ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
The most expensive Lynn home on the market is at 206 Judge Road and is listed at $699,000.
BY THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — First quarter homes sales in Lynn surged by more than a third as an early spring attracted buyers and pushed prices up, according to The Warren Group.
The number of single-family homes sold from January through March in the city swelled to 121, up from 90 for the same period a year ago, a 34 percent hike.
As sales rose, so did prices. The median price for a single-family dwelling climbed by 7 percent to $260,000 in the first quarter. One year ago, the median was $244,000.
“There’s clearly a lack of inventory, a demand that’s not being met and people are fighting over the few existing homes on the market,” said Stephen Martel, broker-owner of Stephen Martel Real Estate in Lynn. “I’m seeing bidding wars.”
As of Wednesday, there were just 38 single-family homes listed for sale in Lynn from $159,000 to $699,000 on the MLS Property Information Network.
Among North Shore communities, only Revere and Saugus did better. In Saugus, 60 homes sold in the first quarter. That’s up from 42 from January through March of last year, a 43 percent increase. Saugus prices also rose. The median reached $353,750 in 2016, up from $323,339, a 9 percent hike.
Revere home sales increased 37 percent to 41 in the first quarter, up from 30 a year ago. Prices also jumped. Single-family median prices escalated to $350,000 from $266,500 for the same period in 2015, a 31 percent rise.
Peabody home sales and prices also saw increases. There were 62 single-family homes sold in the first quarter compared to 55 last year, a 13 percent increase. Prices were up by 10 percent to $379,950 from $345,000 a year ago.
In Marblehead, there was a modest, 5 percent increase in home sales to 39, up from 37 last year. But median prices soared by 17 percent to $637,500 in the first quarter from $545,000 one year ago.
But not all North Shore towns did well for sellers.
In Swampscott, sales fell by 15 percent and median prices were down by 10 percent. Nahant single-family sales dipped by 25 percent and prices were off by 20 percent.
In Lynnfield, sales were off by nearly 30 percent, but prices continued to rise as the median price for a single-family home swelled to $541,050, a 12 percent hike.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.