No matter where you are in Virginia, Virginia real estate agents are facing inventory shortages, creating a frustrating situation for buyers.
“I think people are getting used to the current interest rates, but there’s just a huge shortage of inventory,” he said. chelsea newcombe, RE/MAX Real Estate Specialist Agent based in Charlottesville. “There are buyers looking, but finding a home they like enough to pay a high price for, and with interest rates over 6.5%, is a little difficult.”
Newcombe said data shows interest rates and price increases have increased by more than $100,000 since March 2020. Altos Researchher clients have become more selective when choosing a home.
“If interest rates and prices were lower, people were more willing to compromise,” Newcomb said.
in Wise, Virginia, near the westernmost tip of the state. RE/MAX Cavaliers Agent Brett Tiller His clients also struggle to find suitable properties.
“What’s really noticeable, especially compared to two years ago, is the lack of quality listings,” Tiller said. “Slightly more upscale single-family properties for move-up buyers with children looking for a forever home are not currently on the market and demand remains very high.”
throughout the state, Virginia According to Altos Research, the 90-day average of active single-family listings as of March 8, 2024 was 8,068, compared to 14,471 in early March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. decreased from the property. This corresponds to a decrease of 44%.
Located in the core metropolitan area of Newcomb charlottesville, the recent average of active single-family listings during the same 90-day period was just 277 listings, compared to 892 listings at the start of the pandemic.in Wise Countythere were only 56 listings.
Due to demand from move-up buyers in Tiller’s area, the average time a home with a median price of about $190,000 was on the market was just 17 days as of early March 2024.
“It’s very rare to find a suitable home right now, but we still get multiple offers,” Tiller said. “Demand is the same now as it was in the middle of the pandemic.”
With inventory so tight, homebuyers are spending up to six months searching for a new property, roughly double the time it took before the pandemic, Tiller said.
for matt salway Tight inventory has created a pretty hot market in the Virginia Beach metropolitan area.
“Depending on where you are in your area, your listing could have 15 offers in two days,” the agent says. Iron Valley Real Estate Hampton Roads | Virginia Beach Said. “There’s a lot of competition in most of Virginia Beach, and Norfolk is pretty hot too, especially for items under $400,000.”
According to Altos Research, the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News housing market was the seventh-hottest housing market in the country with a seven-day average Market Action Index score of 52.44 as of March 14. ing. Altos believes that a Market Action Index score above 30 indicates a seller’s market.
Further up the coastline of vacation destination Chincoteague Island; long & foster Agent Megan O. Clarkson We are also seeing significant competition despite rising prices and interest rates.
“People are now taking the time to actually look at things rather than buying sites without being seen. We do see occasional seller concessions, but the traffic and demand is still there. We don’t have anything to sell, so maybe we can work with people a little bit more,” Clarkson said.
“I’m busy and always have commitments, but the underlying frenzy at the height of the pandemic has gone, and I think it’s because we’ve gotten used to it.”
While much of the demand faced by the Clarkson market comes from retirees looking for vacation homes or scenic retirement spots, the bulk of the demand in the Salway market comes from military and civilian personnel working on government contracts.
“There are more than a dozen military bases here and many shipyards, so the closer you are to all these bases, the easier it is to sell your home and the faster the sale will happen,” Salway said.
For this reason, Sarway said existing home inventory typically does not come onto the market unless the employment contract ends or the owner is relocated to another location, contributing to the current tight inventory in the market. He said there was.
The situation is a little different for Mr. Tiller and Mr. Newcomb. They are finding a significant number of buyers from other more expensive areas of the state.
“One of the crazy things about Louisa and Goochland, like the suburbs on the west side of Richmond, is they’re growing like crazy,” Newcombe said. “A lot of people are coming from Northern Virginia because they can now work remotely.”
With a Market Action Index score of 50, it’s easy to see why people are leaving the market. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria The Charlottesville market has an index score of 41.
Additionally, the average 90-day median list price in Charlottesville is $585,000, compared to $729,900 in the Washington, DC area, which also drives many Virginia homebuyers to move further south. Newcombe said this is an incentive for people to do more.
“They’re used to high prices, so they’re very impressed with the prices we’re offering in the Central Virginia area,” Newcomb said.
For local buyers, Newcombe said, this means frequently going above and beyond prices.
“Couples who are local to this area and have lived here all their lives are just now starting to understand the fact that they can’t buy a house for $200,000 anymore,” Newcombe said.
As spring approaches and prime home buying season begins, Virginia real estate agents are optimistic about the market.
“We’re seeing a seasonal trend, similar to what we saw through 2019,” Clarkson said. “The market picked up slowly around Presidents Day and is still expanding, but as always, we expect it to pick up quickly and be in full swing by Easter.”
But while they are confident in demand, questions remain about whether there will be enough inventory to support even more homebuyers entering the market.
“A lot of buyers are starting to back out, but in my office, we also have a lot of people who are planning to list their homes in the next two to three weeks as the weather is starting to turn,” Newcombe said. Told. “I think we’ll have a good spring and summer.”