Boomtowns Around Boston

Boston Area Boomtowns – Chelsea, Lowell, Everett, Newton, Watertown

We look at the “Boomtowns” in the third installment of comparing the towns that Boston Magazine lists as the Top Places to Live Around Boston Right now in its March 2019 issue.

I think some additional gray hairs came in with this 5-way grudge match. But none the less, let's take dive into the numbers and see what town is performing better in the current real estate climate. To keep as apples to apples as we can, we will examine the market type that has the most sales.

As an example, in Chelsea there were 133 condos that sold in 2018 vs. the 28 Single Family Homes. In this case, we will be examining the condo market in Chelsea as the larger data set will give us a better idea of the current market conditions.

As we dive into 5 different towns throughout Massachusetts, it is important to remember that year over year the amount of Single Family Homes currently on the market in Massachusetts has grown by 15.96%.

Meanwhile year over year in the Massachusetts Condo Market we have seen an increase in the available inventory of 32.84%. These numbers will help us in creating a better baseline for the performance of these 5 individual towns.  

Chelsea

 The Chelsea Condo Real Estate Market has seen an increase like many other towns throughout the state of Massachusetts.

 Today there are 27 Condos on the market which is compared to 14 condos this time last year. This increase represents a 92.85% increase in the amount of condos available for sale to a home buyer looking in Chelsea.

The biggest jump has been in the $250,000 to $299,999 price range where there were no homes on the market this time last year and currently 5 condos on the market today. To calculate the overall health of a market place we look to the months of inventory on the market.

From 0 to 5 months it is considered a seller’s market, 5 to 7 months is an equal market where neither buyer nor seller has pricing power and 7 or more months being a buyer market where a buyer has the negotiating power.

Year over year in the time span of October 1st to March 31st, we have seen a decrease in the amount of condos sold in Chelsea of 32.81%. This year there were 43 condos sold for an average of 7.16 per month vs. 64 and 10.66 per month last year.

In the Chelsea Condo market, there is currently 3.77 months of inventory on the market which is compared to the 1.31 Months of Inventory this time last year. The numbers tell us that the Chelsea Condo market is still a Seller’s market, but we are seeing a shift in that marketplace with seller’s losing some of their negotiating power.  

Lowell

In 2018, Lowell had 354 condos sell compared to 551 Single Family properties sell. While there is some great data on the condo market, we are going to stay true to form and dive into the top selling market for this comparison. In Lowell we have seen inventory grow to 51 units today from 41 units last year.

This represents a 24.39% increase in the amount of homes for sale in Lowell. The biggest numerical jump we saw was is in the $300,000 to $349,999 price range where last year we had 5 Single Family Homes on the market vs. the 14 that we have today.

This represents a 180% increase in the amount of available inventory. The biggest statistical jump was in the $500,000 to $599,999 price range where we saw a 250% increase in the amount of available inventory from 2 units to 7 units year over year.

Meanwhile the Lowell Single Family market has seen an increase in the amount of homes sold year over year. From October 1st to March 31st we have seen 250 Single Family Homes close in 2019 for a 41.66 per month average vs. the 222 homes sold or 37 per month average in 2018.

This puts the Lowell Single Family Real Estate Market at 1.22 Months of Inventory compared to 1.11 Months of Inventory this time last year. This signals that the Lowell market continues to be a seller’s market with an insignificant statistical change year over year.  

Everett

The Everett Real Estate market has seen a slight decrease in the amount of Single-Family homes on the market. Today there are 10 homes compared to 11 last year.

This represents a  9.09% decrease in the amount of available homes for sale in Everett to a home buyer. Year over year we have seen a 4.3% increase in the amount of homes sold in Everett with 116 home sold in 2017 and 121 Single Family homes sold in 2018.

From October to the end of March we have seen 42 Single Family homes sell for an average of 7 per month compared to 55 in 2018 with a 9.17 average per month. This represents that we have 1.43 months of inventory compared to 1.19 months of inventory last year. The statistics are clear, the Everett Real Estate Market is a seller’s market with an insignificant change year over year.  

Newton

The Newton Real Estate market has seen a 13.79% increase in the amount of homes on the market. Today there are 132 Single Family homes compared to the 116 homes last year. We have seen a big jump in the $1m to $1.499m price range with 17 Newton homes for sale last year and 33 today.

In this price range, we have seen an increase of 94.18%. While there has been an increase in the amount of inventory, sales are still chugging along. In 2018 we saw 581 homes sell compared to 584. In the last 6 months, we saw 217 homes sell for an average of 36.16 Newton homes sold per month which is compared to 219 and an average of 36.5 per month last year.

This means that the Newton Real Estate Market currently has 3.65 months of inventory compared to the 3.17 months of inventory last year. This means that the Newton market is in a seller’s market and is slowly drifting towards the buyer’s market threshold of 5 months.  

Watertown

 The Watertown Condo market was twice of what the Watertown Single Family market in 2018. Because of this, we will be looking at the Watertown Condo market which has seen a big increase in the amount of Watertown Condos on the market.

 Today there are 33 condos on the market in Watertown compared to the 18 that were on the market today last year. This represents an 83.33%   increase in the amount of homes that are currently available to a Watertown buyer.

The $700,000 to $799,999 price range has seen the largest increase in the amount of homes available to Watertown homebuyers. Today there are 7 condos on the market compared to the 1 condo on the market last year. This represents a 600% increase in the number of condos on the market in Watertown.

Year over year we have seen a decrease of 5.66% in the number of Watertown condos sold from 212 in 2017 to 200 in 2018. From October 1st to March 31st we have seen 97 condos sell representing an average of 16.67 condos per month in 2019. This is compared to the 80 units and an average of 13.33 condos sold per month average.

Today there are 1.97 months of inventory on the market compared to 1.35 months of inventory this time last year. Again, this means that the Watertown Condo market continues to be a strong seller’s market.  

I am not looking to give out any participation trophies, but this one is tough. Boston Magazine hit the nail on the head labeling these as ‘Boomtowns’. All of these towns are strong performers. But the winner goes to the Lowell Real Estate Market.

The Lowell Real Estate market has the lowest months of inventory on the market but also saw the smallest change year over year. 

For more information about Boston real estate, buying, or selling a home, contact Chubb Realty with any questions you may have.