Charlestown Home Sales Drop in August

By Les Masterson (Patch Staff)

Following a similar trend seen across Massachusetts, Charlestown experienced a slight drop in home sales in August compared to a year ago.

Charlestown saw 6 single-family home sales in August this year, an increase from 5 last year. For the year, Charlestown has had 44 home sales compared to 51 last year, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, which released the sales figures on Tuesday.

Prices, meanwhile, dropped a bit in Charlestown. The median sale price for a single-family home in town in August was $593,000, which was down from $850,000 from a year ago. For the year, the median sale price has been $651,500, a drop from $759,000 after the first eight months of 2013.

Abutting communities of Somerville, Chelsea, Medford and Everett also saw drops in home sales in August compared to a year ago, while nearby Cambridge saw increases compared to August 2013.

Suffolk County

Suffolk County saw a decrease in home sales in August -- 166 this year compared to 194 last year. For the year, Suffolk County has had 938 sales compared to 1,027 last year

The median sales price was up slightly in August compared to a year ago ($420,000 compared to $392,500). The median sales price is also up for the year in Suffolk County ($407,250 compared to $368,000 a year ago).

Massachusetts

Statewide, Massachusetts had its sixth month in which sales decreased year-over-year in 2014.

A total of 5,417 single-family homes were sold in August compared to 5,797 last year. For the year, sales are down from 33,399 in 2013 to 32,382 this year.

The median price for the month was up slightly from a year ago. A similar increase has been seen throughout the first eight months of the year compared to 2013.

Realtors have been concerned about the lack of housing inventory this year and The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren said there could be an another issue influencing the disappointing August numbers.

“Home sales volume has been a bit disappointing all summer,” said The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. “As reported in this week’s Banker & Tradesman, there is a discrepancy between the increase in pending sales and the number of closed sales transactions. It could be due to tough mortgage underwriting standards or cold feet after a rushed offer.”

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