Here is a link to the full 2024 Quarter 2 Market Watch report for the Berkshires. For a quick bite of what you should know about the market At-A-Glance: 2nd Qtr Residential Sales
? Are sales up or down? UP 3% with 741 sales YTD 2024 compared to 720 in 2nd Qtr of 2023 The # number of residential homes sold are up by 5.3% compared to same time last year. South county saw largest increase, up 22%; middle Berkshire up 4.3% and north Berkshire down slightly with 3 less sales.
? Is dollar volume up or down? UP Residential sales rose to $296 million transacted YTD 2024 compared to $290 in 2nd Qtr of 2023. The $ dollar volume of residential sales is up in all regions, by 6%, with the largest increase in northern Berkshire of 13%. Overall sales rose 2% including all property types.
? Are pending transactions up or down? DOWN in June with 96 pending compared to 127 last year. The hottest residential market countywide is in the $250,000-$400,000 price range for pending sales.
? Is inventory up or down? UP On average there were 307 properties active in MLS this year, compared 286 last with an overall absorption rate of 3 months instead of 2, it’s still very, very low.
? Are prices up or down? UP. Countywide average in of residential homes is now $445,449, compared to 42,681 last year in the first two quarters. Average sales prices are up 1% overall with north county reporting double digit gains.
? Are residential ‘days on market’ up or down? DOWN in June, but UP overall. DOMs are up by 18% overall, increasing from 98 days on the market on average last year to 116 this year so far.
In Summary:
In the first two quarters of 2024, the volume of real estate sales rose to over $296 million dollars including residential, condo, multifamily, land and commercial sales. The number of transactions rose by 3%, or an increase of 21 sales when compared to last year. Notably, the sales of single-family residential homes rose 5%, condos rose 1% and multifamily unit sales jumped 16% when compared to the same time last year, but land and commercial sales fell over 20%. Overall 2nd quarter sales are more consistent with pre-pandemic rates.
A lack of available inventory remains a significant issue in the residential home market, especially in workforce housing price ranges. This is reflected in a slightly improved but still considerably lower historic inventory level.
Residential Sales by City / Region
Overall, the residential market increased by 3% in the number of sales, despite a slight retraction in northern Berkshire from last year. The dollar volume rose overall by 2% with increases in middle Berkshire but decreases in North and South. Sales purchase prices continue to rise.
Adams and Williamstown sales slowed considerably over the previous year during January-June. Cheshire, Florida, Lanesborough rand North Adams reported strong sales over the previous year
In the middle registry area, Richmond and Stockbridge were the only communities where sales slowed considerably over the previous year, but Becket did note falling sales prices. The rest of the region had strong sales both in # of sales and the volume transacted. Overall, the market rose 8% in sales and 6% in volume.
Becket, Mount Washington, New Marlboro, Sandisfield and Sheffield saw slowing sales, while the rest of south county towns residential sales improved from last year. The Egremont, Great Barrington, Monterey, Tryingham and West Stockbridge market was on fire!
Residential Report
Overall, the number of home sales in the second quarter of 2024 rose by 5% over the previous year, from 477 single-family sales, up from 453. North County sales dipped by 3 homes sold, but rose 13% in dollar volume transacted. In the middle registry area, sales rose and dollar volume both rose by 4% . In southern Berkshire, sales rose considerably, up 22% with 89 sales in the first two quarters, and rose by 5% in the dollar volume. Notably, average sales prices rose significantly in northern Berkshire, remained level in middle of the county and fell in south.
Condo Report
Condominium sales fell in northern and southern Berkshire County, but increased considerably in middle Berkshire. Condo dollar volume countywide rose 2% to over $35 million in sales, the highest on record. You can note year after year appreciation in the condo prices, except during covid, and especially as single-family residential inventory gets tighter, condo sales pick up. The attraction of condominium living is also at an all-time high in the Berkshires, which also helps fuel this growth. Lack of inventory remains the challenge.
Multifamily Report
In the first two quarters of 2024, multifamily sales are booming in all parts of the county. Each region is reporting double-digit gains in the number of sales and dollar volume transacted. South county did see a drop in unit prices transacted. Despite the upswing in the multifamily market of between 1-5 units, the average sale price did not rise at all from the rate last year at the same timed due to South County’s lowered price points.
Land Report
We were hopeful that first quarter land sales would rebound with warmer weather, but they have continued to stall in Northern and Southern Berkshire with a book of parcels sold in central Berkshire, but falling land values. It remains incredibly hard to build needed housing with current costs and codes. As an area with a lot of open space and expansion options while maintaining our wonderful rural footprint, we have citizens struggling for any time of housing, including rental housing and a growing unhoused population. There has to be wide legislative action to incentivize smart growth and development while maintaining the Berkshires character.
Commercial Report
Despite a commercial market heavily impacted by work-from-home and business closures, commercial sales rose in 2021, dipped in 2022 and regained momentum in 2023. The first 2 quarters of 2024 reflects slowing sales countywide, with minimal activity in the northern and southern Berkshire areas. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist noted that the national commercial vacancy rate rose above 20% in the first quarter as well. Please note not all REALTOR assisted commercial sales are included in this data, only those on the open market are included in this data.
Real Estate Market Mid-year Forecast 2024
Jessica Lautz, Deputy Chief Economist and VP of NAR research shared that in July, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate from Freddie Mac fell further to 6.77% over the last week from 6.89%. At 6.77%, with 20% down, a monthly mortgage payment on a home of $400,000 is $2,080; with 10% down, it is $2,340.
- Positive: This is the lowest mortgage rate reported since March 14. This is the biggest weekly drop in basis points since May. This helps home buyers with one part of the housing affordability equation.
- Negative: Lower rates are good news for first-time buyers, but may not be enough to move potential sellers who love their low rates. While mortgage applications are up, is it enough to get the housing market out of second gear?
Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors® chief economist says the new normal for mortgage rates will be around 6%.
While real estate brokers and agents face the lowest level of home sales in nearly 30 years, home builders recently recorded their best performance since the Great Recession of 2008. Compared to 2019, home builders in 2023 had 40% more inventory. In contrast, the existing-home inventory in established neighborhoods in 2023 saw 40% fewer listings vis-à-vis 2019. That’s why lingering multiple offers have continued and home prices keep setting new record highs.
Welcoming news for buyers is that inventory is finally rising. There were 15% more listings this spring than a year ago. But home sales have not increased—at least not yet. Stubbornly higher mortgage rates have hindered affordability.
Calming consumer price inflation, from the cyclical peak of 9% two years ago to a 3.3% rise in May, will help the Fed to move away from its high restrictive interest rate policy over time.
To better assure that the incoming supply of homes is for owner occupants, some states are considering policies to push back against Wall Street–funded institutional investors. An excise tax or non-deductibility of interest expense is being considered for big players—say those buying 200 or more single-family rental properties.
Not everyone can or desires to own a home. But the country should abhor the prospect of transitioning to a renter nation. A majority renter society leads to bad policies, such as rent control. Some extreme activists seek no-eviction policies, even in scenarios where rents are not being paid. A better policy for those in need is a rental subsidy—just as hunger is best addressed with food stamps, not food price controls. One has only to look to Venezuela, where similar policies have contributed to an ongoing economic crisis.
2024 Quarter 1 Report | 2024 Quarter 2 Report
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