I was recently sitting with some sellers, going over the required documents for the planned upcoming listing of their home and to begin their home search. I was almost embarrassed at how many documents are required.
Most recently, we have a new law that no seller can accept an offer conditioned upon the buyer waiving or limiting their home inspection rights. This one really irked me when it was proposed, because we’re all adults here. I feel like it stripped away sellers’ rights in many cases. Case in point – – I was contacted by a neighbor of mine, a man in his mid-80s. In an unexpected set of circumstances, he had inherited a house that needed significant work – – work that he had neither the energy, the funds, or the interest in putting the time, effort or brain power in to fixing up. The home was served by a private septic, and it was an older system with no guarantee it would pass the required inspection.
After talking through various options with him, he asked me to reach out to investors who would purchase the house exactly as it was, with personal property still inside. In a very clear and transparent process, I did find him an investor and the net that the seller got out of the transaction made sense based on the condition of the house. With this new law in place, a seller is not able to know whether the buyer will be having a home inspection until after the offer is accepted. You are probably going right to ‘well, can’t you whisper to the seller’s agent that your client isn’t going to have a home inspection?’ Nope. That puts both agents at risk of a complaint being filed against them, and the seller can be sued.
All that said, in the last month, I’ve been on the buyer side and the seller side of several transactions with home inspections. A good home inspector is thorough, but not trying to kill the deal. The photo above is one of my listings. If you look closely, there’s a seemingly decorative item in the right hand corner of the house. This is because at a home inspection, the inspector pointed out that there was a small amount of woodpecker damage. A very lightweight request from the buyers was that the seller patch up the holes that woodpeckers had made and that the sellers make attempts to keep the woodpecker from coming back. I did a quick search online and found that there’s a such thing as woodpecker rods, which the seller promptly ordered had the holes patched and we are on our way on this transaction.
Conversely, a buyer that we’re working with who, maybe two or three years ago, would have felt pressured to waive the inspection, had an inspection this week that revealed a leaking roof, a damaged and dangerous electrical line into the house, significant would rot underneath multiple entry doors, and chimney damage. We’re working through a collaborative solution, but if she didn’t have a home inspection, all these items would have been on her when the deficiencies became obvious to her once she moved in. So, I guess I’ve kind of changed my tune on my opinion of the new home inspection law.
What’s the central Massachusetts market looking like? I was looking at Worcester County data as of the beginning of November 2025. A year over a year comparison on single-family home sold data showed that Worcester County is up in units listed (+21.68%), units that were put under agreement (+2.61%), units that were sold (+.79%) and median sale price (+3.09%) – – all were up from November 2024 to November 2025. However, so were price changes (+27.47%) and median days on market (+15.63%).
I specifically looked at Westminster and Princeton for the same time period. If you love data, message me, and I’ll run a report for your town. Westminster sold year to date in 2024 was 75 single-family homes, and in 2025 we’re at 69 right now. The median number of days on market is up by 25%, but it’s really just a difference of 20 days on the market for homes that have sold, and now in 2025 the median days on market is 25 days. The median sale price in Westminster is up by $90,000 year over year, which is a 17.14% increase. As far as units sold, we are down by 6. The largest number I see year to date in Westminster is price changes, with 22 homes having price changes in 2024, compared to 51 year to date in Westminster. This is quite the jump, but I think it’s very important to factor in the new construction. And, certainly homes that were priced right didn’t have price reductions at all.
I wish there was a report that would show the list price to sale price ratio of homes that did not have price reductions. I stand by if a house is priced properly, has high-quality open houses, and is marketed aggressively– – the sellers win. Several of my clients have had wins this month.
Here’s a Google review I received this week. “Jen Shenk with Keller Williams recently sold our house in Westminster. It was a pleasure working with Jen. She priced the property accurately, gave us lots of helpful advice and kept us informed of progress at every step along the way. Jen advertised our house extensively, took an active role in preparing the house for showing, arranged for smoke detector and buyer inspections and kept tabs on legal matters. Laura, Jen’s transaction coordinator worked with her in conjunction with the attorneys to assure the closing went smoothly. I highly recommend you choose Jen as your real estate professional.“
–Mike Meyer, Westminster
Thinking of BUYING or SELLING residential property in Central Mass? Connect with me anytime!
Jennifer Shenk, Real Estate Broker
Keller Williams Realty North Central
107 Main Street, Westminster
Call/Text: 978 870 9260
Email: jennifershenk@kw.com
