Va. housing market warms up in April

Virginia’s housing market is heating up this spring, with April sales increasing 14.1% from sales in April 2023, according to Virginia Realtors data released Tuesday.

Last month, 9,416 homes sold in Virginia, up 1,164 sales from the same month last year. Sales activity in Virginia has been trending up in 2024, except for a dip in March, when sales dropped 7.3% from March 2023.

April’s year-over-year increase in closed sales is the largest increase in monthly sales that the Virginia market has had in nearly three years, although the 10-year average for closed sales in April is around 10,500 sales, according to Virginia Realtors.

Although 66% of municipalities in the state had an increase in sales compared with April 2023, the markets with the strongest sales growth were in the Shenandoah Valley, particularly the Winchester region, and the Roanoke Valley.

The Virginia market had 16,047 active listings at the end of April, an 18.1% increase from the same time last year. April was the fifth consecutive month that the number of active listings grew, according to Virginia Realtors.

There were 13,309 new listings, up 19.1% from April 2023. The jump in new listings is the largest increase in about three years, according to Virginia Realtors.

Homes in Virginia stayed on the market for a median of seven days in April, the same median reported in April 2023.

Home prices also rose in April. The statewide median sales price last month was $416,548, up $25,548, or 6.5%, from April 2023. Although listings and sales have increased, pent-up demand is putting pressure on home prices, according to Virginia Realtors.

“Rising prices are likely to continue as demand for housing is stronger than the increase in supply of listings,” Ryan Price, Virginia Realtors’ chief economist, said in a statement.

The statewide housing market had 9,819 pending sales last month, up 710 pending sales, or 7.8%, from April 2023.

Mortgage rates decreased for the second consecutive week in the week ending May 16, according to Freddie Mac data. For that week, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate was 7.02%, down 0.07 percentage points from the previous week. The four-week average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.13%.

“Mortgage rates have been trending down a little in May but are still higher than when 2024 began,” Virginia Realtors CEO Terrie Suit said in a statement. “Though rates have continued to hover above the 7% mark for a 30-year fixed, there are some signs consumers are adjusting to the higher interest rates.”