011 MAR President Laurie Cadigan, broker-owner of Barrett & Company in Concord. “At the same time, we continue to move in a positive direction from April as home affordability remains very high.”

The number of single-family homes put under agreement in May was up 2.1 percent compared to the same time last year (4,663 homes in 2010 to 4,760 homes in 2011). This is the first year-over-year increase since December 2010. On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement were up 12.5 percent from 4,230 homes in April. This is the fourth straight month-to-month gain.

The number of condos put under agreement in May was up one percent compared to May 2010 (1,894 units in 2010 to 1,905 units in 2011). This is the first month of year-over-year increases since April 2010. On a month-to-month basis, condos put under agreement were up 13.7 percent from 1,676 units in April. This is also the fourth straight month-to-month gain for condominiums.

About Pending Sales:
The tracking of signed purchase and sales agreements (also called “pending sales”) provide reliable information about where the real estate market is heading in coming months.

A pending sale or a sale “under agreement” is when the buyer and seller agree on the terms of the sale of a home and have a signed purchase and sale agreement, but have yet to close and be recorded as such. MAR is the only organization which compiles this statewide information from Multiple Listing Services each month.