Page 6 - BusinessWest February 3, 2021

In Demand
As Families Eye Western Mass., Home Prices Soar
TBy Joseph Bednar
anya Vital-Basile recently sold a house in Longmeadow to some- one who might not have considered buying it a year ago.
But life changed — and so did the residential real-estate market. Consid- erably, in both cases.
Specifically, the buyer had lived in Boston for many years, and still has a job there, but she has been working remotely, and plans — like so many others these days — to continue doing so.
“She was paying $2,900 a month to rent in Boston, and here, she’s paying a $2,000 mortgage, and owning it. We’ve seen a lot of people moving out of Boston just because they don’t need to be out there anymore.”
“She was paying $2,900 a month
to rent in Boston, and here, she’s pay- ing a $2,000 mortgage, and owning it,” said Vital-Basile, who heads a team at Executive Real Estate. “We’ve seen a lot of people moving out of Boston just because they don’t need to be out there anymore.”
It’s a story BusinessWest heard mul- tiple times from area Realtors.
“It’s not unlike what we saw after 9/11 — a migration from the city to smaller towns and villages, a more rural environment,” said Kathy Zeamer of Jones Realty. “A lot of people today are looking for a place that gives them a little more space, private outdoor areas, home-office space, a place for their kids to do their schooling from home.”
Call it the new normal wrought by a still-raging pandemic.
“COVID has a lot to do with it,” said Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty.
Tanya Vital- Basile with a common sight — a ‘sold’ sign.
6 FEBRUARY 3, 2021
FEATURE
BusinessWest