coriander emotionalism: Worcester, MA - Home Sales and Real Estate Market Report (Dec ...

Monday, December 31, 2012

Worcester, MA - Home Sales and Real Estate Market Report (Dec ...

I always enjoy doing the Worcester reports. First off, there's so much DATA. Small towns with a only a little data can move around a lot, and can be hard to inference if there is a trend or just a blip in the market. But with Worcester, there's so much data there's not a lot of room for ambiguity.

It's also been excitingly recently as the Worcester market has really shown signs of the long climb back. Although much of eastern Massachusetts has seen an improving real estate market for years, Worcester lagged, buried in foreclosures and awash in debt. That is now changing. The go-go days of the 2000's are by no means back, but what we have is a normal, healthy market in Worcester. One where investors are oh-so-carefully wandering in to fix properties and get them back into the market. Let's take a closer look.

First thing I'd like to point out is the number of properties for sale, the orange line. It peaked at 679 and is now down to just over 400. That's a reduction in number of homes for sale in Worcester by 40%. Forty-percent!! Looking at the yellow line, we can see why - sales have climbed by about the same amount. The increase in sales has pushed down the available property, and as a result, good things happen for sellers.

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Prices are just at a record (since I've been tracking them) in this report, at $113/ a square foot and rising.

More good news for Worcester: Foreclosures are down to just 22, about half what they have been since I started tracking. (they were consistently in the 40's). Short-sales houses are down by about 10%, so the bank impacted inventory is down across the board significantly.

All these factors have my Home Seller Index in Worcester at 92 - also a record - and squarely in a sellers market. What does that mean for sellers? It means you should reach for prices if you house is in good shape and popular locations. You may get more then your neighbor did just last year. Buyers will have to work harder to find what they want, but if Worcester is your goal, buy soon - before the market really starts to move, as it has in towns further east.

Happy new Year Everyone!

Worcester Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

There are 407 homes listed as For Sale.
There have been 591 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 327 homes sold in the last 3 months.
The Average number of Days on Market was 119 days for just SOLD homes.
There is an Average Market Time of 171 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Worcester is $113 (vs. $111 )
There was an Average Sold Price of $174,504 for sold homes.
Worcester has 22 properties (vs. 40 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
Worcester has 91 properties (vs 98) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
Worcester ?Home Seller Index? (HSI):92 Last Report: 90

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS.

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