The following is the Weekly Activity Summary, as reported by the Boston Listing Information Network (LINK), for the week 9/23/2006 - 9/30/2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).

Number of new listings: 163 (251)
Number of price changes: 240 (195)
Number of properties back on the market: 25 (24)
Number of properties off-the-market: 89 (97)
Number of properties under agreement: 73 (80)
Number of properties sold: 93 (182)

Total number of properties currently on the market: 3,246 (3,237)

Slow week, for both new listings and also for number of properties sold. Keep in mind, properties showing up as “sold” this week went under agreement six weeks ago. I think there will be an uptick in sales, this fall, but nothing on the level of last September. Total number of properties stays steady, this week. Apparently, anyone thinking of selling this fall, has already listed their property for sale.

The following is the Weekly Activity Summary, as reported by the Boston Listing Information Network (LINK), for the week 9/16/2006 - 9/23/2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).

Number of new listings: 251 (267)
Number of price changes: 195 (204)
Number of properties back on the market: 24 (23)
Number of properties off-the-market: 97 (80)
Number of properties under agreement: 80 (51)
Number of properties sold: 182 (151)

Total number of properties currently on the market: 3,237 (3,158)

Number of properties going under agreement is still low, showing a lack of movement on the part of buyers. Most people looking to buy before the year is out will probably get more serious over the coming weeks, and most sellers will be faced with the decision: deal or no deal.

The following is the Weekly Activity Summary, as reported by the Boston Listing Information Network (LINK), for the week 9/9/2006 - 9/16/2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).

Number of new listings: 267 (244)
Number of price changes: 204 (231)
Number of properties back on the market: 23 (39)
Number of properties off-the-market: 80 (134)
Number of properties under agreement: 51 (68)
Number of properties sold: 151 (162)

Total number of properties currently on the market: 3,158 (3,006)

Prospective buyers were out in force this past week; whether or not they found sellers willing to negotiate, is another issue altogether. Number of under agreements went down.

We won’t know for sure the state of the market until September under agreements and October sales figures are in.

The median home price in Boston was unchanged in the past year at $390,000, but that stability masked wide swings in prices in the city’s 15 neighborhoods, according to a Boston Globe analysis of city-provided data.

Prices declined a sharp 17.5 percent, to $329,900, in the once-red-hot East Boston market, and fell more modestly in Jamaica Plain and some downtown neighborhoods. But three outer, more affordable neighborhoods — Mattapan, Charlestown, and Allston-Brighton — experienced large price increases.

In the city as a whole, the number of sales fell 7.5 percent.

Complete story: Shifts in Hub home prices were all over the map - By Kimberly Blanton, The Boston Globe

The following is the Weekly Activity Summary, as reported by the Boston Listing Information Network (LINK), for the week 9/2/2006 - 9/9/2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).

Number of new listings: 244 (57)
Number of price changes: 231 (91)
Number of properties back on the market: 39 (23)
Number of properties off-the-market: 134 (121)
Number of properties under agreement: 68 (56)
Number of properties sold: 162 (213)

Total number of properties currently on the market: 3,006 (2,942)

Large number of new listings and price changes as sellers prepare for the fall market. What remains to be seen is whether these sellers have priced their properties appropriately, and whether buyers are ready to buy, given the state of the market.

The following is the Weekly Activity Summary, as reported by the Boston Listing Information Network (LINK), for the week 8/26/2006 - 9/2/2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).

Number of new listings: 57 (97)
Number of price changes: 91 (140)
Number of properties back on the market: 23 (13)
Number of properties off-the-market: 121 (91)
Number of properties under agreement: 56 (77)
Number of properties sold: 213 (111)

Total number of properties currently on the market: 2,942 (3,041)

(For comparison, last year, for the week ending September 3, 2005, 166 properties were sold.)

The following is the Weekly Activity Summary, as reported by the Boston Listing Information Network (LINK), for the week 8/19/2006 - 8/26/2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).

Number of new listings: 97 (134)
Number of price changes: 140 (166)
Number of properties back on the market: 13 (11)
Number of properties withdrawn from the market: 91 (138)
Number of properties going under agreement: 77 (93)
Number of properties sold: 111 (125)

Total number of properties currently on the market: 3,041 (3,125)

Over 46% of homes currently on the market in the Boston metro area have had price reductions, as sellers take steps to deal with a slower real estate market and higher inventory levels, according to a new study by ZipRealty.

Inventory level has increased precipitiously, over the past year. There are currently over 45,000 homes and condos for sale in Greater Boston.

More information: Rising Inventories Weigh on Home Prices - The Wall Street Journal

From The Boston Business Journal:

Although most regions of the state saw single-family sales declines of 14 percent to 19 percent in the second quarter ending in June, Greater Boston’s decline was a relatively modest 4.6 percent, and the median price actually rose 0.6 percent. Condo sales in Greater Boston dropped 8 percent, and the median price declined 2.1 percent.

“Greater Boston” is undefined. It doesn’t include just the city of Boston - it includes Revere, Chelsea, and perhaps other cities, in the area.

Overall, Massachusetts saw a drop in sales, but only a slight drop in prices:

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts dropped nearly 11 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, and condominium sales dropped nearly 9 percent, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Prices, however, slipped only 1.3 percent for single-family homes and stayed flat for condos.

Single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 120 days before selling, compared to 95 days in 2005. The selling time for condos jumped to 112 days from 81 days. The reason: A growth of inventory of single-family homes and condos, to 63,433 from 49,931 last year.

Oddly, this happened:

Southeast Massachusetts saw a startling 23 percent increase in the median price for condos, along with a 27 percent rise in sales.

Source: Mass. home sales drop again, prices remain stable - The Boston Business Journal

From The Boston Globe:

Condominium sales for downtown Boston and adjacent neighborhoods such as the Back Bay and the South End fell 12 percent as the median selling price declined 4 percent to $454,500, according to a second-quarter sales summary issued yesterday (July 28, 2006) by Listing Information Network, or LINK.

LINK, which tracks sales in such neighborhoods as downtown, Charlestown, the Fenway, the North End, and South Boston, reported that the number of condos sold during the second quarter was 1,048, down from 1,196 a year ago. The second-quarter median selling price for all neighborhoods that Link tracks was $454,500, down from $475,000.

The condo market may get very crowded, in the near future.

Local real estate company Otis & Ahearn, working with Pam McKinney of Byrne McKinney & Associates, a real estate consulting firm, recently completed a market analysis that estimates that between 2004 and 2008, 3,979 condominiums will have been built in many Boston and East Cambridge neighborhoods; 60 percent have been purchased or reserved.

Source: Downtown condo sales drop 12% - By Chris Reidy, The Boston Globe