The year 2018 was mixed for real estate sales in Hopedale. Sales of condominiums remained strong, while single-family home sales reflected an inability to keep up the skyrocketing pace of price increases seen over recent years.
Hopedale condo median net sale prices rose 10% to $237,000 in 2018, up from $213,613 in 2017. Both years saw an equal number of transactions at 30 each. Laurelwood condos saw a strong year, with the average sale price closing in on $250K. Also, some higher priced condos flirting with $300K on Dutcher Street and a higher sale in Bancroft Park were factors in the increase. In 2019, we should see higher prices for average condo sales due to the new Laurelwood units currently on the market.
Single-family home sales actually dipped from an average of $358,964 in 2017 to $337,997 in 2018 – a drop of almost 6%. This was due to smaller living area homes, on average, being sold in 2018 (1945 sq ft, versus 2113 sq ft in 2017). In fact, the price per square foot actually rose about 2% in 2018 from $181 to $184.50.
It is important to note, that all of this data was taken from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and there were sales that were not included in these numbers. In recent years, with the inventory of homes for sale at record lows, one trend that has had increasing impact on the market was that some homes never made it to the MLS. In fact, a search of public records showed an additional six condos and six single family homes sold in 2018 that were not included in the MLS. This could have been a result of private sales between family or associates, “for sale by owner” properties not entered into the MLS, or sales brokered by agents who have buyers ready to buy when they receive word of a listing. If the inventory continues to be low, real estate prefessionals expect to see this trend to continue, and is one more reason prospective buyers should reach out to an agent when they begin the process of searching for a home.
Across Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR), median sales prices for condos were up 6.2% and single-family homes were up 5.3%. MAR reported almost a 10% increase in number of pending sales for December statewide.
“One thing this high demand market has done over the past several years is it has expanded the ‘traditional’ home buying and selling seasons to more than just the spring and fall,” said 2019 MAR President Anne Meczywor, broker/associate at Roberts & Associates Realty, Inc., in Lenox. “December was another example of buyers staying engaged in the process until they made offers that were accepted, regardless of the time of year.”
David Hodgdon has been a Real Estate agent at Millennium Realty since 2014. In addition to sharing his real estate knowledge through periodic market updates in the Local Town Pages, he also teaches classes on buying and selling homes for the Milford Community School Use program. The next classes are scheduled for March 2019. He has lived with his family in Hopedale since 2002, and is a member of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Dave welcomes your questions and comments, and can be reached at dave@davidhodgdon-realtor.com or 508-246-8311. Please contact Dave if you would like to schedule a buying or selling consultation. Sales information according to data entered into MLS Property Information Network.
Issue Date:
February, 2019
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