Mass. Single-Family Home Sales Down In November

The number of single-family homes sold in Massachusetts in November dropped nearly 9 percent when compared to the same month last year, but prices surged more than 7 percent, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported Monday.

The reason was a low number of homes on the market, Realtors President Kimberly Allard-Moccia said.

"After strong buyer activity over the summer and early fall, the market slowed down in November because there were not enough homes for sale to meet demand," she said.

The Warren Group, a Boston-based publisher of real estate data, reported a more modest 2 percent drop in single-family home sales year-over year, the first since April.

"We're seeing the same thing in Massachusetts that the rest of the country is experiencing: a slight slowdown in home sales, driven by increasing interest rates and tight supply," Warren Group chief executive Timothy Warren Jr. said.

The median price of a single-family home jumped from $295,000 in November 2012 to $316,500 last month, the 14th consecutive month of higher median prices, the Realtors group said.

The Warren Group reported a 4 percent jump in median prices to $307,000.

"With the supply of homes for sale low and prices escalating we may have reached a turning point where the recovery continues but with less frenzy," Warren said.

The organizations use slightly different figures in their calculations.