The Turnover Clock
How often property actually changes hands in each town, counted from the deeds rather than from listings.
1 in 29
Across the 99 towns with records covering this window, about 1 in 29 properties changed hands per year over 2022–2024, roughly 8,587 recorded arm's-length sales a year against 254,731 dwelling parcels. At that pace a property comes up about every 30 years. In the smallest hilltowns the clock runs far slower, a handful of sales a year, sometimes none: waiting is the market there, and that is worth knowing before you start looking.
The Turnover Clock, How Often Property Changes Hands
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Recorded arm's-length deed transfers, 2022–2024 average, against dwelling parcels in the same housing classes. 'Comes up every ~N years' is steady-state arithmetic (1 ÷ annual share), not a measured hold time. Recent window only: the parcel layer keeps just each parcel's most recent sale, so deep history from this source would be survivorship bias.
| Town | Sales/Yr (2022–2024) | Dwelling Deeds / Parcels %/Yr | Comes Up Every ~N Yrs | Median Sale $ (Latest Yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 102.3 | 3.6 | 27 | 222,000 |
| Agawam | 325.7 | 3.3 | 31 | 315,000 |
| Alford | 8.3 | 2.6 | 39 | No record |
| Amherst | 192.7 | 3.4 | 30 | 500,000 |
| Ashfield | 14 | 2.2 | 46 | 459,000 |
| Becket | 51 | 2.9 | 34 | 347,000 |
| Belchertown | 144.3 | 2.8 | 36 | 450,000 |
| Bernardston | 14 | 1.7 | 58 | 373,238 |
| Blandford | 13.7 | 2.6 | 38 | 394,500 |
| Brimfield | 40.7 | 3 | 33 | 362,500 |
| Buckland | 20.7 | 2.9 | 34 | 430,000 |
| Charlemont | 10 | 2.1 | 48 | 345,000 |
| Cheshire | 36.3 | 2.8 | 35 | 269,000 |
| Chester | 17.3 | 3.3 | 30 | 230,000 |
| Chesterfield | 14.7 | 2.7 | 37 | 388,752 |
| Chicopee | 527.3 | 3.4 | 29 | 295,000 |
| Clarksburg | 21.3 | 3.2 | 32 | 200,000 |
| Colrain | 16.7 | 2.4 | 41 | 220,000 |
| Conway | 14 | 2.1 | 47 | 313,000 |
| Cummington | 10 | 2.7 | 37 | No record |
| Dalton | 69.7 | 3 | 33 | 279,000 |
| Deerfield | 45 | 2.5 | 40 | 427,500 |
| East Longmeadow | 198 | 3.4 | 29 | 385,000 |
| Easthampton | 138 | 2.6 | 38 | 400,000 |
| Egremont | 28.3 | 3.4 | 30 | 887,500 |
| Erving | 16 | 2.7 | 38 | 322,500 |
| Florida | 13.3 | 3.8 | 26 | 312,500 |
| Gill | 13.7 | 2.6 | 38 | 325,000 |
| Goshen | 13 | 2.4 | 41 | 477,500 |
| Granby | 67 | 2.9 | 34 | 350,000 |
| Granville | 18.3 | 3.1 | 32 | 412,500 |
| Great Barrington | 84 | 3 | 33 | 550,000 |
| Greenfield | 193 | 3.7 | 27 | 305,000 |
| Hadley | 48.7 | 2.6 | 39 | 530,000 |
| Hampden | 55.7 | 3 | 33 | 416,000 |
| Hancock | 30 | 4.4 | 23 | 251,250 |
| Hatfield | 31 | 2.6 | 39 | 412,500 |
| Hawley | 5.3 | 3.2 | 31 | No record |
| Heath | 10.3 | 2.7 | 37 | 202,450 |
| Hinsdale | 24.7 | 2.6 | 39 | 309,950 |
| Holland | 46.3 | 3.3 | 31 | 336,000 |
| Holyoke | 305 | 4 | 25 | 299,950 |
| Huntington | 24.3 | 2.9 | 35 | 229,000 |
| Lanesborough | 40.3 | 3 | 33 | 320,500 |
| Lee | 68.3 | 3 | 34 | 416,000 |
| Lenox | 75.7 | 3.3 | 31 | 566,500 |
| Leverett | 18.3 | 2.5 | 40 | 527,500 |
| Leyden | 6 | 2.2 | 46 | No record |
| Longmeadow | 211.3 | 3.8 | 26 | 475,000 |
| Ludlow | 227 | 3.1 | 32 | 320,000 |
| Middlefield | 5 | 2.6 | 39 | No record |
| Monroe | 1.7 | 2.3 | 44 | No record |
| Monson | 83.7 | 2.8 | 35 | 364,000 |
| Montague | 76 | 2.8 | 36 | 300,000 |
| Monterey | 21.3 | 2.7 | 37 | 565,000 |
| Montgomery | 5.7 | 1.7 | 58 | No record |
| Mount Washington | No record | No record | No record | No record |
| New Ashford | 4.3 | 4.2 | 24 | No record |
| New Marlborough | 24.3 | 2.6 | 39 | 535,000 |
| New Salem | 11 | 2.5 | 40 | No record |
| North Adams | 129.7 | 3.5 | 29 | 165,000 |
| Northampton | 263.7 | 3 | 33 | 450,000 |
| Northfield | 34.3 | 3 | 34 | 341,000 |
| Orange | 106.7 | 4.2 | 24 | 285,500 |
| Otis | 43.3 | 2.7 | 37 | 402,500 |
| Palmer | 140 | 3.9 | 26 | 305,000 |
| Pelham | No record | No record | No record | No record |
| Peru | 5.3 | 1.4 | 73 | No record |
| Pittsfield | 592.7 | 4.1 | 24 | 275,000 |
| Plainfield | 7 | 2.3 | 43 | 262,463 |
| Richmond | 20.3 | 2.5 | 39 | 490,000 |
| Rowe | 6 | 2.8 | 36 | 285,000 |
| Russell | 19.3 | 3.4 | 30 | 387,000 |
| Sandisfield | 19 | 3.1 | 32 | 386,750 |
| Savoy | 9.7 | 2.7 | 37 | No record |
| Sheffield | 38.3 | 2.6 | 38 | 432,500 |
| Shelburne | 16 | 2.5 | 41 | 387,500 |
| Shutesbury | 23.3 | 2.8 | 35 | 399,000 |
| South Hadley | 195.3 | 3.3 | 30 | 362,000 |
| Southampton | 64.7 | 2.8 | 36 | 429,500 |
| Southwick | 112 | 3.2 | 31 | 375,000 |
| Springfield | 1,585.3 | 4.3 | 23 | 300,000 |
| Stockbridge | 38.7 | 2.7 | 36 | 667,625 |
| Sunderland | 25.3 | 2.8 | 36 | 477,000 |
| Tolland | 16 | 2.9 | 35 | 325,000 |
| Tyringham | 6.3 | 2.3 | 44 | No record |
| Wales | 24 | 3 | 33 | 266,250 |
| Ware | 107.7 | 3.3 | 30 | 300,000 |
| Warwick | 9 | 2.5 | 41 | No record |
| Washington | 5 | 1.9 | 52 | No record |
| Wendell | 7.3 | 1.9 | 52 | No record |
| West Springfield | 214.7 | 2.6 | 38 | No record |
| West Stockbridge | 24 | 3.1 | 32 | 375,000 |
| Westfield | 362.7 | 3.2 | 32 | 345,250 |
| Westhampton | 17 | 2.5 | 40 | No record |
| Whately | 13 | 2.1 | 47 | 315,000 |
| Wilbraham | 201.7 | 3.8 | 26 | 435,000 |
| Williamsburg | 20.3 | 2.2 | 45 | 420,000 |
| Williamstown | 79.7 | 3.5 | 29 | 423,000 |
| Windsor | 12 | 2.6 | 39 | 449,950 |
| Worthington | 17 | 3.2 | 31 | 382,500 |
What These Columns Mean
- Town
- Municipality
- Sales/Yr (2022–2024)
- Qualifying arm's-length deed transfers per year, window average
- Dwelling Deeds / Parcels %/Yr
- Window-average dwelling deeds ÷ dwelling parcels; one deed can cover several parcels
- Comes Up Every ~N Yrs
- 1 ÷ annual share, steady-state arithmetic, not a measured wait; null where sales are under one a year
- Median Sale $ (Latest Yr)
- Median qualifying sale in the latest complete year; null under the 10-sale floor
Cite: RE413. “The Turnover Clock, How Often Property Changes Hands.” Updated September 19, 2026. https://www.re413.com/turnover/, underlying sources at https://www.re413.com/sources/.
Why There's No Historical Chart Here
The state's parcel file remembers only each property's most recent sale. A house sold in 1995 and again in 2021 appears only in 2021, so the further back you look, the more the record narrows to properties that never sold again. Chart that and you get survivorship bias wearing a trend line. This page uses the last three complete years, where the record is honest, and stops.
A “sale” here is a recorded deed above the nominal-price floor, within a band of the assessed value that screens out family transfers, deduplicated so one deed covering several parcels counts once. Both counts cover dwelling property: houses, condos, two- and three-family homes, larger residential buildings and mobile homes. One deed may cover several parcels. “Comes up every ~N years” is arithmetic on the pace, not a measured wait.
Sources
- Derived from MassGIS standardized parcels (registry sale fields). Checked 2026-09-19.
"Figures through" is the period the publisher's data describes; "checked" is only when we last asked. The full sourcing: sources and method.