Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 15, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 21 BY CHERYL EIDINGER-TAYLOR Special to WBJ R esidential real estate in Central Massachusetts has been in a seller's market since 2013. Our research shows that 12-year run has finally come to an end. Today's market is balanced. It may not be a buyer's market, but it's tilting in favor of buyers. at may not be good news for sellers, but it's long overdue. Homebuyers have not had much to cheer about, as even rising interest rates failed to bring down prices. In Massachusetts, buyers have been burdened with some of the highest prices in the country. e typical home in Mas- sachusetts is valued at $634,548, according to the National Associa- tion of Realtors, 78% higher than the national average of $361,293. at leaves many Massachusetts residents with few choices: Renting, moving to a less-costly state, or moving to one of the lower-priced Massachusetts communities. Still, would-be Massachusetts homeowners should be encouraged by the results of our research. ERA Key Real- ty Services tracked housing in four counties, comparing the first half of 2025 to the first half of 2024 in Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcester counties. We found mar- ket inventory has jumped 29% for single-family homes and 34% for condominiums. New listings are up by less: 9% for single-family homes and 14% for condos. While supply has surged, demand has slowed. Pend- ing sales have stagnated, growing just 2% to 5%, causing absorption rates (the share of listings going under agree- ment) to fall by about a quarter. In Worcester County, the absorption rate is down 26% for single-family houses. Inventory has been low in large part because of the Federal Reserve Board's zero interest rate policy, which was a response to the Great Recession of 2007. Many homeowners were able to lock in ultra-low mortgage rates, but rising rates created a disincentive to relocate. At the same time supply was tanking, demand was increasing as Millennials, then members of Generation Z, began seeking to purchase homes. e net result has been ever-escalating prices. Average monthly mortgage payments on median-priced hous- es have surged from $1,445 in 2021 to $2,570 in 2024, according to e Wall Street Journal. While first-time buyers accounted for about a third of all homes purchased from 2015 to 2023, in 2024 the share declined to 24%, the lowest level since the NAR began tracking the data in 1981. e average age of first-time buyers has increased from 28 in 1991 to 38 today. e housing market is cyclical and ever-changing. Pric- es historically get only so high before they begin adjusting downward. Prices remain high today, but the bidding wars that jacked up prices are no longer taking place. Cheryl Eidinger-Taylor is president and COO of ERA Key Realty Services, Northbridge, Mass. She can be reached at CherylTaylor@erakey.net. Residential real estate is now balanced Create a regional economy for everyone T he best possible outcome for the Central Massachusetts economy is one that helps industry thrive, spurs innovation, encourages outside investment, attracts the best talent, and provides a great quality of life for all. This ideal scenario is awfully difficult to achieve, but everyone in the region's business community ought to strive toward this broad mutually beneficial goal. Unfortunately, significant challenges have arisen in the last few years, and affordability is an increasingly big obstacle for people who've lived and worked in the region for years, as well as those we hope to attract from outside the area. Affordability is getting worse, and it's having a direct impact on local employers. As Mica Kanner-Mascolo writes in her "A rural migration" story on page 10, the people who can no longer afford the rising costs in Worcester are moving to more outlying areas of Central Massachusetts. This creates a problem for healthcare providers and social service nonprofits, which are now struggling to reach the vulnerable populations they serve, as they are often losing access to transportation and nearby services. Arguably more housing will help address the affordability issue, but about the only housing that can be constructed profitably is market rate or luxury rentals. Their pricing isn't helping the cost of housing. Affordability in Central Massachusetts, when compared to Greater Boston, has been a calling card for decades. While the region is still less expensive than to the east, it's increasingly taking a larger chunk out of people's salaries, with many newer units requiring a six-figure salary to reasonably meet the monthly rent. We're losing some of the special sauce that has driven so much growth here. As potential workers are getting priced out of the region, new immigrants are actively discouraged from coming here, further exacerbating the workforce shortage plaguing multiple industries, particularly health care and manufacturing. Sentiment toward immigrants has unfortunately become a highly politicized issue, and we seem to have lost the thread on how critical immigrants are to fueling the economy, both as workers and consumers. It's a mindset that needs to change if we're to continue the regional growth we've seen this last decade. While these problems can seem intractable, we at least need to be taking steps to effectively address them. Identifying the key areas of future growth in Central Massachusetts and investing in supporting those industries, and developing a shared vision for expanding housing are two issues that can and should be tackled. The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. W Cheryl Eidinger- Taylor W

• Cover