January Home Sales Up Statewide, Stalled in North Andover

There's good news for the state's housing situation, with single-family homes up more than 10 percent in January from January 2012, according to a report by the Warren Group. This brings Massachusetts January single-family home sales to their highest level since January 2007.

But locally, real estate sales were actually down in January compared with January 2012 -- down by 30 percent. And median sales prices are lower too.

But don't panic. Once you see the numbers, it's not so bad.

In January 2012, there were 13 single-family home sales in North Andover and the median sale price was $413,000. In January of this year, there were 9 single-family home sales in town and the median sale price was $310,000.

When you have just a difference of four homes, it's not a huge drop and a couple low-selling homes can bring down the median.

"The North Andover market is facing a bit of difficulty, but overall our outlook is very good," said Lisa Sevajian of RE/MAX. "The economy is getting stronger, and buyers are feeling more confident in their decisions to purchase."

One reason for the low home sales is low inventory. North Andover is a community in which people tend to stick around, Sevajian said. Another reason is that many local homes are underwater -- with owners owing more on their mortgages than the home is worth. This would cause delays in home sales locally, as those people can't afford the financial loss they would take if they sold now but can afford their mortgages so aren't opting for short sales.

And then there's the winter factor -- home sales are usually low in winter, when fewer people want to move into, or out of, their homes. Spring typically bring a bounce, and the statewide trend toward more sales and higher prices will likely bring North Andover up as well.

"The spring market will bring a dramatic increase in the amount of buyers that are actively looking to live here," Sevajian said. "If we have the inventory for them to purchase, prices in town will increase."