The following is from the Brookline TAB regarding the Brookline real estate market.
According to the real estate tracking firm The Warren Group, the median price for single-family homes in Brookline in August was $915,000, down from nearly $1.5 million just last year. Median condo prices in August fell to $397,000 from $422,500 last year.
Fewer homes are being sold in Brookline as well. The number of single-family homes and condos sold in August dropped from 165 last year to 121 this year — the lowest sales number for the month of August since 1997.
Real estate agents, however, say the downturn in home sales is a result of hesitance among sellers, not a lack of interest among buyers. David Friedberg, sales manager at Coldwell Banker Residential’s Brookline branch, said he’s struggling with a shortage of inventory because some sellers are hesitant to put their homes on the market, hoping they can get a better price if they wait.
“There’s a certain psychology right now, with people thinking it’s not a good time to buy or there’s no mortgage money available or prices are going down,” he said. “I understand that thought, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Despite the data, Friedberg said some of his clients have recently received multiple offers and ended up walking away with more than they asked for. But he added that he’s also seen fewer first-time homebuyers enter the market.
Brookline has also seen its share of home foreclosures, though not nearly as much as other Massachusetts communities. According to The Warren Group, eight Brookline homes went into foreclosure in the first eight months of the year, compared to just three homes in the same period last year.
Foreclosures have skyrocketed across the state this year. In the first seven months of the year, Massachusetts saw 7,804 foreclosure deeds, double the number from the same period last year.
