The lack of home inventory across Virginia continues to push prospective purchasers either to (a) pay top dollar or (b) wait out the market in hopes that spring will bring more availability.
That’s the takeaway from October home-sales data reported by the Virginia Realtors trade group. The organization noted that the median home-sales price for the month ($390,000) was up $25,000 from a year before, with the 6.8-percent year-over-year gain the second strongest jump of the year.
“Houses aren’t staying on the market long in Virginia,” said Virginia Realtors president Katrina Smith. “The market conditions remain competitive for buyers, even as fewer sales are occurring, due to the low inventories.”
The strongest price growth for the month was in the Shenandoah Valley Region, parts of the Eastern Shore market and portions of Southside Virginia. In nearly all geographic areas and price ranges, sellers are on average getting 100 percent or more of asking price – a sign they are realistic and buyers are motivated.
Inventory at the end of October stood at 18,845, down about 3.5 percent from a year ago. Although that isn’t the chasm that it had been earlier in the year, it also is a reflection that by the end of 2022, home inventory already was tight across the Old Dominion.
But there are indications that, indeed, spring could bring sellers as well as buyers to market.
“While our inventory remains low, the pace of decline has moderated,” said Virginia Realtors chief economist Ryan Price. “This could indicate that we are finally nearing the trough.”
The 7,764 homes sold in Virginia in October represented a dip of 12.1 percent from a year before, and the total sales volume for the month of about $3.7 billion was down 7.6 percent.
In October, the sharpest sales slowdown was found in the Bristol market, the Harrisonburg region and the Virginia Peninsula footprint.
Those looking for homes in September and October faced a spike in mortgage-interest rates, which in late October reached a 23-year peak, averaging 7.79 percent for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.
Figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. All October 2023 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
