Published by Virginia Association of REALTORS速, the advocate for real estate professionals and property owners in Virginia.
2012
OCTOBER
VIRGINIA HOME SALES REPORT
Virginia Monthly Home Sales Report
October 2012
Virginia's Monthly Pace of Residential Sales Single Family, Townhomes, Condos 12,000
10,000
9,704 9,026
8,918 8,563
8,000
7,667 7,203 6,765 6,263
6,078
7,069
7,017
Sep-12
Oct-12
5,780
6,000 5,073
4,000
+12%
2,000
0 Oct-11
Nov-11
Dec-11
Jan-12
Feb-12
Mar-12
Apr-12
May-12
Jun-12
Jul-12
Aug-12
The pace of Virginia home sales continued to increase in October 2012 with a 12% increase to 7,017 home sales -- after only a 2% increase between September 2011 and 2012. Low unemployment rates in Virginia, as well as record low mortgage interest rates, have helped Virginia’s residential housing market continue to grow throughout 2012. Monthly home sales are likely to remain at current levels through the end of the year, before declining in January.
Published by the Virginia Association of REALTORSÂŽ
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Virginia Monthly Home Sales Report
October 2012
Virginia Median Residential Sales Price Single Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos
$235,000
$239,950
$246,000
$255,000
$255,000
$249,900
$238,500
$225,000
$210,000
$204,900
$225,000
$220,000
$215,000
$224,000
$240,000
$241,500
$245,000
$225,325
$225,000
$214,900
$213,900
$232,640
$236,251
$205,000
Median Sales Price
$250,000
$229,900
$300,000
$200,000
+9%
$150,000
+2%
$100,000
Alongside a 12% increase in the pace of home sales in Virginia (see page 2), the median sales prices in Virginia also increased. The median sales price in October 2012 ($235,000) marks a 9% increase from one year earlier ($215,000), and a 2% increase from two years ago ($229,900). It is typical in Virginia to see declines in median sales price between July and January, so we should expect to see median prices continue to decline during through the fall and winter months. Despite these seasonal declines, the increased pace of buyer activity is certainly helping to provide further stabilization and growth in median sales prices.
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Virginia Monthly Home Sales Report
October 2012
Virginia Monthly Residential Sales Volume Single Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos 3,500
3,094 3,000 2,782
Millions of Dollars of Residential Sales
2,681
2,742
2,500 2,264 2,108
2,019 2,000
2,011
1,890 1,715
1,700 1,523
1,500
1,317
+17%
1,000
500
0 Oct-11
Nov-11
Dec-11
Jan-12
Feb-12
Mar-12
Apr-12
May-12
Jun-12
Jul-12
Aug-12
Sep-12
Oct-12
The total volume of real estate sold in Virginia during October 2012 ($2.011B) marks a significant 17% increase in the volume of real estate being transferred as compared to last October. Given the recent increases in median sales prices (see Page 3), we should expect to see further increases in overall sales volume as the pace of sales increases (see Page 2).
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Virginia Monthly Home Sales Report
October 2012
Virginia Average Days On Market Single Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos 120
+15% 100 101 99
100
95 91 86
106 98
97
96 88
89
Average Days On Market
80
92
99
101 101
-12% 104
102
90 86
83 79
80
87
82
60
40
20
0
Virginia’s housing market experienced a 12% decline over the past year in average days on market to the current average of 87 days. This decline in days on market is after a 15% increase in the same metric during the previous year. It is typical to see an increase in average days on market during the fall and winter months, thus we will likely see this metric start to increase over the next several months.
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Virginia Monthly Home Sales Report
October 2012
Virginia Unemployment Rate Source: Bureau of Labor & Statistics
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.7%
5.6%
5.6%
5.6%
6%
5.7%
5.8%
6.1%
6.2%
6.4%
6.5%
6.3%
6.1%
6.0%
6.0%
6.1%
6.3%
6.6%
6.4%
6.5%
7%
6.4%
6.5%
8%
6.9%
9%
5% 4% Sep-10
Dec-10
Mar-11
Jun-11
Sep-11
Dec-11
Mar-12
Jun-12
Sep-12
Virginia’s unemployment rate has stayed steadily at 5.9% over the past several months, continuing the now nine month stretch of staying under 6%. The current level of 5.9% places Virginia in a tie for 12th place in the country for lowest unemployment rates.
Average 30-Year Mortgage Interest Rates Source: FreddieMac 4.2% 4.10% 4.0%
3.98%
3.95%
3.98%
3.95%
3.99% 3.88%
3.8%
3.75% 3.66%
3.6%
3.59% 3.49%
3.4%
3.40%
3.41%
Sep-12
Oct-12
3.2% 3.0% Oct-11
Nov-11
Dec-11
Jan-12
Feb-12
Mar-12
Apr-12
May-12
Jun-12
Jul-12
Aug-12
Average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates rose ever so slightly in October 2012 to 3.41% -- making this the second lowest interest rates in the history of tracking mortgage interest rates. These tremendously low interest rates make it quite compelling for buyers to step into the market, given how they can protect themselves from inflation by fixing their housing costs at such a low, long term rate.
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Virginia Monthly Home Sales Report
October 2012
The Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR) is the business advocate for real estate professionals in Virginia. VAR represents more than 29,000 REALTORS active in all phases of real estate brokerage, management, development and appraisal. Our mission is to enhance our membership’s ability to achieve business success. All inquiries regarding this report should be directed to: Stacey Ricks, Director of Public Relations Virginia Association of REALTORS® 10231 Telegraph Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059 (804) 249-5716 Stacey@VARealtor.com www.VARealtor.com/HomeSales Information sourced from multiple listing services across the state with data compiled by R E Stats Inc. All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. Figures might not match those reported elsewhere.
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