Page 9 - BusinessWest February 3, 2021

companies are going with mobile workers. I think the brick-and-mortar concept is going to take a hit, and we’ll see more people realizing they don’t have to live where they work.”
Zeamer agreed. “I think Western Mass. is really appealing to a lot of urban types of buyers,” she said, not- ing, as tourism boards and chambers of commerce have for generations, that this region offers an urbane, progres- sive mindset in many corners, plus the kinds of cultural and recreational ame- nities city dwellers appreciate, but in a quieter, morte scenic setting with myr- iad ways to enjoy the great outdoors.
And, as noted, there are more seek- ers of such homes right now than sell- ers. As an example, Lambert recalled one house she sold last fall. “It was a lovely house, not a crazy McMansion.
I had 50 showings in two days, and 15 offers — all over the asking price. From what I’m hearing from my teammates and fellow Realtors, it’s like that for everybody.”
Buying Time
While that makes for an exciting home-selling experience, it can be frustrating on the other side.
“There’s so much competition that people are struggling to secure a
“In Hampden County, the average days a house spends on the market is three .”
home,” Zeamer said. “And that’s keep- ing them from putting their own home on the market. It’s a great time to sell, but then you have to buy, and that part is very challenging right now.”
One of her colleagues at Jones recently got 18 offers on a property, some with cash in hand. “It’s hard to compete if there’s a cash offer in the mix. In urban areas, people are liqui- dating properties and have lots of cash in hand, and the prices here look pret- ty attractive compared to what they’re used to.”
Also suppressing supply is the
fact that some homeowners eyeing
a move simply don’t want people in their houses during the pandemic, so they’re delaying a move, Vital-Basile said. “I ask sellers, ‘what makes you comfortable? Do you want a one-time showing, an open house with three families at a time, and after that, I’ll go and clean everything?’ It depends on the client.” Meanwhile, it can be espe- cially tricky to sell a house with tenants if those tenants don’t want visitors due to COVID-19.
“Very rarely are you seeing open
Home Sales
Continued on page 40
FEATURE
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 9
BusinessWest