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Newton, MA condo market report September 2011 – Absorption Rate

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Real Estate Agent with (617) 388-3151 | Century 21 Commonwealth
Newton, MA condo market report September 2011 – Absorption Rate

On October 3rd there were 135 condos listed for sale in Newton, MA according to the multiple listing service data (MLSPIN).

To review, the absorption rate is a calculation of how many months of housing inventory are on the market based on historical rates of sale per month and the current housing inventory. What this tells us is how long it would take to sell all of the houses currently on the market if no new houses came on the market. This is useful as an indicator of the state of the market.

A Seller’s market is considered to be 1 to 4 months supply of housing
A Neutral market is considered to be 5 to 6 months supply of housing
A Buyer’s market is considered to be 7 or more months supply of housing
 
Let's look at the chart.
 


From the chart we can see that the type of market we are in depends a lot on the price range of the condo. The chart breaks down sales and inventory by $100,000 price range. For September Newton is in a balanced market for condos priced under $600,000.

September sees a big increase in the number of new listings comming to market. This is a part of the normal cycle.

For condos in the $600,000s even though there are six more units on the market in September than in August, the absorption rate has dropped to make condos in this price range a seller's market.

For the higher range of condo prices between $700,000 and $1,000,000 the absorption rate has shifted even more towards a buyer's market.

For condos over $1,000,000 the absorption rate shows a slight shift towards a seller's market, but there are so few units on the market (5), and so few buyers at that price range, because of competition for single family homes, that it really is more of a balanced market.

In summary, there are new units on the market, and the well-maintained, properly priced condos will quickly sell. The others will hold over until the spring market. There is enough inventory for buyer’s to have many choices. The real estate market for Newton MA condos is good.