Inventory of available homes in Virginia down dramatically

The availability of homes for sale in Virginia continues to plummet, according to data from the 2019 Year-End Home Sales Report released by the Virginia REALTORS on Tuesday.

At the end of December 2019, there was a total of 27,760 active listings, down more than 7,300 from the end of December 2018, a drop of 20.9 percent.

The inventory level at the end of 2019 was down more than 40 percent from 2015.

This is in line with national trends. A report from earlier in January from Realtor.com had the housing inventory nationally at the end of 2019 down 12 percent from the end of 2018.

Back to Virginia: in total, there were 126,305 home sales in Virginia in 2019, up 3.4 percent from 2018. In December 2019, the number of sales increased 10.6 percent over December 2018.

The double-digit increase in sales in December is partially due to the relatively low number of transactions last December when the Federal government was shut down.

Home sales were up in all regions across Virginia in 2019, with the exception of the Southside region, where the number of sales remained relatively unchanged. In Virginia’s largest region, the Northern region, sales were relatively flat both in December 2019, as well as for the year overall.

A lack of inventory, rather than a lack of interested buyers, continues to be the primary reason for slower sales growth in the state’s Northern region.

The median price of homes sold in Virginia in 2019 was $295,000, up 3.5 percent over the median price in 2018. Home prices in Virginia have increased between 2 and 3.5 percent each year for the past five years.

“Steady and consistent price growth reflects the strong demand for homeownership across the Commonwealth,” Virginia REALTORS® Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant, PhD said in a release.

The Virginia Home Sales Report is published by the Virginia REALTORS®.

Click here to view the full Year-End 2019 Home Sales Report.

Current and past reports are available to members, media, and real estate related-industries through the organization’s website.