"As home sales moderate, overall home prices will be essentially flat this year," says David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Tighter lending standards are expected to slow sales, but the good news is, inventory remains well below the levels seen in the real estate downturn of the early 1990's.
Are sales moderating and prices flat in our South Hampton Roads cities? Let's take a look?
Single family sales in Virginia Beach dropped by 28 percent in March compared to March 2006, causing the average market time to increase 55 percent, from 41 days to 65 days.
The median price increased 10 percent to $258,700 and the average sale price increased 18 percent to $326,179.
Virginia | Sold | Median | Average Sale | Average Days |
March 2007 | 508 | $258,700 | $316,179 | 65 |
March 2006 | 703 | $235,000 | $276,879 | 41 |
Chesapeake single family home sales decreased by 20 percent, with market times increasing 64 percent. Unlike Virginia Beach, both the median price and the avereage sale prices dropped 8 and 11 percent respectively.
Chesapeake | Sold | Median | Average | Average Days |
March 2007 | 298 | $199,900 | $271,412 | 69 |
March 2006 | 372 | $270,000 | $306,281 | 42 |
Norfolk experienced a 30 percent decline in sales this March. Market times increased 23 percent. Prices rose, however. The median price increased 9 percent to $199,900 and the average sales price rose 12 percent to $242,362.
Norfolk | Sold | Median | Average | Average Days |
March 2007 | 202 | $199,900 | $242,362 | 65 |
March 2006 | 290 | $190,250 | $237,016 | 53 |
Unlike the above cities, Portsmouth home sales increased by 2 percent and market times decreased 9 percent. Prices were up with the median price increasing to $167,950 and the average sales prices increasing to $175,125.
Portsmouth | Sold | Median | Average | Average Days |
March 2007 | 142 | $167,950 | $175,125 | 52 |
March 2006 | 139 | $150,000 | $162,368 | 55 |
Suffolk experienced the most favorable market in March with an increase of 19 percent compared to March 2006. Surprisingly, market times increased, also, 69 days vs 41 days in 2006. Usually, an increase in sales causes market times to go down. We'll have to keep an eye on this to see what the next couple of months brings.
Suffolk prices were also favorable, with 2 percent increase in the median price and a 4 percent increase in the average sales price, bringing the average price to $323,834.
Suffolk | Sold | Median | Average | Average Days |
March 2007 | 131 | $292,000 | $323,834 | 69 |
March 2006 | 161 | $285,000 | $310,252 | 41 |
As you can see, the real estate market varies dramatically from city to city. When you see statistics for South Hampton Roads as a whole, they may not reflect what is actually happening in your particular area.
If you are interested in what prices are doing in your neighborhood, visit HRPropertyUpdate.com. A current home valuation will be emailed to you.
Statistics compiled from Real Estate Information Network. They are deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
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