The Patriot Ledger

Massachusetts home sales and prices rose sharply in May as buyers sought to lock in low mortgage rates in anticipation of expected hikes.

The average single-family home price rose to $417,162 in May, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said Friday. That was a 17 percent increase from the previous year and up 5 percent from April.

Sales volume rose 14 percent from the previous year, in another indicator that the market will stay strong as long as mortgage rates remain below 6 percent.

"People are buying because they have a feeling the rates are going to go up into the mid-7's within a year," Michael Beatty, an agent for Wexford Realty in Plymouth, said. "If they lock in now, they can afford something for a bit more money."

Beatty said sales activity remains strong at developments like Clark Estates in Plymouth and Tall Timbers in Kingston, two new subdivisions where houses are selling in the $525,000 to $625,000 range.

Average condominium sales prices rose to 304,684, 15 percent from the previous year and 6 percent from April. Condo sales volume shot up 26 percent from the previous year, according to the Waltham- based Realtors association.

Laura Crosby of Hanover-based Crescent Realty Group said activity is brisk in the first-time home buyer market, which ranges up to the high-$300,000 range. Singles and young couples are dominating the condominium market, with many units available in the high $200,000 range.

"Most people think down the road prices are only going to increase, and the rates are still quite affordable," Crosby said.

Because of seasonal changes, the MAR says year-to-year comparisons are the most meaningful indicators of real estate values.

Median sales prices, which the association says can be a more accurate barometer of typical transactions, were up 14 percent compared to a year ago.

The median price for a single family home last month was $345,000, and $268,000 for a condominium.

Despite the statewide price gains, a Quincy real estate agent said buyers have more bargaining power than they did a year ago.

"If they're a little overpriced, they're not selling so quickly until the price gets realistic because there's just too much to choose from," Diane Furness, manager of Jack Conway & Co.'s Quincy office, said.

According to the MLS Property Information Network's listings for eastern Massachusetts, there were 11,685 condominiums on the market in May, a 10.4 percent increase from the previous year. Single- family home listings were essentially unchanged at 31,500.

Realtors' association President Judy Moore said buyers moved quickly in March - completing the sales in May - to take advantage of low rates. "Even though the interest rates have started to tick up, it really hasn't slowed the pace of sales," she said. "The condo market in particular addresses first-time buyers and immigrants and empty nesters."

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