While figures released yesterday show both home sales and median home prices in the city dipped significantly in June from a year ago, local Realtors say the city's housing market is relatively healthy.
According to the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks real estate data throughout New England, June single-family home sales Waltham dropped 23 percent from the same month last year, from 39 to 30 homes sold.
From January to June the city totaled 95 single-family home sales, a 24.6 percent drop, from the same period last year when 126 homes were sold.
The median price for homes sold in Waltham in June fell 6 percent to $395,000 from $420,000 in June 2008.
Meanwhile, the median price for homes sold through June 2009 was $380,000, down 6.2 percent from $405,000 a year ago.
Gary Rogers, a local RE/MAX real estate agent and president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said though there is a flurry of buyer activity here for homes and condominiums, especially those on the lower end of the price scale.
"Waltham is actually a pretty vibrant housing market when compared to the rest of the Commonwealth," Rogers said.
Rogers said that buyer interest has been buoyed by a MassHousing program that allows eligible first-time homebuyers the chance to borrow up to $8,000 in advance of receiving their federal tax credit to use toward down payments or closing costs - if they buy a home before Dec. 1.
Rogers said he recently marketed four condominiums in Waltham to first-time homebuyers, who mentioned the MassHousing program.
Waltham's proximity to Boston and it's low tax rate compared to surrounding cities and towns - among other qualities - gives the city a leg up in attracting new homebuyers, Rogers said.
Amleto "Mel" Martocchia, a broker at Martocchia Realtors in Waltham, also believes homebuyers are hitting the market more over the last several months.
He pointed to numbers from the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, which shows that housing inventory in the Greater Boston area, which includes Waltham, dipped more than 9 percent in June from the same month last year.
"It's a healthy sign," Martocchia said.
According to The Warren Group report, single-family home sales statewide dipped nearly 5 percent in June from a year ago, while the median home price slid 8 percent.
The median price for homes sold in June fell 8 percent to $302,500 from $329,000 in June 2008.
The median price for homes sold through June 2009 was $275,000, down 12.7 percent from $315,000 a year ago.
Statewide, June single-family home sales slipped 4.9 percent to 4,436, down from 4,664 in June 2008. Home sales from January through June totaled 16,541, a 10.7 percent drop from 18,521 during the same months in 2008. It was the slowest sales pace for the six-month period since The Warren Group began tracking the state's real estate market in 1987.
PDF: Home prices across the state
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
