Median listing prices for new builds in Massachusetts topped $1M in 2024
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The median listing price for new builds in Massachusetts topped $1 million last year.
Why it matters: New construction can help chip away at the state's shortage of housing stock, but it's not coming cheap to prospective homeowners.
The big picture: "As with everything in real estate, location is key," Realtor.com's Joel Berner tells Axios.
- New builds are cheaper than existing homes in Austin, Texas, where builders have cranked out more (relatively) affordable inventory.
- But the bulk of new construction in the Northeast is high-end, and there's less of it, Berner says.
The latest: The median listing price for a newly built home in January was $950,000, while the median listing price for existing homes dipped just below $700,000.
Zoom in: Median listing prices peaked for both types of homes last year — new builds in September with more than $1 million and existing builds in May at nearly $800,000.
- Fewer homes sold in 2024 compared to previous years, per data from the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.
- Multifamily homes are taking longer to sell, particularly with those with four-family units or more, per GBREB data.
Between the lines: Massachusetts officials unveiled a new plan last week to add 222,000 new housing units to address the state's housing crisis.
- Some of the state's recommendations are already in place, from the MBTA Communities Law making certain towns zone for multifamily housing near public transit stations to the new law permitting accessory dwelling units by right statewide.
Yes, but: The average Boston-area resident can't afford what's on the market in the meantime.
An analysis from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies suggests that the median home price in 2023 was 6.3 times the median income in Boston.