SPRINGFIELD — Sales of single-family homes across the Pioneer Valley were up 29% in December to 641, compared with 496 a year earlier in December 2019.
Sales of all residential properties were up 22.3% once condominium sales were factored in, according to statistics released by the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley.
But stats for the whole of 2020 show that sales were roughly unchanged from 2019. There were 6,037 single-family home closings in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties in 2019 and 6,100 in 2020. That’s an increase of 1%.
Condominium sales fell 13% from 2019 to 2020: 894 to 776.
The problem isn’t the economy or a lack of buyers, given that mortgage interest rates are low at an average of 2.68% compared with 3.72% a year ago, said Lou Mayo, technology director for Real Living.
“Not enough inventory, that’s what’s going on,” he said.
To illustrate the point, he said there were 282 single-family homes on the market in the Pioneer Valley on Dec. 31. On that same date a year earlier in 2019, there were 578 for sale. On the same date in 2018, there were 911.
“It’s been a steady decline,” he said.
Sale prices have risen. For single-family homes they are up 10.1% from an average of $232,750 in December 2019 to $256,250 in December 2020. That’s a gain of $23,000.
For condominium sales, the median price was up 9.5% from $155,300 in December 2019 to $170,000 in December 2020.
People just are not putting homes on the market, Mayo said. They are not listing their homes even when looking for a different home.
“I think what will break the pattern is for sellers who are buying to focus on one thing at a time if they are able to,” he said. “Get your house on the market. If they all would just list their houses, we could do some trades here and there.”
Construction is slow, Mayo said. COVID-19 stopped work and is making some building materials hard to come by.
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