2012 october home sales report

VIRGINIA HOME SALES REPORT OC

TOBE

R

2012

Published by Virginia Association of REALTORS®, the advocate for real estate professionals and property owners in Virginia.

October 2012Virginia Monthly Home Sales Report

Published by the Virginia Association of REALTORS®

6,2636,078

6,765

5,073

5,780

7,203

7,667

9,026

9,704

8,5638,918

7,069 7,017

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

Oct-11 Nov-11 Dec-11 Jan-12 Feb-12 Mar-12 Apr-12 May-12 Jun-12 Jul-12 Aug-12 Sep-12 Oct-12

Virginia's Monthly Pace of Residential SalesSingle Family, Townhomes, Condos

The pace of Virginia home sales continued to increase in October 2012 with a 12% increase to 7,017 home sales -- after only a 2% increase between September 2011 and 2012. Low unemployment rates in Virginia, as well as record low mortgage interest rates, have helped Virginia’s residential housing market continue to grow throughout 2012. Monthly home sales are likely to remain at current levels through the end of the year, before declining in January.

+12%



$2

29

,90

0

$2

36

,25

1

$2

32

,64

0

$2

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0

$2

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$2

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0

$2

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$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

Med

ian

Sal

es P

rice

Virginia Median Residential Sales PriceSingle Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos

Alongside a 12% increase in the pace of home sales in Virginia (see page 2), the median sales prices in Virginia also increased. The median sales price in October 2012 ($235,000) marks a 9% increase from one year earlier ($215,000), and a 2% increase from two years ago ($229,900).

It is typical in Virginia to see declines in median sales price between July and January, so we should expect to see median prices continue to decline during through the fall and winter months. Despite these seasonal declines, the increased pace of buyer activity is certainly helping to provide further stabilization and growth in median sales prices.

+9%

+2%



1,715 1,700

1,890

1,317

1,523

2,019

2,264

2,782

3,094

2,6812,742

2,1082,011

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500


Mill

ions

of

Dol

lars

of

Res

iden

tial

Sal

es

Virginia Monthly Residential Sales VolumeSingle Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos

The total volume of real estate sold in Virginia during October 2012 ($2.011B) marks a significant 17% increase in the volume of real estate being transferred as compared to last October. Given the recent increases in median sales prices (see Page 3), we should expect to see further increases in overall sales volume as the pace of sales increases (see Page 2).

+17%



86

9195

100 10199 98

96

88 8992

9799

101 101

106104

102

90

8379 80

8286 87

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Ave

rage

Day

s O

n M

arke

t

Virginia Average Days On MarketSingle Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos

Virginia’s housing market experienced a 12% decline over the past year in average days on market to the current average of 87 days. This decline in days on market is after a 15% increase in the same metric during the previous year.

It is typical to see an increase in average days on market during the fall and winter months, thus we will likely see this metric start to increase over the next several months.

+15% -12%



6.5

%

6.4

%

6.5

%

6.4

% 6.9

%

6.6

%

6.3

%

6.1

%

6.0

%

6.0

%

6.1

%

6.3

%

6.5

%

6.4

%

6.2

%

6.1

%

5.8

%

5.7

%

5.6

%

5.6

%

5.6

%

5.7

%

5.9

%

5.9

%

5.9

%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

Sep-10 Dec-10 Mar-11 Jun-11 Sep-11 Dec-11 Mar-12 Jun-12 Sep-12

Virginia Unemployment RateSource: Bureau of Labor & Statistics

Virginia’s unemployment rate has stayed steadily at 5.9% over the past several months, continuing the now nine month stretch of staying under 6%. The current level of 5.9% places Virginia in a tie for 12th place in the country for lowest unemployment rates.

4.10%

3.98% 3.95% 3.98% 3.95% 3.99%

3.88%

3.75%3.66%

3.49%3.59%

3.40% 3.41%

3.0%

3.2%

3.4%

3.6%

3.8%

4.0%

4.2%


Average 30-Year Mortgage Interest RatesSource: FreddieMac

Average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates rose ever so slightly in October 2012 to 3.41% -- making this the second lowest interest rates in the history of tracking mortgage interest rates. These tremendously low interest rates make it quite compelling for buyers to step into the market, given how they can protect themselves from inflation by fixing their housing costs at such a low, long term rate.



The Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR) is the business advocate for real estate professionals in Virginia. VAR represents more than 29,000 REALTORS active in all phases of real estate brokerage, management, development and appraisal. Our mission is to enhance our membership’s ability to achieve business success.

All inquiries regarding this report should be directed to:

Stacey Ricks, Director of Public RelationsVirginia Association of REALTORS®10231 Telegraph Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059(804) 249-5716 [email protected]/HomeSales

Information sourced from multiple listing services across the state with data compiled by R E Stats Inc.All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. Figures might not match those reported elsewhere.

2012 october home sales report

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