(Source: Boston Herald)
By Jerry Kronenberg, Boston Herald
April 23--New figures show the Bay State housing market stayed frosty in March, but a top housing economist sees reason to hope for a spring thaw.
MLS Property Information Network data provided to the Herald show that only 2,322 Massachusetts houses changed hands last month -- a 16.2 percent drop from March 2010. Median sale prices likewise fell 0.7 percent to $275,000 from $277,000 a year earlier.
The condo market declined even more sharply. The number of condos changing hands tumbled 20.2 percent to 1,024 last month, while median sale prices dropped 9.8 percent to $233,250.
However, economist Karl Case said much of March's "declines" actually stem from the fact that 2010's $8,000 federal first-time home buyers' tax credit artificially boosted sales a year earlier.
He said last month's transaction volume looks a lot better when compared to February 2011 instead. For instance, March house sales shot up 50 percent when measured against February 2011 transactions.
Economists usually ignore these "month-to-month" comparisons because such figures often miss seasonal fluctuations.
But Case said 2010's tax credits make "year-over-year" comparisons even more skewed.
He said overall U.S. home sales have actually risen in seven of the last eight months when measured on a month-to-month basis.
"We know the market is down year-over-year because of the tax credit," Case said. "Month-to-month comparisons give us a little different story."
jkronenberg@bostonherald.com
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