April not so cruel on home sales
Worcester County outperforms state average
![Worcester County fared much better than the statewide average for single-family home sales. Home sales were down 8% in April (615 in 2020, 566 in 2019), but unchanged for the first four months (2,039). [Associated Press File Photo]](/gcdn/authoring/2020/05/27/NTEG/ghows-WT-a6a11f0b-5284-74e9-e053-0100007feeb1-dee762a1.jpeg?width=660&height=454&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
In the wake of the coronavirus and a statewide shutdown, the number of sales for single-family homes declined significantly in April on a year-over-year basis, according to a report from The Warren Group, which compiles real estate and transaction data.
Last month, there were 3,706 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, a 13.7% decrease from April 2019 when there were 4,293 transactions. The median single-family sale price increased 11.8% to $428,000, up from $383,000 in April 2019.
Meanwhile, Worcester County fared much better than the statewide average. Home sales were down 8% in April (615 in 2020, 566 in 2019), but unchanged for the first four months (2,039).
Worcester and some of its suburbs fared much better. In April, 120 single-family homes were sold in the city, a 9.1% increase from April 2019 when there were 99 transactions. The median sale price in Worcester jumped 43.8% from $141,000 to $202,750.
In Sturbridge, sales leaped 275% from four to 15. In Uxbridge, sales doubled from seven to 14, while in Shrewsbury, sales increased by 20% from 20 to 24.
It wasn't all good news, though. In Holden, April sales fell 66.7% from 15 in 2019 to five in 2020. In Marlboro, sales fell 64% from 25 to nine, and in Grafton, sales fell 55% from 20 to nine.
“The number of single-family home sales took a significant hit in April as the effects of COVID-19 started to impact the local housing market and economy,” said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. “This comes as no surprise. I fully expected transactions to stall as the stay-at-home order continues to keep both buyers and sellers on the sidelines.
"But now that Governor Baker has laid out a roadmap to reopening Massachusetts, we might start to see a return of confidence and more in-person home-shopping in coming months. As the jump in median price indicates, there is a strong demand for the limited supply of homes for sale.”
Statewide, there were 1,610 condominium sales in April, compared to 1,998 sales in 2019, a 19% decrease.