Chelmsford Home Sales Plummet in August

Mirroring a similar trend seen across Massachusetts, Chelmsford experienced a huge drop in home sales in August compared to a year ago.

Chelmsford had 31 single-family home sales in August this year compared to 42 last year. For the year, Chelmsford has had 205 home sales compared to 234 last year, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, which released the sales figures on Tuesday.

Though sales are down, house prices remain on the rise. The median sale price for a single-family home in Chelmsford in August was $375,000, which was up from $364,950 from a year ago. For the year, the median sale price has been $365,000, an increase over $343,625 after the first eight months of 2013.

Abutting towns Billerica, Westford and Tyngsboro also saw huge drops in home sales in August compared to a year ago, while Carlisle saw similar numbers.

Middlesex County

Middlesex County also saw a decrease in home sales in August -- 1,353 this year compared to 1,439 last year. For the year, Middlesex County has had 7,523 sales compared to 7,926 last year.

The median sales price was up slightly in August compared to a year ago ($460,000 compared to $450,000). The median sales price is also up for the year in Middlesex County ($445,000 compared to $428,000 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.”