MA 2nd Most Expensive State to Buy a Home

Monday, December 03, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Business Team

With an average listing price of nearly half a million dollars, the Commonwealth is the 2nd most expensive state to buy a home, according to Coldwell Banker's annual Home Listing Report (HLR).

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

The Coldwell Banker report found the average listing price of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the U.S. to be $292,152. The report also noted that affordability remains strong in many markets across the country as 36 percent of the markets analyzed by the report had an average home listing price of less than $200,000 for four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes.

“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.

However, the high prices do not seem to be discouraging Bay State buyers. According to real estate publisher The Warren Group, a total of 4,044 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts in October, a 21 percent increase from 3,340 sales in October 2011. Year-to-date sales are up almost 22 percent at 39,491, compared to 32,428 during the same period a year ago.

“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.