Page 7 - BusinessWest February 3, 2021

Kathy Zeamer says the current climate is a supply-and- demand issue — with several factors driving that demand.
but what we actually want is a music room, a study, a home office.’”
All this demand — for a different home, but espe- cially one far outside the metro areas — has created a serious imbalance with sup- ply in Western Mass., creat- ing a seller’s market like few this industry has experi- enced in recent decades.
“In Hampden County, the average days a house spends on the market is three. It’s crazy,” Vital-Basile said.
The most recent statistics from the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley bear this out. In December, home sales
in the Pioneer Valley were up 29.2%, and median price was up 10.1%, from Decem- ber 2019. Hampden County led the way (sales up 32.0% and median price up 11.5% from the previous year),
but Franklin County (26% and 10.6%) and Hampshire County (20.4% and 9.1%) weren’t far behind.
“It’s definitely a seller’s market, Zeamer said. “It’s all about supply and demand. The inventory is really low, and we have new people coming into the area, so we don’t have enough inventory to meet the demand we’re seeing.”
A few factors play into the supply challenge. Many families who might be thinking about moving out of the region are hunkering down instead because of uncertainties related to the
“
9/11 — a migration from the city to smaller towns and villages, a more rural environment. 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.”
pandemic. Meanwhile, home buyers aren’t put- ting their own houses on the market until they’ve got a new home nailed down.
As for demand, “I think people are trying to escape more urban areas,” she added. “We have people coming in from other parts of Massachu- setts, including the Boston area. Most of my sales this year involve people from New York, Cali- fornia, Las Vegas, Chicago — more so than ever before. I’ve had several New York sales this year, which is more than I would typically see.”
It’s not unlike what we saw after
“People are working from home, and they’re real- izing their home doesn’t work for their life. I’ve spoken to so many clients who want to continue working from home, even once all this clears, and they’re looking at their space and saying,
‘we thought we wanted a big, open floor plan,
NOW OPEN
THE ALL-NEW
BALISE MAZDA
733 East Columbus Avenue Springfield, MA 01105
FEEL ALIVE®
FEATURE
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 7
BusinessWest