The median sales price of single-family homes in Franklin County has increased more than 40 percent in the first two months of 2021, compared to the same time period last year.
In the first two months of 2021, the median sales price for single-family homes was roughly $275,000, compared to last year’s median sales price of $192,000 for the same time period, according to the February market update provided by Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
Sara Lyman, owner of Athol’s Hometown Realtors, said single family homes in Athol are also in demand.
“In 2020, even before COVID hit,” she said, “we were seeing a record number of homes hitting the market for that time of year, in January and February. When COVID hit, we did shut down for a little bit due to state mandates, but 2020 ended up being an extremely strong year.
“We saw our average days on market from the North Quabbin go from about two to three weeks down to about a week and half or two weeks last year. The average time on market right now is anywhere from four to five business days, and a house is typically under deposit with multiple offers.”
Lyman said in January of 2020 there were just under 10,000 units for sale statewide, compared to 3,300 this January.
As of this past weekend, according to Lyman, there were only four homes on the market in Athol.
“We have one for $37,000, which is a foreclosure,” she told the Athol Daily News Monday morning. “We have a small house near the hospital for $209,000, which I actually have listed, and we have five offers on it currently, and we’ll be making a decision on it tomorrow morning.
“Then it jumps right up to an investment farm for $899,000, or a very unique property with 222 acres for $1.5 million.
“There literally is no inventory at all in Athol. After my property goes under deposit tomorrow, there will be no habitable homes for sale in Athol on the market tomorrow.”
Lyman explained that while there are currently only four homes currently for sale in Athol, there are 35 pending sales.
“Those are houses which have already gone under deposit,” she said.
Lyman said she believes that people coming from cities or highly populated areas are driving the market in areas like Athol. COVID-19, she speculated, has some people considering the need for a home that will accommodate an in-home office or an in-home classroom.
In the first three months of last year, 29 single family homes were sold in Athol. This year the number of homes sold in the first quarter stood at 38, according to Lyman.
Overall, she said, housing prices in North Quabbin are up between 25 and 28 percent over this same period last year.
The median sales price of a home in Athol, she said, is currently running between $210,000 and $225,000.
In Greenfield, although there were slightly fewer sales in the first two months of this year compared to last year, the median sales price increased 8 percent — from $192,000 to $208,000.
“Mostly, it’s lack of inventory,” said Laura Sandvick, who works with Delap Real Estate, which serves Franklin County and much of Western Massachusetts. “There has been a lack of inventory the past few years and now, with the pandemic, so many people are trying to move here.”
In fact, Corinne Fitzgerald, of Fitzgerald Real Estate in Greenfield, said inventory is down about 65 percent across the Pioneer Valley.
“We went from 1,117 (properties) in February 2020, to 386 (in February 2021) in all three counties,” she said. “We typically see more than that in just Franklin County.”
“Typical,” she clarified, refers to a time before the major housing shortage, when the market was more balanced.
“The low inventory continues to get lower and lower,” she said, noting that was a trend before it was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re seeing people coming from out of the area, some people coming in from the cities — more so now since the pandemic — so we have that adding to the competition for people locally,” she said.
She also said interest rates are still at “record lows.”
“With lower interest rates, people are able to afford higher prices,” she said. “That also helps the fact the higher-end home sales are active.”
As was the case last year, houses are receiving multiple offers, according to Sandvik. This week, Sandvik said she put offers in on two houses — one for a house in Montague that received nine offers.
“It’s very, very hard for buyers now,” she said.
Sandvik said there are several reasons people are interested in moving to the area.
“A lot of people have family here or kids who are going to college, or they just want to get away from cities because it’s too crazy,” she said. “They want to be in a place that it’s safe in case they have to socially distance again.”
She noted that one of the biggest group of home buyers are of millennial generation.
In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, older millennials make up 23 percent of buyers. The “Gen X-ers” are the next biggest share of buyers, making up 24 percent of the market.
“I was really surprised,” she said. “I have a lot of millennial homebuyers. I would have thought it would be older people, with deeper pockets.”
Sandvic said the competitive market has resulted in people bidding well over the asking price and often putting in cash overs.
“If you pay cash … no bank has to agree with you on the price — you don’t have to have the house appraised — but if you get a bank loan, the appraiser has to agree that the bank should make this investment,” she said. “There’s no risk with taking a cash offer.”
Jennifer Gross, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Community Realtors, said she believes that the inventory is going to remain low until the new housing market opens up.
“I believe that until we see a significant amount of new construction, our inventory is going to remain challenging,” she said. “Right now, we’re dealing with very high construction costs.”
Gross said with the exception of a few local projects, “very little” has happened lately in terms of adding small subdivisions in Franklin County.
“I think … builders who were considering possibly new construction or new construction projects are being faced with a spike in building costs,” she said.
Still, the need for legislation that supports housing growth is “very important,” Fitzgerald said.
“We need all different levels of housing,” she said, from affordable and entry-level housing, to move-up housing or downsizing. “With the cost of new construction, it’s really hard, I think, to be able to make the numbers work where we live.”
Athol Daily News reporter Greg Vine contributed to this story. He can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne