Virginia Housing Market Update: Prices Rise, Sales Stall
16 months.
That’s how long demand for Virginia mortgages has been cooling, as sales have dropped for close to a year and a half straight now. The overall median home price posted growth in the state last month, however, the Virginia Association of Realtors reported.
Realtors recorded 8,351 sales of existing single-family homes last month, down 21 percent from 10,565 in December 2005 - however, the median existing-home price in Virginia gained 4 percent during the period, rising from $192,225 to $199,973.
Melanie Thompson, president of the Virginia Association of Realtors, said the state is in the midst of a buyer’s market:
“… a window of opportunity is open now for buyers to make a great deal at still very reasonable [mortgage interest rates]. We’re encouraging buyers to take advantage of that while the market continues to normalize.”
Homes that sold in December spent an average of 122 days on the market, up from 91 days for homes that sold in December 2005. As a result of the longer market time, fewer owners decided to list their properties for sale in December, waiting for mortgage loan borrowers to grow anxious and begin the bidding process.
For the year, the state’s 112,699 existing-home sales were 18.4 percent below the 2005 level of 138,117.
Despite the cooling, several areas showed increases in closed transactions for the year, including:
- The Eastern Shore
- Martinsville/Henry County
- Chesapeake Bay & River
- New River Valley
- South Central
- Williamsburg