City: Leominster, MA

Category: Relocation

Telephone: (877) 537-9997

Address: 3 Park St., Ste. 203

Description: The three counties that make up the Pioneer Valley—Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden—represent a great diversity in lifestyle choices including rural, college town, and urban. Recently the number of home sales has risen 9 percent as the overall economy in the region has improved. In 2012 the median home sales price was $210,000 for the region. Tourism (Deerfield Village) and farming are the biggest industries in rural Franklin County. Hampshire County is the home of five colleges: Amherst, UMass Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and Smith. The college community provides the most employment in the county. The Northampton area is an especially appealing city with a lively commercial district. A new home in an outlying suburb like Leeds or Florence can be built for $350,000 or a charming in-town Victorian can be had for $400,000. Springfield is the largest city and is the economic and transportation hub for western Massachusetts. Its job base is diverse and includes several corporate headquarters, such as Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Bay State Health. Springfield’s median home price in 2012 is low at $114,000. Springfield is sometimes called the “City of Homes” because of its Victorian residential architecture. The area offers a variety of affordable housing options to include single-family houses and a substantial stock of two- and three-family homes.