Boston sellers are looking lucky, while buyers might want to think twice. A Zillow analysis in the metro area shows the top five markets for home sellers and homebuyers.
Sellers’ markets mean homes are listed for a shorter time, prices are slashed less frequently, and properties are sold at prices close to or greater than their last listing price, according to the real estate database. In buyers’ markets, the opposite is true.
In the markets favorable for sellers, the median sales price exceeds the median listed price. Brookline is the exception here, where the asking price is very high.
In those favorable for buyers, (except Plymouth, where the difference is small), the actual selling prices are below the listed prices.
Turns out, there’s a fairly discernable pattern. The sellers’ markets (in red) cluster around Boston, while the buyers’ markets (in green) trace the I-495 belt around the Boston area.
In August, home values in the Greater Boston area rose 5.6 percent from last year, slightly less than the national increase of 6.6 percent. Zillow also predicts home values in the Boston metro area will rise 0.7 percent in the next year. National home values have been rising for more than two years, according to Zillow.
Nationally, Boston doesn’t make the top ten sellers’ or buyers’ markets. San Jose, California, is the best seller’s market in the US, while Providence, Rhode Island, may be the buyer’s dream. The top ten sellers’ markets, five of which are in California, cluster on the west coast, while the top ten buyers’ markets, which include New York, Philadelphia, and Tampa are anchored in the east.