The number of home sales, both completed and pending, in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts increased dramatically in February. It is another sign that the fortunes of the housing market may be turning around. According to the Realtor Association of the Pioneer Valley, sales of single family homes in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties last month jumped 30% over February, 2011. And the number of pending sales, or signed purchase and sales agreements, jumped 58%.
“If there’s any way to project what’s going to happen in the future, pending sales will be it.”
Corinne Fitzgerald is President of the Realtor Association of the Pioneer Valley. She says there have been double-digit increases in the numbers of homes put under agreement over the past three months. And with the typical real estate transaction cycle between 60 and 90 days, Fitzgerald says the numbers are a positive indicator for an active spring, the prime season for the real estate market.
“We see activity in January anyway because people that waited through the holidays will come out in January. But February typically is a slower month, and that didn’t happen this year. January, February, March, we’re seeing solid activity…buyers are definitely out.”
The increased activity is being seen across the state as well. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors says the number of single family homes statewide that were put under agreement in February was up 44% over the same month last year. The Realtors group says that is the largest single monthly increase since it began tracking such data.