Home Sale Prices Jump in Beverly

The Beverly real estate market heated up in June, according to single-family home sale price figures released this week by The Warren Group, which is publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Beverly had 41 single-family homes sold with a median sale price of $395,000. The number of sales is down from the same time a year ago when 54 homes sold, but the median sale price is up from $372,500.

The first six months of 2014 continued to outpaced 2013 in Beverly, in terms of the number of sales and the sale prices. There have been 148 single-family home sales so far this year, compared to 144 last year. The median home sale price also increased by more than 10 percent from $337,500 to $372,500 for the first six months of 2014, according to The Warren Group.

Essex County

Essex County home sales continue to lag behind 2013 numbers. There were 642 single-family homes sold during June this year compared to 651 last year. For the first six months, single-family home sales have dipped by 2.4 percent. The median sale price increased in June 2014 compared to 2013 ($380,000 from $365,000) and for the first six months ($358,100 compared to $337,000).

Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, single-family home sales rose 3.7 percent in June compared to a year ago. Year-to-date home sales are down 1.8 percent. The median price increased by 2.8 percent to $359,900 in June compared with $350,000 in June 2013. For the year, the median sales price was up 4.7 percent.

“These numbers are a reflection of sales made during the spring market,” said The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. “Mortgage interest rates are lower than they were last summer and demand remains high as homebuyers seem to be overcoming the problems with low inventory. We could see more gains in sales volume in the big months of July and August.”

Low inventory continues to play a key role in the Massachusetts real estate market.

“Low inventory once again affected the market in June resulting in a lower number of sale and higher prices,” said 2014 Massachusetts Association of REALTORS President Peter Ruffini, regional vice president at Jack Conway & Co., in Norwell. “However, we’re hopeful that the influx of new properties added to the market in June will help prices to start leveling off, giving more people the opportunity to buy.”