Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 22, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 19 ROCG is the business value growth expert. We'll help you plan where you want to be... and help you get there. Our "end in mind" proprietary business roadmap helps owners take control of their business by proactively recommending changes to improve profitability and productivity. The result? We'll help you build greater business value. Our team has over two decades of proven experience advising small and medium sized businesses. We offer customized solutions, not cookie cutter plans. Call us at (617) 412-4640 or email to set up a no obligation consultation. 617-412-4640 • americas.rocg.com Ready to Focus on Growing Business Value? Our Experts Can Help! ROCG - Shepherd & Goldstein Consulting Group, LLC Terry Shepherd Terence.Shepherd@rocg.com Matthew Allison Matt.Allison@rocg.com We Help Business Owners: • Re-energize their Business Model • Develop a Stategic Plan to Meet Long-Term Goals • Execute the Plan Successfully B A N K I N G & F I N A N C E F O C U S nationally. Across Massachusetts, home prices rose 11.4% in 2020, just below Worcester County's 12.1%, according to e Warren Group. Because the state's median price is higher than Worcester County's, a typical sale in Massa- chusetts grew by more: $45,500 compared to $35,000. Nationally, home prices last year rose even more: by 13.1%, or nearly $44,000, to hit a median of $334,000, according to the real estate website Redfin. Demand grew so high one-third of homes sold above their listing price, according to Redfin. e national data may help indicate the growing popularity of lower-tax states during the pandemic, which has allowed some people to work remotely. e Pioneer Institute, a Boston think tank, said in a Feb. 1 report Massachusetts has been losing residents particularly to Florida and New Hampshire – which both lack an income tax – to the tune of $20.7 billion in lost adjusted gross income in the quarter-century ending in 2018. Spike expected to continue Housing prices are expected to continue to climb, if not quite at the same rate as in 2020. e National Association of Realtors has predicted home sales in the Worcester metropolitan area – Worcester County and Connecticut's Windham County – will rise in 2021 by 4.5%. e Boston metro area, which includes Middlesex County, is projected to see prices climb by 5.7%. A group of 20 economists surveyed by the National Association of Realtors in December predicted annual median home prices to increase by 8% this year and by 5.5% in 2022. Interest rates are expected to rise slightly but remain low. Among other predictions, the association is expecting a few other factors to shape the housing market nationally. Millennials, larger than any generation before it, will age into home-buying years at the youngest end of the generation and look to trade up among the older end. Mortgage rates could rise to 3.4% by the end of the year, undoing much of the benefit a low interest rate gave in offsetting fast-rising prices. If remote work continues past the end of the pandemic, suburbs could continue to benefit from rising demand, the National Association of Realtors said. at's one of a few unpredictable patterns for the year, along with how effectively the pandemic is controlled and whether the country is able to avoid a double-dip recession, with lower-income workers, particularly in service industries, remaining out of work. Massachusetts housing experts interviewed see two main reasons for continually rising prices: little inventory, which pushes up prices, and very low interest rates, which can make higher-priced homes more affordable over the life of a mortgage. "You're going to definitely see a strong housing market in 2021," Medeiros said. "It's not going to change with demand and all of that." Gov. Charlie Baker has pushed for more new-home construction and to make it easier for projects to win needed zoning changes at the community level, but those changes, even if enacted, won't make a significant difference soon, Medeiros said. Costs of building new homes will remain high, oen forcing high sale prices for anything not built with affordability restrictions. "I don't see prices going down. I really don't," DeLuca said, putting his projection in the simplest economic terms. "ere's too much demand and not enough supply." W

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