How has the housing market in Virginia changed over the past year? Here’s a quick view of home sales across the Commonwealth so far in 2022.
The cost of buying a home in Virginia increased nearly 9% in the past year, according to a March 21 report from Virginia Realtors.
The statewide median sales price in February was $350,000, or $28,550 higher than it was in February 2021. This 8.9% increase is the sharpest gain since June 2021. Home are not only more expensive but continue to sell above listing prices as well. New River Valley, southern Central Virginia, and areas around Winchester and Fredericksburg showed the highest gains.
The average sold-to-list price ratio was 101.4% in February 2022 compared to an increase of 100.3% in February 2021. Statewide, sold volume totaled $3.6 billion. An increase of $18.3 million from a year ago.
Home sales across the Commonwealth are slowing compared to February 2021. A drop of 8.4% from 8,907 homes sold in 2021 to 8,160 sold last month reflects the decreased “urgency” of homebuyers to find houses better suited to pandemic needs. So far in 2022, home sales have been virtually flat, inching up only 1.2% in February over January.
Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Virginia Realtors points to two factors that are slowing home sales in Virginia: rising mortgage rates and a lack of inventory/high home prices. There was a 3% drop in new listings last month across the state from January, and 3500 fewer active listings than in February 2021 (a 22.3% drop). New River Valley increased active listings, while Northern Virginia and Richmond remained well below 2021 levels.
As the inventory has shrunk (as more homeowners are staying in place in spite of the seller’s market), competition has remained strong. Listings are averaging 30 days as opposed to the 35 day average a year ago.
In summary, the report states, “The number of active listings in the market is not keeping up with the pace of buyer demand.”
For a quick video on the February Report, click here.
Sources: Virginia Business, Virginia Realtors Association