Page 6 - BusinessWest January 24, 2022

6 JANUARY 24, 2022 FEATURE BusinessWest
Feeding Frenzy
There’s Still No End in Sight to Soaring Home Prices
“A $180,000 house going for $275,000 ... it can’t continue this way, or else the average homeowner won’t be able to afford a mortgage, and then the market will have to stabilize.” That’s a quote from a Realtor who spoke with BusinessWest last January about the low supply and high prices of homes in Western Mass. A year later, the situation has, simply put, not stabilized, with the region remaining an in-demand destination for remote workers and new housing stock still lagging. For potential buyers, it’s a situation that demands patience — and, again, hope for a correction down the road.
By Joseph Bednar
I
n her 25 years as a Realtor, Nancy Hamel has never seen anything like it.
Looking back at 174 houses sold in Amherst last year, 63 sold for more than $500,000, said Hamel, who is a top-producing agent with Jones
Group Realtors. “That’s crazy. For years, we just had a handful sell for over $500,000.”
She rattled off some actual examples: a home with an asking price of $410,000 going for $511,000. A $595,000 listing selling for $675,000. A $649,000 listing topping out at $740,000. “It could just be underpriced, or it could be it rang all the right bells.”
Mostly, though, it’s supply — and that’s an issue in residential real estate that has pushed home prices into the stratosphere.
“Supply has just been very strange,” said Amy Hamel, Nancy’s daughter and partner on her team at Jones — and someone who, unlike Nancy, focuses pri- marily on the buyers’ side. It can be hugely frustrating.
“Lack of inventory has played a role in people panicking to find suitable housing,” Amy continued. “More people are able to work remotely now because a lot of companies decided to do that long-term because it’s worked so well. They’re saying, ‘why have communal space when we’re doing the same amount
Cheryl Malandrinos says the pandemic changed how people look at how they work and where they live, sparking greater demand for homes in Western Mass.