Worcester Area Real Estate on the Up Trend

Are you confused about the trend in Real Estate values here in Massachusetts?  Earlier this week the Boston Globe reported that the Warren Group reported another monthly drop(of 8%) in the median price of a home sold in Massachusetts.  They also reported that the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported that median home prices are above $300,000 for the first time since August 2008.  The article goes on to conclude that the year over year drops are decreasing and that this signals some hope that prices in the real estate market are beginning to level off.

I have a background in financial analysis so these reports are always interesting because I know that the numbers can tell many stories.  As mentioned in the article both the Warren Group and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors use different methods to track their data but for the most part you would think that they would be close at least at the state level.

I decided to do a small analysis of Worcester area specific data that I got off of Zillow.com.  Zillow is a real estate website that may be more famous for spying on your neighbors to see how much their house is worth but if you are in the market to buy or sell real estate it is a great tool.  The year to year information currently in Zillow is through May.  The reports discussed above were through June and June activity is usually pretty heavy so I will update this information when that comes out.

I looked at Worcester and the towns that surround it and listed the Zestimate (as Zillow calls the estimated price of a home in that city or town) and the percentage drop from last year.  Here is the list:

• Worcester $176,400 Down 12.1%
• Holden $224,700 Down 13.4%
• West Boylston $215,900 Down 13.2%
• Boylston $269,500 Down 11.2%
• Shrewsbury $290,400 Down 7.4%
• Grafton $255,700 Down 13.0%
• Millbury $208,800 Down 13.5%
• Auburn $195,300 Down 13.6%
• Leicester $197,600 Down 13.0%
• Paxton $242,400 Down 11.3%

As scary as these numbers look the good news is that the graphs for each of these areas including Worcester are on an up trend.  If this can continue we will begin the long road to making up some of the value that was lost in our homes.  Of note, is Shrewsbury which was the only one who dropped less than double digits.  It is debatable whether we will get back to the highs that we got used to but at least we won’t be in a downward freefall.

If you don’t see your town on this list or want to look at the details visit Zillow.com.

UPDATE 8-19-09

As promised I have added Zillow’s updated information through June 30th.  There wasn’t a significant difference in the message thought the Zestimates did drop ever so slightly.  The year over year percentage drops also improved slightly but are less relevant to me than the Zestimates which you can compare to the previous month.  The numbers probably will not improve until we get employment improving in Central Mass.

• Worcester $175,400 Down 11.5%
• Holden $223,400 Down 11.5%
• West Boylston $214,700 Down 11.6%
• Boylston $268,500 Down 9.8%
• Shrewsbury $290,000 Down 6.5%
• Grafton $253,900 Down 12.2%
• Millbury $207,600 Down 11.6%
• Auburn $194,000 Down 12.2%
• Leicester $196,300 Down 12.5%
• Paxton $241,400 Down 11.0%