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Tag: house inventory

Inventory grew in Va. housing market in July

Inventory grew for Virginia’s housing market in July, according to Virginia Realtors data released Aug. 21. 

At the end of July, there were 19,162 active listings in the state, which was 4,223 more listings than in July 2023 — a 28.3% increase. Of those listings, 12,439 came onto the market in July, a 13.6% increase from the same time last year. 

“Virginia’s inventory of active listings has been expanding every month so far in 2024,” Ryan Price, chief economist for Virginia Realtors, stated in a news release. “Even with more listings, the overall supply level remains tight and continues to favor sellers with the average sold-to-list price ratio above 100%.”

In July, 9,947 homes sold in Virginia, up 962 sales, or 10.7%, from July 2023.

The statewide median sales price in July was $426,000. That’s $26,000 higher than the median price last July, a 6.5% increase.

“Because demand still far outweighs supply in Virginia’s housing market, it’s likely that these conditions will continue putting upward pressure on prices as we approach the fall market,” Tom Campbell, president of Virginia Realtors, said in a statement. 

Homes in Virginia stayed on the market for a median of ten days in July, three days longer than in July 2023. 

The statewide housing market had 8,643 pending sales last month, which is 326 more than in July 2023, a 3.9% increase. 

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on Aug. 22 was 6.46%, according to Freddie Mac data. 

“Amid a competitive market, one welcome piece of news is that mortgage rates have been trending downward,” Virginia Realtors CEO Terrie Suit said in a statement. “If this trend continues, it is likely to bring more buyers and also sellers into the market.” 

Hampton Roads housing inventory rises, listings still low

Residential inventory in Hampton Roads has risen slightly from last year, although active listings remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to April data from the Real Estate Information Network Inc. (REIN).

Active listings in April were down 0.97% year-over-year from the 3,187 listings that REIN recorded in April 2022. Pending sales stood at 2,363, down 21% from last year. Settled sales were down 27% from April 2022, with 2,053 sales last month.

The month’s supply of inventory (MSI), a calculation of how long there would be homes on the market if no new inventory was added, was 1.32 in April, up from 1.01 in April 2022. The MSI in March was 1.27.

“Interest rates continue to fluctuate, and that’s causing hesitation for some potential buyers, but the lack of inventory remains our biggest challenge here in Hampton Roads,” Jon McAchran with AtCoastal Realty and president of the REIN board of directors said in a statement. “Consumers are still looking to buy. They just need more homes, and the right homes, for them to choose from.”

The median sales price (MSP) in Hampton Roads remained at $320,000, the same MSP as March. That’s a 0.20% increase from April 2022, which had an MSP of $319,375. Last month, the South Hampton Roads MSP was $330,000, while the Virginia Peninsula’s MSP was $297,512. In South Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach had the highest MSP, at $365,000. James City County had an MSP of $480,000.

Residential listings spent a median of 12 days on the market in April, down from 15 days in March and up from seven days last year.

“Buyers are becoming increasingly discerning in their choices, mostly due to the increased costs due to the higher interest rates, but they’re also acting quickly when a home that matches their criteria comes on the market,” McAchran said in a statement.

Residential new construction sales numbered 277, down 7.58% from the 306 recorded in April 2022.

Compared with March, the region’s active residential listings rose slightly from the 3,124 recorded then. Pending sales in April dropped 11.8% from March’s 2,578. Settled sales dropped 9.9%, down from 2,277 in March.

Founded in 1969, REIN is a regional multiple listing services that covers an area stretching from Williamsburg east to Virginia Beach and south across the North Carolina border.

Va. home sales down 20% from a year ago

Virginia home sales were down 20.3% in February compared with the same month last year, marking the 15th consecutive month of declining sales, according to a Virginia Realtors report released March 21.

Home sales in the commonwealth last month totaled 6,505, a decrease of 1,655 sales from February 2022. The Northern Neck and parts of Northern Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia have had the sharpest drop in sales so far this year, according to Virginia Realtors.

The statewide decline is likely due to the rise in interest rates, which more than doubled over the year. In the week ending on Thursday, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.42%, down from 6.60% the week before, according to Freddie Mac data. The average rate a year ago was 4.42%.

The state median sales price, however, rose 5.7% from a year ago, jumping $20,000 to $370,000. The rise is a reflection of tight inventory, according to the Virginia Realtors report. Places in Central Virginia, the New River Valley and Southern Virginia continue to see median price growths of 10% or more. Prices have dipped in the Northern Neck, the Chesapeake Bay and rivers area and parts of the Rockbridge Highlands region.

Statewide, homes spent an average of 38 days on the market, up eight days from February 2022, and on average, sellers are getting slightly less than their asking prices.

“This is some good news for buyers that are active in the market,” Virginia Realtors President Katrina M. Smith said in a statement. “Nearly all of Virginia’s markets have more active listings available than they did one year ago.”

The Virginia market had 14,558 active listings at the end of February, up 2,416 from last year’s number.

“Active listings are building up, but keep in mind that it’s not from new listings, which remain down,” Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Ryan Price said in a statement. “February saw a 22% reduction in new listings since the same time last year, reflecting hesitation from sellers.”

After the drop in mortgage rates following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the subsequent banking crisis, the housing market could see an influx of buyers who have been waiting for mortgage rates to fall.

Virginia Realtors is a trade association representing more than 37,000 Realtors.

Hampton Roads housing market appears to stabilize

The Hampton Roads housing market appears to be stabilizing, according to a new report from the Real Estate Information Network Inc. (REIN).

“We expect 2023 to be similar to pre-pandemic years where inventory increases in the spring and summer, and as long as buyers have inventory to choose from, they’re going to shop for homes,” REIN Board of Directors President Jon McAchran said in a statement.

Active residential property listings in Hampton Roads rose 25.15% year-over-year in February, from 2,501 to 3,130 listings. Pending sales dropped 19.92% from February 2022 — from 2,570 to 2,058 sales — and settled sales dropped 22.65%, from 2,177 to 1,684 settled sales.

“It’s fairly typical that interest rates back in February of last year as compared to February this year have changed drastically, nearly in many cases double,” said Barry Nachman with Century 21 Nachman Realty and secretary of REIN’s board of directors. “So you’re going to definitely see a fallout effect of people still paying higher pricing … and then much higher payments with interest rates, so there’s a little bit of pullback anytime that happens.”

Compared with last year, the median sales price for the region rose almost 8%, from $290,500 to $313,650, despite rising mortgage rates. The region’s median sales price in February is a 3.5% increase from January.

“With interest rates rising, less people will qualify, but it’ll stabilize our marketplace. But here’s the positive: Our sales prices are still up,” Nachman said.

Residential listings spent a median of 20 days on the market, a decrease of seven days from January. February was the first month since March 2022 that median days on the market decreased.

Residential new construction sold in REIN’s Multiple Listing Service dropped from 244 sales in February 2022 to 228 sales in February 2023.

Compared with January, the region’s active residential listings in February dropped 4.16%, or by 136 listings. Pending sales rose 5.92% from January, with 2,058 pending sales in February. Settled sales rose 12.10% from January, to 1,684 settled sales.

“January was a little more normalized for January. To have a big increase in February, when we’ve had such a housing shortage, is somewhat of an anomaly,” Nachman said. “But it’s a good thing because it’s giving buyers an opportunity to find a home, where last February it was a lot more difficult as well as February before and all the months throughout.”

Va. home sales saw sharp drop in October

Virginia home sales in October decreased by 30.2% from the same time last year, the largest year-over-year sales decrease in more than a decade, according to a Virginia Realtors report released this week.

In October, 8,828 homes sold in Virginia, 3,828 fewer than in October 2021. Nationally, home sales declined for the ninth straight month in October and were 28.4% lower year over year.

Last year was a busy year for home sales, which could partly explain the sharp decrease, according to Virginia Realtors. The slowdown is also partly a result of climbing mortgage rates, which rose above 7% in October. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped nearly half a percentage point last month.

On average, Virginia homes spent 29 days on the market in October, four days longer than the average in October 2021.

Virginia had approximately $4 billion of sold volume in October, about $1.5 billion less volume than a year ago, which is a 26.5% drop in volume.

The state’s inventory of available homes on the market is growing as a result. At the end of the month, there were 19,523 active listings in Virginia, 764 more than a year ago — an increase of slightly more than 4%.

“We’ve been reporting on Virginia’s waning inventory of available homes for years now,” Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Ryan Price said in a statement. “In October, we saw the largest inventory buildup the state’s housing market has had in more than eight years.”

Despite the growth in supply, inventory remains tight, continuing to keep home prices higher in some markets. The statewide median sales price in October was $365,000, up $15,000 from October last year.

More than 90% of counties and cities in Virginia have had a higher median sales price from January through October this year compared to the same period last year. The largest median price increases through October were in the Shenandoah Valley, Central Virginia and the Eastern Shore.

Virginia Realtors expects homes to continue to stay on the market longer as buyers adjust to higher mortgage rates, Virginia Realtors President Denise Ramey said in a statement.

March NoVa home sales down 4.9% from 2021

Northern Virginia saw fewer home sales last month compared with March 2021 due to low inventory and higher rates, according to a Northern Virginia Association of Realtors report published Friday.

The market saw a 4.9% decline in home sales over March 2021, not far off from the 4.5% drop nationwide.

“I expect that rapid price increases in homes will soften with escalating inflation and mortgage rates, but it’s unlikely that homes will lose value in our market. This means that affordability will continue to be a challenge,” NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin said in a statement.

In Northern Virginia, sales of existing home stock declined for the third month in a row. Housing inventory was down almost 22% in the region from last year. The region had a 0.56-month supply of unsold inventory.

Existing home sales declined in March, the second consecutive month of declines nationally, according to the National Association of Realtors. Inventory declined by 9.5% from a year ago. The U.S. has a two-month supply of unsold inventory.

Homes in the region sold in 14 days on average in March, down 30% compared with March 2021. The median home prices rose 9.2% to $650,000.

Nationally, houses were on the market for 17 days in March, down from 18 days in March 2021. The median existing home price nationally rose 15% from the same month last year to $375,300.

Jan. Va. home inventory was at all-time-low

Virginia’s housing market set another record in January, hitting an all-time-low of inventory, according to a new report released by Virginia Realtors this week.

At the end of last month, there were 12,203 total active listings, which is 4,478 fewer than this time in 2021, a drop of nearly 27%, according to the industry group. The pace of shrinking inventory accelerated in spring 2020, and the total inventory is about a third of what it was three years ago.

The largest supply reductions were in the Northern Virginia and Richmond markets, Virginia Realtors said.

“Low inventory continues to be a major constraint on the housing market. Home sales activity would likely be much stronger, except buyers are not finding anything to purchase,” Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said in a statement.

Other key takeaways for Virginia residential sales in January:

  • There were 8,063 home sales in Virginia in January, down 9.5% from a year ago.
  • Statewide, the median home sales price in January was $337,500, which is 7.1% over the January 2021 median price.
  • Sold volume in January was $3.4 billion, down 2.2% compared to January 2021.
  • The inventory level fell 9.4% between December and January.