MA 2nd Most Expensive State to Buy a Home
Monday, December 03, 2012
At $489,063 for a four-bedroom house, Massachusetts trailed only Hawaii, which came in with an average listing price of a staggering $742,551, in the list of the top ten most expensive states to buy a home. The six most expensive local markets, where average listing prices were in excess of $1.4 million, were all located in California, but the state as a whole still ranked behind Massachusetts, coming in 3rd with an average price of $431,625. Connecticut also made the list, ranking 5th with an average listing price of $411,884.
Nebraska was the most affordable state in the country, with an average price tag of $145,360 for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, followed by Iowa at $162,621 and Georgia at $169,625. No New England states made the list of the ten most affordable states to buy a home.
Serving as an analysis of the most expensive and affordable markets across the country, the Coldwell Banker HLR provides a snapshot of the average listing price of four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes across the country. This year’s report analyzed more than 72,000 home listings in more than 2,500 U.S. markets, comparing the listing prices of similar homes in markets across the country from January 2012 to June 2012.
Most Expensive and Most Affordable Markets in MA
“Each year, our home listing report captures an insightful look at local market conditions and emerging trends in real estate,” said Budge Huskey, president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
“We recognize that buying a home is a significant life decision, and we do this apples-to-apples comparison of similar homes to provide homebuyers with useful information about the many great opportunities that exist around the U.S.”
Of the 116 local markets in Massachusetts Coldwell Banker analyzed for the 2012 HLR, Worcester had the 11th lowest average listing price at $266,660, below the national average of $292,152. Springfield topped the list with an average listing price of just $136,405 and was the only market in the Bay State to crack Coldwell Banker's top 200, ranking 155th in affordability.
Millbury was the 18th most affordable town in the Commonwealth with an average listing price of $304,573, just ahead of Charlton where a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home averaged $308,627.
At the other end of the spectrum, Weston, where the average listing price was $1,105,692 for a four-bedroom home, was the most expensive market in Massachusetts. Wellesley, at $966,950, and Dover, at $900,780, came in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Lexington, Hingham and Marblehead all had average listing prices of over $800,000.
“Home sales for the first 10 months of the year have already surpassed sales in all of 2011,” said The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr.
“Record low mortgage rates, an improved economy and growing consumer confidence are boosting the housing market in Massachusetts and around the country.”
And while average listing prices for four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes in the Commonwealth are among the highest nationally, the median price of single-family homes remained unchanged at $270,000 in October. According to the Warren Group, this is the lowest monthly median price since March, when prices were $263,000. The median price for homes sold January through October was $287,500, down almost 1 percent from $290,000 in the prior year.
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