Boston Pending Sales Rise 22% in 1st Quarter of 2012

On the heels of a story in the Boston Herald about Massachusetts pending home sales rising 40%, here are the numbers a little closer to home.  Overall, in the first quarter of 2012, Greater Boston pending sales* came in at 4734, compared to 3868 in Q1 2011 – a jump of 22%.

Following January’s increase of 16%, and February’s increase of 25%, March settled in at a 24% increase over 2011.

That’s some whopping Boston real estate market activity so far this year – and these stats have only confirmed what we’ve seen on the ground.  Open Houses and showings have been up, multiple offer situations have become more common, and closed sales are up.

There are a number of factors at play in the market right now that are driving sales in Boston:

• Historically low interest rates on top of signs of economic recovery have certainly helped get buyers off the fence
• The unseasonably nice weather through the winter has helped get buyers out looking early
• The tightening Boston rental market has led to it being less expensive to buy than rent in many cases

*Pending Sales are those homes which go Under Contract in a given time period (in other words, have an offer accepted).