Community Update

House sales in Wellesley are picking up, although numbers are still behind this time last year. 

30 percent more homes sold in June of last year, 52 houses compared to 68 in June 2012. Although the town's numbers are still 19 percent behind the year-to-date sales of 2012. Condo sales doubled between 2012 and 2013, although there was really only one condo sold in June 2012, compared to two last month. Overall, the 14 of 2012 are still beating out 2013's total of 11. 

That said, it is still too early to say how the final numbers for 2013 will stack up against previous years. The Warren Group, which publishes Banker & Tradesman, is optimistic about the housing market for the rest of the year. 

"The housing market continues to boom locally, and nationally," said The Warren Group CEO Timothy Warren, Jr. in a press release, "As long as mortgage rates and home prices don't spike too high, we'll see a very strong recovery year for the market in 2013."

Sale prices in Wellesley are also going up. Where the average 2012 home sold for $955,000, in 2013 the average is $1.1 million.

Norfolk County is also doing well for home sales: a little over 5 percent increases both compared to last June and year-to-date for 2013. In terms of condos, the town is doing better than Norfolk County, which saw a 26.07 percent drop from the total condos sold in 2013, and a 9.78 percent drop.

Statewide, home sales are up 0.12 percent, and year-over-year home prices have increased for the ninth consecutive month, the Warren Group reports. Statewide, the average home is going for $350,000--an increase of $29,000 from June 2012.

Condo prices have similarly increased, going from $310,000 last year to $320,000 in 2013. 

"No monthly median price had been this high for any month since August 2007. Buyers have come out to the market in droves and aggressive bidding is driving up prices. While not a problem at this juncture, I hope for more modest increases in the future," Warren added. "We don't want to see prices rise to the point where homeownership becomes unaffordable."

Source: The Warren Group