Virginia housing market inching closer to more normal conditions

For the first time in more than a year, sales activity in Virginia slowed in September compared to the prior year.

This is according to the September 2021 Home Sales Report released by Virginia REALTORS®.

There were 13,079 home sales in Virginia in September 2021, down 2 percent from September 2020, when sales were surging due to pent-up demand from the abrupt market slowdown during the spring. “While sales are down year-over-year, it’s important to remember that the market last September was unusually active,” says Virginia REALTORS® Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant, PhD. “Slower sales activity does indicate a cooling in the market, but it also suggests that we’re seeing more typical seasonality in the market.”

The cooling of the market can also be detected in the moderating price growth. While home prices continue to rise in Virginia, the pace of price increases has slowed down from the frenzied growth of the past year. At $350,000, the September median sales price in the commonwealth was about $20,000 higher than last September, a 6.1 percent increase.

There was about $5.6 billion of sold volume throughout Virginia in September, up 3.4 percent from last year, an increase of about $200 million statewide. September’s growth in sold volume represents a notably smaller increase compared to the prior 14 months.

Virginia’s inventory of available homes also saw a shift, rising 1.8 percent from August to September. This is the first uptick between these two months in more than five years.

“It would be impossible for the housing market to keep up the frantic pace we’ve been seeing over the past 12 months,” says Virginia REALTORS® 2021 President Beth Dalton. “What we’re seeing is a slow return to a more ‘normal’ housing market, and not a big change in home buyer demand.”

The Virginia Home Sales Report is published by Virginia REALTORS®. Click here to view the full September 2021 Home Sales Report. Current and past reports are available to members, media, and real estate-related industries through the organization’s website.