text: Massachusetts home sales dip in July - report . BOSTON 1996-08-27 Home sales across Massachusetts were down 2.3 percent in July , compared to a month earlier , but up 21 percent for the year , according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors . The association said a total of 4,464 single-family homes were sold in July , compared to 4,570 in June . The average selling price , $ 206,464 , was up 10.6 percent over July 1995 . Condominium sales edged up 6.0 percent for July and 24.8 percent for the year , the group said , while prices for condos nudged up less than 1.0 percent to an average of $ 123,394 . In July , the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 8.25 percent , below June 's 8.32 percent but still higher than February 's 7.03 percent , the report noted . -- Boston bureau , 617-367-4106