Mass. Home Sales Up For 4th Straight Month

Sales of single-family homes were up in Massachusetts last month when compared to the same period a year ago, yet the market remained slow.

The Warren Group reported Tuesday that October was the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases, but the last two Octobers have been worst since 1990.

The Realtors reported that the median price for single-family homes dropped more than 5 percent last month, while the Warren Group reports a roughly 7 percent drop.

The Warren Group's Vince Valvo said he didn't expect to see such a large drop in prices.

"That does show that the buyers are forcing the sellers to take more concessions in order to make deals happen," he said.

Valvo said he expects prices and sales to remain flat in the coming months, but Massachusetts realtors say they're seeing an uptick in activity.

The Warren Group attributed the drop to consumers pursuing bargains and a lack of competition.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said a roughly 3 percent increase in sales last month was driven by an improving job market, affordable prices and low interest rates.

The organizations use slightly different figures in their calculations.

The WBUR Newsroom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.