Prospective home-buyers have begun to come out from the nooks and crannies of the Old Dominion in search of homes, but sellers are still hanging back.
That’s according to the monthly market-activity survey conducted by the Virginia Realtors trade group.
A total of 892 real-estate professionals took part in the most recent online survey, conducted Jan. 24-31. That included 562 that had participated in at least one transaction over the preceding month.
January’s buyer-activity score added up to 38 on a 0-to-100 ranking, up from 31 in December as the market begins to pivot into the early spring.
Of those who took part in the survey, 21 percent said buyer activity in their areas was “high” or “very high” while 45 percent said it was “low” or “very low.”
Sellers, however, don’t seem to be budging, preferring to hold on to low-cost mortgages obtained during the COVID era.
The seller-activity index for January stood at 15, up slightly from 13. While four percent of respondents said seller activity in their area was high or very high, a whopping 75 percent said it was low or very low.
Asked to look just over the horizon, three months into the future, the buyer-activity index of 61 was up from the forecast of 58 a month before. Sellers, however, were expected to remain in short supply – the score of 36 for three months ahead was essentially unchanged from the preceding month.
Where are prices headed? Asked to look ahead, an even half of respondents predicted they would be higher, 17 percent lower and 30 percent unchanged.
For more, see the Website at virginiarealtors.org under “Research” then “Reports.”
