It may not be setting any records, but new survey data from the Virginia Realtors trade group suggest homeowners are getting primed for more engagement in the real-estate market this spring.
The organization’s monthly survey of its membership, released March 1, pegs the current Seller Activity Index at 18 on a 0-to-100 scale, up from 15 a month before.
That may remain anemically low, but it is the highest reading since November 2022 – a full 15 months before.
There still is a way to go before homeowners stop straddling the fence and fully wade in. Only 5 percent of respondents to the monthly online survey characterized seller activity as “high” or “very high” in their localities, while 69 percent said it was “low” or “very low.”
A total of 484 members of Virginia Realtors took part in the most recent survey, including 318 that had participated in at least one transaction over the preceding month.
Many homeowners continue to be unwilling to part with rock-bottom-low interest rates they obtained during the pandemic, resulting in tight inventory and causing a disruption to the seasonal ebb and flow of market conditions in Virginia.
On the buyer side, there is more activity percolating. The monthly Buyer Activity Index of 49 was up from 38 and the highest amount of activity since last summer.
But market conditions continued to be highly localized, as 29 percent of respondents said buyer activity was high or very high and 32 percent characterized it as low or very low. The rest were in the middle.
Among respondents’ transactions, homes that found a buyer in the past month scored 2.9 offers on average, up from 2.1 a month before, based on survey data. About two in five homes (42%) garnered more than listing price.
Where is the market headed? Asked to gaze three months into the future, respondents predicted a Seller Activity Index of 38 and a Buyer Activity Index of 61 as the Virginia market hits its typical spring-summer stride in May.
About 55 percent of respondents said they believed sales prices would be higher in three months’ time, while 15 percent thought they would be lower and 26 percent figured they would be about the same.
