Relief Could Be on the Way for Potential Home Buyers
Anyone who has bought (or attempted to buy) a house in Northern Virginia has likely come to the same conclusion: it’s absolutely a sellers’ market out there! Low inventory. High demand. Historically low interest rates. Shifting priorities as the working landscape changes. This has all added up to bidding wars, higher asking prices, and lots of frustrated would-be home buyers.
“I had a full head of hair when I first started looking at homes in NoVA.”
Hang in there, though, because there’s good news…for both buyers and sellers in today’s real estate market!
It’s Still a Great Time to Sell Your Northern Virginia Home
The numbers don’t lie. They are, in fact, pathologically honest.
We are still very much in a sellers’ market, and here are just some statistics and facts to reinforce that idea:
- Across all of Virginia, home sales were up 20 percent in June 2021 compared to the average numbers from the last four Junes. Can’t get enough of the data? Here are the home sale numbers broken down by year:
- 2021: 16,393
- 2020: 13,176
- 2019: 13,106
- 2018: 13,887
- 2017: 14,182
- 2017–2020 average: 13,588
- Year-over-year home sales were up, to varying degrees, across the eight reporting areas within the commonwealth. West Central Virginia, for example, only saw a 7.5 percent increase, while Northern Virginia logged a whopping 34.4 percent bump.
- Just like home sale numbers, median sales prices varied dramatically by region. Southside and Southwest Virginia had a median home price of $180,000; Northern Virginia had a median home price of more than three times that ($560,000).
- It’s not just individual home sales on the rise. The median sale price of those transactions is rising as well. Total sales volume in June 2021 totaled about $7.5 billion. That’s nearly 50 percent higher than this time one year ago.
- At the end of June 2021, there was a supply of homes on the market to cover about a month and a half. That’s not even half of what’s necessary for the real estate market to be considered “balanced” between home sellers and potential buyers.
- At the end of June 2021, there were 19,346 active listings. That’s an 18 percent decline from a year ago.
Want to capitalize on this market while conditions still heavily favor sellers? Interested in putting your Virginia home on the market? Read this article for several reasons why now could be the right time to sell. Then reach out if you have any questions or are ready to take the next step.
Relief Could Be on the Way for Would-Be Home Buyers
Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for the Virginia Realtors trade group, has analyzed the data and come to a conclusion that could be music to all those exhausted, disheartened, outbid home-buying hopefuls:
“It remains a sellers’ market, although buyers likely will find less competition and more options this summer and into the fall. Inventory will remain tight, and demand will stay strong, but the pace of home-sales activities—and the increase in prices—should begin to return to a more normal state.”
“Whoo! It might be marginally easier to buy a house soon!”
The key to this is getting an influx of inventory. When that happens, buyers have more choices, can be more picky, are less likely to be pitted against other buyers in a bidding war, and regain some of their power in the negotiation process. Luckily for home buyers, the data supports that inventory is on the rise.
“Inventory levels have increased from one month to the next for the past four months, after years of nearly continuous month-to-month inventory declines,” Sturtevant said. “Buyers are not drawing down those new listings as quickly as they have in the past.”
Looking to get into the Northern Virginia real estate market? Want a team of experts on your side as you navigate this tricky landscape? Start with our free home-buying guide. If you have any questions or want to get the buying process started, don’t hesitate to reach out!
