BELCHERTOWN, MA (WSHM) -
There are signs the housing market continues to recover in Western Massachusetts.
Sales are up and interest rates are low, which is good news for buyers and sellers.
The Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley released their numbers for the month of May.
They said not only are sales up, the median price of a home in our area has gone up 11 percent in the last year.
"In the last several months, it has really started to pickup quite a bit," said realtor Lou Mayo.
Mayo has been in real estate for 15 years. The agent, based out of Wilbraham, gave us a tour of one of his properties in Belchertown.
Mayo said, in the past year, Franklin County has had the highest increase of home sales in the Pioneer Valley, but the gains have been widespread.
"We have buyers in the pipeline waiting for good homes to come on the market," Mayo stated. "What we are running into now, fortunately or unfortunately, we have a shortage of homes in some areas."
That shortage has led to multiple offers on homes. The Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley told CBS 3 that inventory is down over 16 percent in the past year. Mayo believes homeowners are ready, but holding off.
"Sellers were waiting for what they thought was the appropriate time to get their homes on the market," said Mayo. "Some of those folks wait until school is out. Then they can start thinking about making that move."
When homes do go on the market, Mayo said buyers know what they want and that is very little hassle.
"They are looking for little maintenance," said Mayo. "They want to get into a property without having to do an awful lot to maintain it throughout their ownership. But what really gets them is curb appeal."
Mayo added that de-cluttering a house, to show off its functionality, is important on the inside. He believes there will be plenty of homeowners cleaning in the months to come.
"We are seeing all kinds of positive indications that it has been a great late spring market," said Mayo. "We see that continuing throughout."
Mayo said it varies on price range, but if a home enters the market priced and staged appropriately, sellers could expect and have an accepted offer within a month.
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