Massachusetts Single-Family Pending Home Sales up Again in November

Seventh straight month of increases

WALTHAM, Mass. – December 6, 2011 – The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that the number of single-family homes put under agreement in November went up again for the seventh straight month compared to the same time in 2010. Condominium pending sales were also up from the same time last year.


“We are taking another step toward an eventual housing market recovery with pending sales going up in November,” said 2011 MAR President Laurie Cadigan, broker-owner of Barrett & Company in Concord. “I don’t think it is a coincidence that as the unemployment rate here in Massachusetts ticks down, buyer confidence starts to increase.”


The number of single-family homes put under agreement in November was up 5.2 percent compared to the same time last year (3,404 homes in 2010 to 3,580 homes in 2011). This is the seventh straight month of year-over-year increases. On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement were down 7.2 percent from 3,857 homes in October.


The number of condos put under agreement in November was up 7.0 percent compared to November 2010 (1,251 units in 2010 to 1,333 units in 2011). On a month-to-month basis, condos put under agreement were up less than a half of one percent (0.3%) from 1,329
units in October.
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.
About the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:

Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 18,000 members. The term REALTOR® is registered as the exclusive designation of members of the National Association of REALTORS® who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and enjoy continuing education programs.