By popular request, rather than just the monthly reports, we have created our traditional historical market watch report that breaks sales down to the town level and shows the historical comparisons for the market we are in today.  As you know, 2020 could only be described as WOW. Here is the full 2020 Berkshire Market Watch Historical Review (pdf).  The total number of transactions topped 2,334, up from 1,934.  This is an all-time high since we have been tracking sales.  With a total market volume of $794 million dollars transacted in 2020 (compared to $511 million in 2019), real estate was a vital part of stabilizing the Berkshire economy while other sectors faltered during this unprecedented time.

For those interested NAR will also be hosting a Real Estate Forecast Summit: Commercial Update event on March 10, 2021, which will provide an outlook on the changing commercial real estate market. Register (If you missed the Residential Update offered in December, here are some details and a link to the residential update recording)

A group of more than 20 leading economic and housing experts, including National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, participated in a consensus economic and real estate forecast that projects GDP growth of 3.5% and an annual unemployment rate of 6.2% in 2021. Housing prices are expected to climb 8% next year and 5.5% in 2022, with 30-year fixed mortgage rates of 3.0% and 3.25% for 2021 and 2022, respectively. The group said remote work will continue to be a factor in real estate markets but that the share of Americans working from home will decline post-pandemic, from 21% this year to 18% in 2021 and 12% in 2022.