Click here to download Market Update charts for August 2012.




August’s slightly surprising 92 residential sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as reported by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (HRAR MLS), continued this year’s strong sales trend with only two fewer sales than the strongest month of the year (July) and Year-To-Date, sales are up 9.39% over 2011. Further good news is the continued strong buyer activity and contracts in process indicate strong sales for at least the next couple of months, surpassing typical Fall sales figures. Finally, the 12-month sales trend continues to climb at an increasing rate.

Home prices remain stable, but have not begun to increase. We are hopeful the combination of strong buyer activity and lower inventories will begin to bring balance to the market (at least the lower price ranges) by the Spring and Summer of 2013 and home values will begin to appreciate. Pricing figures over the past three years are:

Three year change:    Average Price down -12.03%, Median Price down -7.41%
One year change:       Average Price down -3.68%,   Median Price down -0.33%

Inventory certainly seems to have entered the traditional “Fall decline” as the number of new listings entering the market slows down. We can expect the total inventory of homes for sale to decline steadily through the Fall and Winter months, further helping Sellers.

Interest rates will remain low and overall buying conditions will continue to be historically favorable for the foreseeable future, giving us a positive outlook for the local housing market in 2013.

Click here to view or download our Market Activity Charts for August 2012.

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