BOSTON – Sales of homes in the City of Boston set a new record in 2021, exceeding $5 billion in total for the first time ever, a robust 19 percent dollar increase from the previous record, set in 2019, according to Advisors Living’s Fourth Quarter Urban Market Report, issued today.
“Like much of the real estate industry overall, the City of Boston shattered records in 2021,” the report said. “The primary driver was the 16 percent increase in units, as 4,258 home sales closed citywide in 2021 -- the largest number ever.” That number broke the previous record of 3,669 units, sold in 2013.
Advisors Living is the rapidly growing residential real estate platform for new homes and resales associated with Boston Realty Advisors, the largest independent real estate brokerage based in Boston.
Advisors Living’s urban report for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the year’s end covers most neighborhoods within Boston’s urban residential condominium market. The Advisors Living research team uses reliable data from sources such as Multiple Listings Service, PinPoint Profits, LINK, and public sales records from the Registry of Deeds.
“Times have never looked more optimistic for today’s urban homeowner,” said Merit McIntyre,” President and Chief Executive Officer of Advisors Living. “Sellers are enjoying an influx of interest with record high sales volume and price per square foot, while buyers are moving on their window of opportunity take advantage of record low interest rates.”
Unlike many of Boston’s suburbs, which are experiencing record low inventory and double-digit percentage year-over-year price increases, Boston remained a healthy though competitive market for buyers.
Inventory edged up slightly over previous years, with 7,692 condos hitting the market in 2021, amounting to the greatest number since 2008 and many of them being absorbed in the increase in sales. Pricing remained mostly flat, as has been the case for the past three years, with median overall prices down $815,000, or 1 percent, but median prices per square foot up $903, also 1 percent.
“With 2021 being a year for the history books, early indicators for 2022 continue to show much of the same force that kicked off last year,” the report said.
The year 2022 has started out with less than half the amount of inventory of this time last year, which is the lowest in four years. “Often this translates to homes selling faster and for greater value, a predictor of an increasingly competitive spring market to come for buyers,” the report said.
Another indicator to watch in 2022 is rising interest rates. As of this week, interest rates have already climbed 1 percent since 2021 ended and are continuing to rise. “Home sellers benefit by seizing on a window of opportunity to get the greatest value out of their homes, and buyers benefit by entering a market with strong appreciation in value setting the stage for a robust market,” the report said.
“From the city to the ‘burbs, and from Nantucket to the Vineyard, our team of respected advisors and our leadership team look forward to collaborating and advising potential buyers in the weeks and months to come,” said Susan Tsantes, Senior Vice President of Culture and Empowerment at Advisors Living.