October Market Watch; Sales up, up, up. Inventory down, down, down.

Residential Sales: Berkshire County MA as of October 2020:  Active residential homes available for sale on the market in October continued to drop countywide, with a 51% decrease in inventory over the same time last year.  Median listing prices continue to rise, and year-to-date we have seen a 16.7% rise in the selling prices of residential homes in Berkshire County, now up to $261,128. We are going into November with greater pending sales compared to the same time last year, with 203 residential single-family homes currently under contract. Our sales volume is through the roof at $137.7 million and our closed sales in October jumped 40% over the same period last year. Year-to-date sales are up overall 12% countywide for the total number of residential sales transacted and up 42% in the dollar volume transacted. Year-to-date, $465 million worth of residential home sales were reported in the Berkshire MLS. Residential October 2020 Market Watch Report  |  Condo October 2020 Market Watch Report

Northern Berkshire

Much like the rest of the county and the state, northern Berkshire continues to struggle with the inventory of homes for sale to meet buyer demand. Inventory of single-family homes dropped 62% over the same period last year with only 63 homes currently offered for sale in the northern Berkshire market. That represents only two months of inventory, which is a significant sellers market. In Berkshire County, typically a balanced market is between seven and nine months of inventory. Compared to last year sales were robust, up 41% with 41 home sales in October alone and a year-to-date total of 200 homes sold in Northern Berkshire, up 18% compared to last year at this time. The closed sales volume continued to rise as well, with $11 million transacted in October 2020 and $67 million in Northern Berkshire year-to-date, an increase of 36%. Median sales prices continue to rise up 13% over last year to $192,144. New pending sales are up slightly going into November and pending sales volume and median pending prices are continuing to rise to reflect the pressure on inventory. There are currently 79 homes under contract, anticipating brisk November sales. Northern Berkshire Report: October 2020

Central Berkshire

Central Berkshire sales were strong and exceeded last year‘s pace, yet inventory of available homes for sale continues to plague this market place. With less than two months of inventory and only 127 homes currently on the market, there is far greater buyer demand than available homes to sell. Central Berkshire residential sales in October were up 14% with $25 million transacted, which is a 12% increase over last year. Year-to-date, there was $153 million residential sales volume transacted in the Central Berkshire market. The number of sales that have closed year-to-date has decreased by approximately 5%, because of the lack of inventory. Median sales prices continue to rise, up 15% over last year to $219,147. Going in to November, we have 168 residential homes currently under contract which is an increase of 38% over the same period last year. The pending sales bode well for November, but without an infusion of new listings, this market may continue to retract.  Central Berkshire Report: October 2020

South Berkshire

Much like the rest of the county, southern Berkshire’s inventory of homes is lower than ever previously recorded. In the residential market, southern Berkshire now has just two months of inventory, in start contrast to last year when there was eight months of inventory – and prior years with double digit inventory levels. Active listing volume is considerably lower having over 200 less homes on the market today, compared to the same period at the end of October 2019. October was a robust sales month in the residential market in Southern Berkshire, with 82 homes sold, up 49% from the same period last year. The closed sales volume jumped to almost $45 million, up from $20 million dollars in sales last year. These market dynamics have driven the year-to-date median sales price up 16% to $383,343. Going into November, pending sales are up 86% with 115 homes currently under contract in the southern Berkshire market. Those  sales reflect $71 million currently under agreement. Southern Berkshire Report: October 2020