Newton January Home Sales Drop 46 Percent

Although Massachusetts January home sales are at the highest level in five years, the Newton real estate market had a slow start to 2013.

Newton's home sales dropped by more than 46 percent in January 2013 compared to January 2012, according to statistics released by The Warren Group, the Boston-based real estate and banking information publishers for New England.

At the end of January 2013, Newton had a total of 22 single-family home sales, a drop from the 41 home sales recorded in January 2012.

Last month's single-family median sale price in Newton also dropped compared to what it was a year earlier. According to The Warren Group numbers, the January 2013 median sale price came in at $710,001 compared to $737,000 in January 2012, a more than 3.6 percent decrease.

January 2013 home sales in Massachusetts were up over January 2012 by 2,436 sales, The Warren Group reported. This is the highest January sales volume for single-family homes in the state since January 2007, when there were 2,953 transactions.

Massachusetts median single-family sale prices also rose by 6.8 percent in January, the report said. 

As for condominium sales, Massachusetts saw deals close on more than 1,000 condos last month, an 11 percent increase over January 2012. This is also the first January since January 2008 where condo sales topped 1,000, the press release said. 

Newton also saw condo sales increase in January 2013; 21 condos sold in January 2013 compared to 16 in January 2012, a 31 percent increase.

While Newton may have had a slow start to 2013, the city saw a 15 percent jump in home sales in 2012 compared to 2011, according to The Warren Group numbers.