Home prices in Greater Boston fell in the third quarter.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
The median price of a single-family home rose in 120 of 149 metropolitan statistical areas in the third quarter compared to last year, while 29 areas — including Greater Boston — had price declines, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In the Boston area, the medium price fell to $365,800 from July through September, down 0.5 percent from $367,700 for the same period in 2011. The national median existing single-family home price was $186,100 in the third quarter, up 7.6 percent from $173,000 in 2011, the strongest year-over-year price increase since the first quarter of 2006.
But there was some good news for Boston in the report. Median prices in the third quarter are up by nearly 6 percent compared to 2011 when the median was $346,200.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the growth in home prices in most of the country gets down to supply and demand. He said housing inventories have been falling from a record set in the summer of 2007. Earlier this year, a balanced market began to develop in most areas between home buyers and sellers, which led to a sustained upturn in home prices, he said.
Total existing-home sales including single-family and condominiums, rose 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in the third quarter from 4.54 million in the second quarter, and were 10.3 percent higher than the 4.25 million pace during the third quarter of 2011.
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