Absorption Rates February 2009

The inventory of single family homes for sale in Franklin, MA remained relatively unchanged at 6.6 months in February 2009 compared to February 2008’s 6.4 months of inventory.

This essentially “status quo” statistic for Franklin, MA real estate does mask a guardedly positive trend in Franklin towards fewer single family homes actively for sale. The number of Franklin homes for sale in February 2009 fell 15% compared to February 2008 (108 active listings in 2/09 compared to 127 active listings in 2/08).

The number of months of inventory in Franklin remained the same, however, because the pace of single family sales in Franklin has slowed in recent months.

However, I have noticed a marked pick-up in buyer showing activity since early January and houses in Franklin are selling, so Franklin real estate sales volume may soon trend upwards.

The good news regarding the regional Franklin market and the overall Massachusetts real estate market is that they both shed significant single family inventory in February 2009 compared to year ago levels.

The Franklin regional market absorbed one full month’s of inventory in February 2009 (8.4 months of single family inventory compared to 9.4 months in February 2008).
And in the overall MA market, the improved rate of absorption was even greater (there were 7.7 months of single family inventory on MA’s MLSPIN multiple listing system in February 2009 compared to the nearly 9 months of inventory one year ago).

That these broader Massachusetts markets were reducing single family home inventory in February 2009 would seem to signal a degree of housing muscle for the upcoming spring selling season.

Condominium supply in Franklin, MA ballooned in February 2009 compared to the levels seen in February 2008.

This is a misleading statistic because there are so many new condominium projects in Franklin. The supply of new construction condominiums in Franklin is elevating the number of months of condominium inventory in town.

Condominium absorption rates in both in the Franklin regional market and the overall Massachusetts market (as reported by MLSPIN, the predominate MLS system in the state) improved in February 2009 compared to last year’s levels.

The performance in the statewide condo market paints the best picture. The 8.8 months of condo inventory in the overall MLSPIN system for February 2009 represents a 12% decrease in inventory compared to 10 months of condo inventory in February of the prior year.

A marked reduction in standing housing inventory is the first step in stabilizing a market. If the reduction of condo inventory were to continue into the upcoming Spring 2009 selling season, it would be a very welcome development!

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