By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — After months of double-digit increases, home sales fell to their lowest level since 2013 in September while the median price improved to the highest ever, according to new data from The Warren Group.
The number of Lynn single-family homes sold last month was flat as 58 changed hands, down from 59 a year ago, a 1.7 percent decrease. The last time September sales were so few was three years ago when just 36 homes sold. While sales were stagnant, the median price of a single-family home surged to $300,750 in Lynn, the highest amount since the Boston-based real estate company began tracking the data in 1987.
Bryen Hart, an agent at Century 21 North Shore in Saugus, said there’s a simple reason why Lynn home sales slowed in September: there’s no inventory.
“We ran out of houses to sell over the summer,” he said. “There are buyers everywhere, but no houses to put them in. We are all knocking on doors asking people if they want to sell.”
At press time, MLS Property Information Network, the Shrewsbury-based company, listed 81 single-family homes and 43 condominiums for sale in Lynn. Brokers say that number has been twice as high in the past.
Colleen Toner, broker-owner of Toner Real Estate LLC, said she was not surprised that September sales were flat since those homes sold in July, among the slowest months of the year. Typically, it takes two months for a sale to close.
“Aside from the Christmas holidays, July is my quietest month,” she said. “We basically matched last September’s sales this year.
I expect sales will remain steady for the rest of the year, as Lynn continues to be desirable.”
Lynn was not the only Essex County community where sales were sluggish. In Marblehead, sales dipped by nearly 11 percent in September, while prices also fell. The median price for a single-family dropped to $617,000, down 19 percent compared to September of last year at $764,000.
In Nahant, Swampscott and Peabody sales were flat. Four single-family homes sold last month in Nahant, down from five a year ago, while the median price swelled by 3 percent to $400,000, up from $387,500 a year ago.
In Swampscott, 16 homes sold in September, down from 18 last year, as median prices increased by nearly 15 percent to $470,000, up from $409,000 a year ago. Peabody sales were unchanged at 43 for the past two Septembers while prices fell by 5 percent to $375,000, down from $395,000 last year.
Still, there were bright spots. Revere home sales nearly doubled last month to 19, up from 10 a year ago, while the median price saw a 1 percent rise to $237,400. In Lynnfield, sales surged by 61.5 percent to 21 homes, up from 13 a year ago. While sales rose, prices in Lynnfield dipped by 9 percent. The median price for a single-family home fell to $711,500 last month, down from $782,500 last year. Saugus saw sales rise by nearly 11 percent while the median price rose by 2.6 percent to $350,000.
There were 5,588 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts in September, compared to 5,436 one year ago, a 2.8 percent increase. This is the largest amount of sales in September since 2005 and the fifth straight month with at least 5,000 homes sold.
The median sale price of a single-family home in September reached $340,000, a 3 percent increase from $330,000 last year. This is the lowest median sale price recorded in five months.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].