Please check the MLS system to make sure all your sales are reported correctly, that your pending listings are marked and the data is accurate. We’ll be preparing our monthly interim report for publishing in next week’s REcap. Based on the reporting so far as of March 2nd, here is a market update:
From January 1st through February 28th, residential (single family) real estate sales transacted through the Berkshire County MLS are down 38% in the total number of transactions from 203 sales during the first two months of 2022 compared to only 124 sales this year so far countywide. That decrease is seen equally in all parts of the county.
The total dollar volume transacted as of this publication date also fell when compared to last year, down 46% from $89 million to $48 million countywide. This reflects a modestly falling median sale price, 6% down from $299,000 last year to $280,000 this year-to-date.
The multifamily market is also seeing large decreases in the number of sales compared to the same time last year, with the greatest decreases in the middle registry area. Since this includes Pittsfield sales, this tracks with the sharp decline in multi-family homes currently on the market, but especially in middle Berkshire. With only 36 multifamily properties and 34 condos units on the market countywide, inventory issues are affecting sales rates in all dwelling property types, not just single-family residential homes. Multifamily sales dropped from 37 units year to date in 2022 compared to 19 this year – with a decrease from $8 million in sales down to $4.6 million.
In condominium sales, the decrease in the number of units sold is down from 32 to 18 so far this year but sold dollar volume of condo sales is only down slightly, from $10.5 million to $9 million this year, with an average sale price jumping from $292,500 to $477,500.
Currently there are 688 active listings on the market countywide, and currently they are divided in the following classifications
Current Inventory March 2023:
• 203 Single family residential homes for sale
• 36 Multifamily units for sale
• 275 Land parcels for sale
• 87 Commercial Buildings for sale
• 34 Condos for sale
• 53 Commercial Lease/Business
Nationwide, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) chief economist Lawrence Yun said that with an improving interest rate environment and job gains, Yun still expects annual existing-home sales to drop 11.1% in 2023 to a total of 4.47 million units before jumping 17.7% in 2024 (5.26 million units).
NAR also predicts median existing-home prices will be stable compared to the previous year for most markets — with the national median home price decreasing by 1.6% in 2023, to $380,100, before regaining positive traction of 3.1% in 2024, to $391,800. NAR estimates median new-home prices will increase by 1.3% in 2023, to $461,000, and increase by 2.8% in 2024, to $474,000, due to higher costs of land and construction materials.
Thank you!