2024 Va. housing market outpaced 2023 — barely

There were 102,509 home sales in Virginia in 2024. That’s 4,000 more than the previous year, according to Virginia Realtors.

“While Virginia’s 2024 housing market ended stronger than 2023, it was still relatively slow compared to average levels,” Ryan Price, chief economist for the trade organization, said in a statement. “Looking ahead to 2025, we predict pent-up demand will continue facilitating home sales, though that same demand may keep upward pressure on prices.”

For December 2024, Virginia had 7,907 home sales, up 14.1% from December 2023, according to Virginia Realtors data released January 22. In November 2024, 7,853 homes sold across the state.

Rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.72% in December 2024, according to Freddie Mac data.

“Last year’s housing market was unusually slow due to interest rates staying in the upper- to mid-7% range for much of the fall market,” Lorraine Arora, president of Virginia Realtors, said in a statement. “The surge we observed at the end of 2024 indicates buyers are coming to terms with mortgage rate levels which, while still elevated, are lower than a year ago.”

The Virginia market had 16,588 active listings at the end of December 2024, a 13% increase from December 2023. “Supply in the market has been expanding for more than a year, though overall supply levels remain tight,” a Virginia Realtors news release explained.

The statewide median sales price in December 2024 was $413,490, up $31,000 from December 2023.

New listings last month totaled 5,649, up 13% from December 2023. While the situation is improving, the number of new listings remains below average, according to Virginia Realtors.

December 2024’s supply of inventory (MSI) — a measure of how many months there would be homes on the market if no new inventory were added — stood at 1.9, up from 1.8 in December 2023.

Homes took slightly longer to sell last month. Statewide, homes spent a median of 19 days on the market, up from the 16-day median reported in November 2024 and two days longer than the median reported in December 2023.

Based in Glen Allen, Virginia Realtors represents about 35,000 Realtors and is the state’s largest trade association.