Berkshire 2nd Quarter 2024 Real Estate Market Watch

In the first two quarters of 2024, the volume of real estate sales rose 2 percent to over $296 million dollars including residential, condo, multifamily, land and commercial sales. The number of transactions rose by 3 percent, or an increase of 21 sales when compared to last year. Notably, the sales of single-family residential homes rose 5 percent, condos rose 1 percent and multifamily unit sales jumped 16 percent when compared to the same time last year, but land and commercial sales fell over 20 percent. Overall 2nd quarter sales are more consistent with pre-pandemic rates.

Residential Sales by City / Region

Overall, the residential market increased by 3 percent in the number of sales, despite a slight retraction in northern Berkshire from last year.  The dollar volume rose overall by 2 percent 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, and 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 number of sales and the volume transacted.  Overall, the market rose 8 percent in sales and 6 percent 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

The number of single-family home sales in the second quarter of 2024 rose by 5 percent over the previous year, from 477 single-family sales, up from 453.  North County sales dipped by 3 homes sold but rose 13 percent in dollar volume transacted. In the middle registry area, sales rose and dollar volume both rose by 4 percent.   In southern Berkshire, sales rose considerably, up 22 percent with 89 sales in the first two quarters, and rose by 5 percent 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 percent 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 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 time 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. Although parcels have sold in Central Berkshire, land values have fallen. It remains incredibly hard to build needed housing with current costs and codes. Even though this area has open space and expansion options which would not threaten our wonderful rural environment, we have citizens struggling to find any type of housing, including rental housing and a growing unhoused population. There is great need for 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, National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Chief Economist noted that the national commercial vacancy rate rose above 20 percent 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 percent over the last week from 6.89 percent. At 6.77 percent, with 20 percent down, a monthly mortgage payment on a home of $400,000 is $2,080; with 10 percent 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 percent.  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 percent more inventory. In contrast, the existing-home inventory in established neighborhoods in 2023 saw 40 percent fewer listings vis-à-vis 2019. That’s why lingering multiple offers have continued, and home prices keep setting new record highs.

Yun says, “Welcome news for buyers is that inventory is finally rising. There were 15 percent more listings nationwide 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 percent two years ago to a 3.3 percent rise in May, will help the Fed to move away from its high restrictive interest rate policy over time.”

Here is a link to the full 2024 Quarter 2 Market Watch report for the Berkshires, which provides graphical and historical context for real estate sale, including town-by-town listings.