For the majority of cities and towns in Massachusetts, home sales have hit a 20 year low, with July home sales falling 26% over the past year.  Here is a list of the 10 Massachusetts towns that have stomped on these statistics and weathered the economic storm.

(Percentages represent increase in sales compared with July 2009)

Cohasset- 130%

Norwood- 117%

Chatham- 100%

Bedford- 78%

Dennis- 41%

Easton- 27%

Brookline- 20%

Melrose- 20%

Hingham- 18%

Marblehead- 18%

Not only did Brookline real estate experience a 20% increase in sales, but this small city also saw an increase in median home prices by 14.5%.  Experts attribute Brookline’s success to its many shops and accessible public transportation. Boston’s young professionals and recent college grads also help make this area recession-proof.

Check out Warren Residential’s online listings of Brookline apartments and condos. You can also view the full article here.

With only 7,464 condos being sold so far in 2009 compared to 9,838 in 2008, volume is down dramatically.  According to the Warren Group, it was the weakest first two quarters of a year since 1995.

My Thoughts:  Due to the tax credit there are a lot of first time home buyer’s out there right now picking up the less expensive units. The Jumbo mortgage market is still holding down sales of higher priced properties thus bringing down the median price point.  I think once this loosens up we will begin to see a rise in the median.