Melrose October Home Sales Almost Double Year-Over-Year

Like the rest of Massachusetts, Melrose saw an increase in single-family homes sales in October compared to last year, according to the latest figures from The Warren Group, which still warned that the past two Octobers have been the worst on record since October 1990.

In October, 19 single-family homes sold in Melrose, a 72 percent increase from the 11 that sold in October 2010. Statewide, 3,189 single-family homes sold, a 6.6 percent increase from 2,992 homes a year ago.

Year-to-date Melrose single-family home sales are up 9 percent compared to last year, with 205 homes sold so far in 2011, compared to 188 sold during the same time period in 2010.

A total of 31,737 homes have sold statewide so far this year, down almost 9 percent compared to 34,823 during the same period last year.

"Four months of increasing sales volume is a good sign for the real estate market and an indication of improving consumer confidence,"  The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a press release. "However, there is no getting around the fact that the market is still slow and sales will be lower in 2011 than either of the previous years."

Melrose Median Sale Prices Down Slightly

The median sale price of a single-family home in Melrose dropped in October compared to the same month last year. This past October, the median sale price was $430,000, a 1.15 percent decrease from October 2010's median sale price of $435,000.

Statewide, the median price of single-family homes dropped almost 7 percent to $270,000 in October, down from $289,900 a year earlier.

The year-to-date median sale price in Melrose is also down to $395,000, a 3.1 percent decrease from last year's price of $407,650. The statewide median price for homes sold January through October was $293,000, a near 1.7 percent decline from $298,000 in the prior year.

"Prices have held steady in the past few months, so a near 7 percent drop in prices is a bit unexpected," Warren said in the press release. "It could indicate buyers are pursing bargains and not encountering much competition."

Condo Sales Down Slightly in October, Up for the Year

Melrose saw a slight decrease in condominium sales in October—two sold this past October, while three sold in October 2010—but year-to-date condo sales are still up more than 13 percent, with 50 sold so far in 2011 compared to 44 sold through October last year.

Condominium sales statewide dropped even further in October, The Warren Group said in the press release. A total of 1,039 condos sold in October, a 12.1 percent drop from 1,182 sold a year earlier. Year-to-date condo sales fell close to 20 percent, decreasing to 12,337 from 15,340 during the same period last year.

The year-to-date median sale price of a Melrose condo is $237,700, down 5.9 percent from $252,500 a year ago, while the statewide year-to-date median price of condos is $275,000, up almost 4 percent from $265,000 a year ago.

Click through the photo gallery to see some of the homes that sold in Melrose in October from our , which runs every Thursday at noon.