678k, and the raise stopped in february

Through January, owning a house in Massachusetts came with a raise.

Not a big one. But a reliable one. Two to five percent a year, month after month.

That stopped in February. Nobody announced it.

The statewide median single-family price landed at $678,000 in June, according to The Warren Group. Down 1.4% from a year ago.

Four of the last five months have now come in flat or below where they stood a year earlier. Back in January the median was still running 4.7% ahead.

The raise didn't shrink. It went away.

Here is what that means if you own a single-family home in Massachusetts:

• Waiting has stopped paying you to wait
• Buyers can point at the trend and negotiate off it
• Pricing off last spring's comps is how homes sit

None of that is a crash. Condo prices still ticked up the same month.

It means the market went quiet. Quiet is the part sellers misread.

The one who reads a flat spring as information, not panic, is the one who still sells at the top of the range.