Page 32 - BusinessWest December 22, 2021

Year in Review
Continued from page 30
in the Pioneer Valley were up 29.2%, and median price was up 10.1%, from December 2019. And the trend has continued through 2021, with sales down slightly from 12 months earlier, but the median price up another 15%.
A few different factors have been in play. Since the start of the pandemic, especially since the advent of widespread remote work, families have been trying to escape urban areas, driving sales in Berkshire and Franklin counties, but also in more populous Hampden and Hampshire counties as well. Demand has outpaced supply, and home buyers aren’t putting their own houses on the market until they’ve got a new home nailed down.
Meanwhile, interest rates have been at historic lows, even creeping below 3%. “The rates are so low that a lot of people are realizing it’s much cheaper than renting,” Realtor Tanya Vitale-Basile told BusinessWest earlier this year, adding that sellers from the Boston area find they can get much more living space for their money in the Pioneer Valley.
In short, families spending much more time at home have decided they want a different one — and for many, it’s been tough to buy one.
Other Stories from 2021
There were many of them, including the death in May of serial entrepreneur and restau- rateur Andy Yee. What would have been his 60th birthday a few weeks later was one of the bigger parties of the year. It was a celebration of a life well-lived.
There was a loss of another kind in late
“In news that affects businesses of all kinds, 2021 will be a record-breaking year for data breaches. According to Identity Theft Resource Center research, the total number of data breaches through three quarters has already exceeded the total number of events in 2020 by 17%, with 1,291 breaches from January through September 2021 compared to 1,108 breaches in 2020.
November, when a four-alarm fire ravaged the Maple Center Shopping Plaza in Longmeadow, which left five businesses, which collectively employed 74 people, homeless. The commu- nity has rallied around the business owners and employees to help them recover.
In news that affects businesses of all kinds, 2021 will be a record-breaking year for data breaches. According to Identity Theft Resource Center research, the total number of data breach- es through three quarters has already exceeded the total number of events in 2020 by 17%, with 1,291 breaches from January through September 2021 compared to 1,108 breaches in 2020.
Ambitious proposals for east-west rail, con- necting Pittsfield and Boston along the southern half of the state and North Adams and Boston
up north, have gained steam, with MassDOT just last week convening stakeholders and launch- ing a study of the latter. Meanwhile, north-south service on the Amtrak Valley Flyer and Vermonter lines was restored over the summer after pan- demic cutbacks.
Plans by Carvana to build a large car-process-
”
ing facility in Southwick were scuttled over the summer when the company withdrew its propos- al hours before a public meeting where residents were expected to oppose it by a wide margin, mainly due to traffic concerns.
One ongoing story from 2021 is an apparent surge in entrepreneurship prompted by COVID and its many side effects. Indeed, the pandemic left many with the time and inclination to move on with their dreams of owning their own busi- nesses, and many of them seized the opportunity, with new ventures ranging from breweries to a Latino marketing agency to a wine-distribution business.
As for BusinessWest, it was a busy year, espe- cially when it came to events. Due to COVID, there were actually six this year, with two slated for late in 2020 rescheduled for this past Janu- ary. Live events returned with a raucous 40 Under Forty gala at the Log Cabin in September, fol- lowed by the Healthcare Heroes and Women of Impact celebrations in October and December, respectively. Nominations are open for these rec- ognition programs for 2022. u
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32 DECEMBER 22, 2021
YEAR IN REVIEW
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