The region is experiencing an upsurge in home sales, and Waltham appears to be enjoying the effects of that revival.
Two reports issued this week offer glimmers of hope for the Massachusetts real estate market, with this area only slightly behind the rising curve.
The reports, issued by The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate data publisher, and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors showed similar results - sales are up and prices are down across the state.
Across the state, according the Warren Group, sales of single-family homes were up 17.2 percent from last year, with 4,295 sales as opposed to last October's 3,664. Condo sales also jumped 12 percent from a year ago.
Waltham registered 25 sales this October, up nearly 14 percent from the 22 that sold in same month of 2008, and the average price of those Waltham homes was $390,000, a modest increase over the $382,000 homes sold for a year ago.
In the latter category, Waltham actually did a little better than the state average.
Median home prices across the state fell 2.8 percent to $277,000 from last year's $285,000. Prices in September were down 1 percent from a year ago.
Analysts said the boost in sales over the last few months could be attributed largely to the first-time home buyer tax credit, which was expanded and extended earlier this month.
"I still think we are seeing the effects of the stimulus," said Martha Meaney, an economist at the MetroWest Economic Research Center. "People thought it was going to be over soon, so they scrambled."
On Nov. 6, President Barack Obama approved an extension of the credit, allowing existing homeowners who have lived in their home for five consecutive years out of the last eight to take advantage of the program.
The report published by the Mass. Association of Realtors said home and condo sales were up 17.7 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively, from last year. The trade organization reported that it was the fourth straight month of increases for the state.
"There was no surprise that there would be an uptick in sales," said Gary Rogers, president of the Mass. Association of Realtors. "Current homeowners and people who have been on the fence are more confident that the whole market is turning around."
Numbers from 15 other communities in the region from the Warren Group showed that October sales of single-family homes rose by only about 14 percent year-over-year. This October, 271 single-family homes were sold in the area, up from 238 last year.
The average median home price in communities across the region dipped 4 percent from last October.
David Lovins, president of The Warren Group, said given the diverse nature of area communities, it's tough to say one way or another what the numbers actually mean.
"It's a mixed bag," he said. "There are no overall trends."
Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-626-4429 or khatch@cnc.com.
