Realty, building see gains in April

HYANNIS – Housing inventory remained tight and median sale price was up considerably in April compared with the same time last year, according to preliminary statistics released Tuesday by the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors.

At the same time, the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod reported an increase in permits for new construction and rebuilds for the first four months of this year, compared with a year ago.

Those numbers probably don't surprise Mary Miller, chief residential lending officer for the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, who said she has seen a surge in mortgage and construction loan business this spring.

“The purchase market is crazy busy,” she said. “And, at the moment, we have $30 million in active residential construction loans. Last year, we had about $15 million.”

The Realtors association derived its home sale figures from the Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service for Barnstable County.

A total of 308 homes sold in April – 234 single family homes and 74 condominiums – compared with April 2014 when 352 homes – 285 single family homes and 67 condos – sold.

The median sale price for a single family home was $360,000, up $35,000 from this time last year when the median was $325,000.

The April 2015 median for a condo was $289,500, compared with $265,000 last year.

Year-to-date, 870 single family homes have sold for a median price of $360,000 and 225 condos have sold for a median price of $277,000. That compares with the same period last year when 888 single family homes sold for a median price of $346,000 and 208 condos sold for a median of $244,500.

Although inventory of homes for sale continues to be “extremely low,” that’s starting to change, according to Realtors association President Aleta Azarian.

“We’re seeing new listings rise year over year and inventory – albeit, slowly – come to the market,” she said. “And, at times, that new inventory is not lasting long.”

At the end of April, 2,636 single family homes and 601 condos were posted for sale with the Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service. That's down sharply from April 2014, when 3,403 single family homes and 803 condos were listed as active.

According to the home builders association, 153 building permits for new Cape construction were pulled from Jan. 1 through the end of April this year, a 5.5 percent increase over the same time last year.

There also was an increase in permits for rebuilds, which involve a total teardown and rebuild on the same footprint – 16 for January through April compared with nine last year over the same period.

The total value of 2015 rebuilding permits to date was $12,061,200, up 346 percent from last year. Home builders association Executive Director Christine Duren explained that four of the 16 permits – two in Barnstable and two in Falmouth – were valued between $1.5 million and $2.7 million, representing at least $8 million of the over $9 million increase.

“We’re not talking about huge numbers, but you can see a trend in teardowns and rebuilds,” she said.

—Follow Lorelei Stevens on Twitter: @CCTLorelei.