Virginia housing sales remained flat in August but prices rose

Virginia’s housing market sales in August slightly dipped from the previous month. Still, Virginia Realtors reports that sales remain essentially unchanged from last year’s August numbers, even as prices continued to rise and inventory expanded.

According to an August statewide sales data report released by the trade association, the state had 24,606 active listings last month, representing a 26.2% surge from last year. There were also nearly 13,000 properties added to the market during the month. The state’s inventory is now back above 2020 levels.

“Inventory growth has been one of the big stories of 2025,” said Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Ryan Price in a statement. “With listings up more than 26% from last year, buyers across the commonwealth are seeing more options than they’ve had in a long time. While supply is improving, demand continues to be tempered by economic uncertainty.”

In terms of home sales, there were 9,423 homes sold statewide last month, just 15 more than in August 2024 (a 0.2% increase), but down 7.5% from July’s 10,182.

“While there are more options for buyers now with listings increasing each month, climbing prices, stubbornly high mortgage rates for much of the year and lingering job uncertainty in some of Virginia’s larger housing markets have kept sales muted,” the report reads.

The report said some of the sharpest declines in August sales were in the Danville region, the Winchester area and the Virginia Peninsula market. However, sales activity outpaced August 2024  by double-digit rates in the Williamsburg region, the New River Valley and the Eastern Shore.

Pending sales saw a modest 3.4% year-over-year increase, with 8,611 in August. However, pending sales were down 6.3% from July, which the association says is “a typical season dip.”

The statewide median sales price in August was $430,000, a 3.6% increase from the same time last year. The report stated that while prices continue to rise, the pace of the growth is slowing, ranging from 2% to 3.6% over the last five months.

The Greater Piedmont region, the Virginia Peninsula area and the Lynchburg region saw “robust” median price growth. In contrast, the median prices declined in Lexington, the New River Valley and the Charlottesville area.

The association states that despite flat sales, higher prices resulted in the state’s sold dollar volume reaching $5.1 billion, a 4.4% year-over-year increase.

Virginia Realtors notes that homes are taking longer to sell, with the median days on market in August reaching 17 days — five days longer than last August and the slowest August pace since 2019.

However, the association sees some signs for optimism, as the state’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 6.26% in mid-September, the lowest in nearly a year.

“The recent drop in mortgage rates is a positive sign for both buyers and sellers,” said Virginia Realtors President Lorraine Arora in a statement. “If that trend continues, we could see stronger sales to close out what has been a muted year so far.”

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