Homes inventory declined sharply last month in Va.

Nov. had 3.7% more residential sales than Nov. 2020, but 25% less inventory

Published December 21, 2021 by Katherine Schulte

Virginia’s inventory of homes continues to decline, but buyer demand remains high, according to a report released Tuesday by Virginia Realtors.

At the end of November, there were 16,242 active listings across the commonwealth, nearly 25% fewer than the same time last year.

The rate of decline in homes on the market slowed down over the summer but began to fall sharply in October, according to the report. The total supply in Virginia’s housing market is about one-third of the level it was five years ago.

Demand remains high. In November, there were 12,134 sales, a 3.7% increase from the same month last year.

“The housing market remains very resilient in Virginia,” Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said in a statement. “There are some headwinds — including the rise in omicron cases and the potential for interest rate hikes — but most signs point to continued strong demand in the months to come.”

Strong demand has raised prices. The statewide average sold-to-list price ratio in November was 100.6%, indicating that on average, a home that sold in Virginia closed at a price that was 0.6% higher than the seller’s asking price. The median sales price was $355,795, an 8.3% increase from the comparable period last year. There was about $5.3 billion in volume sold in November, up 9.9% compared to a year ago.

The year-to-date median sales price statewide was 9.4% higher than this time last year, which is about a $30,000 increase. Within the regional markets, the strongest price growth continues to be in Northern and Eastern Virginia. Price growth has also been strong in parts of Southern and Southwest Virginia.

Homes also continue to sell faster. In November, the statewide average days on market was 26 days, five days less than this time last year.

“Local housing markets across Virginia continue to see strong buyer demand, but very low inventory remains a challenge,” Virginia Realtors 2022 President Denise Ramey said in a statement. “It will continue to be a strong sellers’ market as we head into 2022.”

Virginia Realtors, formerly the Virginia Association of Realtors, is a trade association representing 36,000 realtors in the residential and commercial real estate business.

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