Va. saw 10.8% increase in home sales in 2020

Virginia Realtors predicts 2021 will also be strong year for real estate

Published January 25, 2021 by Sydney Lake

Virginia saw a 10.8% increase in the number of homes sold during 2020 compared with the year before, according to a report released by Virginia Realtors. It marks the fastest growth in annual sales seen in Virginia in more than five years.

During 2020, 139,908 homes sold in Virginia, compared with 126,305 homes sold in 2019. Eastern Virginia saw the largest increase in homes sold with a 29.4% jump. Northern Virginia saw the largest number of homes sold in 2020, with 49,185 sales. In 2019, 44,725 home sold in Northern Virginia.

Virginia also saw the median home sales price in 2020 up to $319,902 compared to $295,000 in 2019 — an 8.4% increase.

In December 2020, there were a total of 12,525 homes for sale with 8,151 pending sales statewide in Virginia at the end of the month. The number of homes for sale was a 32.4% increase from December 2019, resulting from high demand for homeownership. Median sales price statewide jumped to $325,000 for December 2020, a 10.2% increase from the same period the year before.

“The foremost challenge for Virginia’s housing market has been a lack of supply,” Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said in a statement. “Declining inventory has limited options for would-be homebuyers and has driven up home prices across the commonwealth.”

Virginia Realtors predicts that homeownership demand will remain high during 2021 while inventory remains low. Home sales will increase, but transactions will slow due to low supply, according to Virginia Realtors.