Fewer sellers are listing their homes with the lowest June inventory level in Virginia in more than a decade.
When housing markets cool, prices usually soften. However, that hasn’t been the case in the Commonwealth as a large number of buyers are having to choose from an unusually low inventory driving prices up in many cases.
“Currently, Virginia’s home prices defy typical market patterns,” said Virginia REALTORS Chief Economist Ryan Price. “The chronically low inventory of homes paired with a robust pipeline of buyers has continued to put upward pressure on home prices, even despite the significant slowdown in sales.”
The June 2023 Virginia Home Sales Report released by Virginia REALTORS, shows 16,246 active listings on the market throughout the state. This is 3,129 fewer listings than last year at the same time – a 16 percent reduction.
New listings in June fell 25 percent from last year to just 12,135.
The largest decline in supply occurred in Northern Virginia, the Fredericksburg region and parts of the Richmond metro area.
“One factor that’s keeping Virginia’s supply levels low is the ‘lock-in effect’, meaning that many would-be sellers are opting to stay in their homes because of the ultra-low mortgage rates they obtained in 2020 and 2021,” said Virginia REALTORS 2023 President Katrina M. Smith.
Six months into the year, Virginia’s housing market continues to be sluggish, falling back to 2015 sales levels. In June, there were 10,992 homes sold in Virginia, a 17.5 percent drop in activity compared to last June.
The statewide median sales price reached a new high in June, climbing to $411,000, a 3.4 percent increase from last June, a gain of $13,685. With the exception of a slight dip in March, the median sales price in Virginia has been climbing consistently each month compared to the prior year.
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Crystal Graham
