From January 1st through February 28th, residential (single family) real estate sales transacted through the Berkshire County MLS decreased by 38 percent from last year, with the total number of transactions at only 124 sales this year countywide compared to 203 sales in 2022. This 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 percent from $89 million to $48 million countywide. This reflects a modestly falling median sale price, 6 percent 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. 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 sold year-to-date in 2022 to 19 this year – with a decrease from $8 million in sales down to $4.6 million so far this year.
In condominium sales, the number of units sold is down from 32 in 2022 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 properties.
Nationwide, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) chief economist Lawrence Yun said that, even with an improving interest rate environment and job gains, he still expects annual existing-home sales to drop 11.1 percent in 2023 to a total of 4.47 million units before jumping 17.7 percent 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 percent in 2023, to $380,100, before regaining positive traction of 3.1 percent in 2024, to $391,800. NAR estimates median new-home prices will increase by 1.3 percent in 2023, to $461,000, and increase by 2.8 percent in 2024, to $474,000, due to higher costs of land and construction materials.
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The Berkshire County Board of Realtors® is a thriving trade association for real estate professionals in the region. Only those who pledge themselves to a higher level of ethical business practice can elect to join the Board and can use the term REALTOR® and access the MLS. Currently there are over 500 REALTORS in Berkshire County, 750 business professionals and over 1 million nationwide. In addition, the Board also owns the Multiple Listing Service, Inc., to manage the property listings and cooperative marketplace.
