Home Prices Up Again, But So Are Sales

The price of a single-family home in Massachusetts was up more than 10 percent in January from the same time last year, according to a new report from real estate data analysts at The Warren Group.

The new data continues the trend of year-over-year increases in house and condominium prices, mirroring trends recorded over the course of 2023.

Last month, there were 2,396 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, a 0.2 percent increase from January 2023, when there were 2,392 transactions, the Warren Group wrote. The median price of these sales increased 10.2 percent to $550,000, a new all-time high for the month of January.

“Single-family sales were relatively flat from January 2023, but the slight uptick is the only year-over-year increase we’ve recorded since the middle of 2021,” Cassidy Norton, associate publisher and media relations director of The Warren Group, said. “The issues that pained the Massachusetts housing market in 2023, like limited inventory, economic uncertainties, and higher interest rates are still at the forefront of prospective buyers.”

Condominium sales, however, decreased significantly from this time last year.

In January, there were 975 condo units sold, compared to 1,176 in the same month of 2023 — a 17.1 percent decrease, and the fewest transactions recorded for the month of January since 2012. Meanwhile, prices are going up.

The median sale price for a condo increased 5.5 percent on a year-over-year basis to $507,000 — similar to the single-family home market, a new all-time high for the month of January.

Within the greater Boston housing market — encompassing the 139 communities located within Interstate 495 — median single-family home prices increased 10.4 percent between January 2023 and 2024.

Lawmakers and Gov. Maura Healey have identified housing affordability and accessibility as one of their biggest concerns, but the Legislature has yet to advance a housing bond bill Healey filed last fall to invest in the housing market and make policy changes that the governor says would help solve the housing crisis.