BOSTON – High mortgage rates, high prices and low inventories are making homes in Massachusetts difficult to sell.
Strongest decline in home sales in more than a year
A two-bedroom apartment on Mansfield Road in Boston is for sale and real estate agent Dante Brezzene and the Movement Group are working to find the right buyer. But it hasn’t been easy.
In March, US home sales fell 4.3%, the sharpest decline in more than a year. Last month, Massachusetts saw a 7.4% decline in sales compared to March 2023.
“In Boston itself, it was a little more difficult at some points,” Bruzzese said.
Why isn’t anyone buying?
But why is no one buying?
“The biggest challenge has to do with higher mortgage rates. The second challenge is the availability of housing. There just aren’t many homes on the market, which means sellers can command high prices. That’s a double whammy. High prices, high mortgage rates.” rates,” says Boston College economics professor Peter Ireland. “If you think about the disposable income of an average American family, it’s going to be very, very difficult to narrow this down.”
And potential buyers may be looking for other options. Let’s say you’re trying to buy a $1 million house at a 7% mortgage rate. That’s a mortgage payment of $70,000 per year and almost $6,000 per month. Why not just rent?
“Oh yeah, I think that’s already started. Housing affordability, especially for young people, is a real challenge,” Ireland said.
Ireland predicts mortgage rates will soon fall, but worries prices could remain high without inventory.
“A national priority must be housing affordability and figuring out how to increase the supply of new-build homes,” Ireland said.
In the meantime, brokers like Bruzzese remain optimistic.
“We want to get that call back in three, four, five years and say, we are very happy here,” Bruzzese said.
