Berkshires vs. Cape Cod for late career move? (Boston, Pittsfield: real estate, apartment) - Massachusetts (MA) - Page 3 - City-Data Forum

Beachcomber4 · 08-08-2020, 05:36 PM

Your housing budget may be the deciding factor for you. I live in Sandwich and personally know 2 people who sold their homes to interested parties -and they weren’t even on the market. They made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Rentals are scarce and bidding wars are commonplace. New Yorkers are swooping in cash in hand, driving up prices. I would expect the Berkshires might be seeing the same. Good luck. You’re not alone in your quest. Pre-covid the story would have been much different.

yesmaybe · 08-08-2020, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachcomber4

Your housing budget may be the deciding factor for you. I live in Sandwich and personally know 2 people who sold their homes to interested parties -and they weren’t even on the market. They made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Rentals are scarce and bidding wars are commonplace. New Yorkers are swooping in cash in hand, driving up prices. I would expect the Berkshires might be seeing the same. Good luck. You’re not alone in your quest. Pre-covid the story would have been much different.

I find that hilarious. What are they going to do with the Cape house when the pandemic ends? Buying a place isn't something you do for 6 months to a year.

GeoffD · 08-09-2020, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

I find that hilarious. What are they going to do with the Cape house when the pandemic ends? Buying a place isn't something you do for 6 months to a year.

I own two vacation homes. I haven’t been to the Vermont ski place since March. It sits empty like it does every summer since I bought it in 1993. There’s pretty much zero inventory a vacation home buyer would want in South Dartmouth. The gated communities with the private beaches are having bidding wars. There are a bunch of bigger boats in the harbor this summer. People traded up and a bunch are live-aboards.

yesmaybe · 08-09-2020, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I own two vacation homes. I haven’t been to the Vermont ski place since March. It sits empty like it does every summer since I bought it in 1993. There’s pretty much zero inventory a vacation home buyer would want in South Dartmouth. The gated communities with the private beaches are having bidding wars. There are a bunch of bigger boats in the harbor this summer. People traded up and a bunch are live-aboards.

Real Estate on the Cape was in bad shape until the pandemic. Don't you think those New Yorkers think they will just sell the place and go back once it ends?

Zephyr2 · 08-09-2020, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Don't you think those New Yorkers think they will just sell the place and go back once it ends?

A lot of big companies are starting to embrace working from home (WFH) now that they have found it works and makes many of their employees happy. I know a bunch of people who live in New York City, and the only ones who want to stay are the young singles. Once someone gets a family or ages a bit they begin plotting their exodus. Sure, there are some very wealthy retirees living in the big city, but I think they are the exception to the rule. It used to be that the people wanting to leave felt they would have to change jobs, but now it appears many of them will be able to continue working remotely where they wish to live.

SWDOC · 08-09-2020, 08:20 AM

Lambert, thank you! I laughed when I saw your suggestion that I give off the impression of someone looking for a very lively place. That is not the case or I would not have narrowed down to these two areas. I'm not an extrovert, I like peace and quiet and nature. I guess I started this thread because several friends suggested the Cape is a ghost town in winter with absolutely nothing interesting going on and that just seemed hard to believe given the size of the winter population. I like winter sports and have plenty of warm clothes, just don't want to be doing things by myself 7 days a week. Visiting for a week in winter is a great idea!

SWDOC · 08-09-2020, 08:22 AM

Tovarisch - thanks for the info on the Pioneer Valley!

SWDOC · 08-09-2020, 08:32 AM

Yes, I am definitely one year too late. I agree with Beachcomber4. I think the real estate market (and the broader economy) is going to shift in ways we can't even know at this point. I spoke to someone in the Hudson Valley and houses are going for $100k over asking. On Long Island, people are getting astronomical prices as well, just random offers even if their homes are not listed. All rentals are taken up from the Catskills to the Cape, because for people from New York City they could rent a large house for as much as a studio apartment. Will they ever go back to the city now that their jobs can be done remotely? I don't think anyone knows. My goal was to find a winter rental, which I think will be a little easier, and then try to buy before the summer market heats up next year.... but I have no way of knowing what next year will bring.

Yesmaybe -- this is not a lot of money for higher earners from New York City, so they could maybe sell, or they could rent, or they could leave things empty. I don't think anyone knows if they will stay or leave these places.

Thanks so much to all of you! I am learning a lot! (clearly a lot of people like Burlington and the Pioneer Valley as well!)

Zephyr2 · 08-09-2020, 08:42 AM

By the way, take all tales of the real estate market with a huge grain of salt. It is the most overhyped business there is. Our local papers alternate weeks between articles touting "Now is the best time to sell in 10 years" and "Now is the best time to buy in 10 years!" Realtors are all on commission so they do nothing but spin, spin, spin. Sure, some people are getting amazing offers, some places have a tight rental market, and some places have seen prices rise. But, not everywhere, that is for sure. I live in a tourist resort area and there are a lot of vacancies, tourism is way, way down, and numbers that actually are measureable will tell you that: things like sales tax revenue, ferry reservations, traffic delays, etc. I see it driving the Massachusetts Turnpike regularly. Traffic is nowhere near what it was about a year ago or for the past ten years. I have yet to get stuck in backups on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon in places I would normally slow to a crawl as people leave or return from the Cape. There are some backups, but nothing like a "normal" summer. Some friends from New York decided to do a last-minute short vacation to Cape Cod and had no trouble booking an Airbnb at the last minute right in the middle of everything. Still, if you read the newspaper or talk to people in real estate you will get the opposite impression.

SWDOC · 08-09-2020, 08:58 AM

Zephyr2 - great to know, thank you! Now I am a little less depressed :-)