From Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors
The following analysis of the Fredericksburg, Virginia area housing market has been prepared by the Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS® based data provided by Bright MLS (formerly MRIS).
The real estate market continued its pattern of consistent growth through September posting increases in sold dollar volume and units sold, and a sizeable decrease in days on market compared to September of 2016. Sold dollar volume was up 7.77% from last September, increasing to $148,185,156. A 6% increase in units sold fueled the increase in volume, with 500 homes sold in September of 2017 compared to 471 in September of 2016. Median price slipped over 3.5%, going from $280,000 in September of last year to $269,900 in September of this year. “The beginning of September had its usual slow down with school starting,” remarked FAAR Board Member Drew Fristoe. “The slowdown was prolonged a bit by the uncertainty caused by back-to-back hurricanes, but once that passed, the market picked right back up.”
Days on market, the amount of time it takes from when a listing enters the market until it has a ratified contract, decreased nearly 11%, going from 55 days in September of 2016 to just 49 days in September of 2017. Inventory continues to be a challenge in our market with yet another month of fewer listings than the previous year. September of 2016 saw 1,759 active listings on the market and September of 2017 had nearly 1% less at 1,744. At the current time, there is a 3.55-month supply of available homes, which remains virtually unchanged from August of 2017. A healthy market generally has about a 5-month supply of homes.
There was a sizeable increase in new listings coming onto the market, with 736 new listings in September of 2017 compared to 658 for the same time last year, representing a nearly 12% increase. While pending sales overall were down nearly 10% from September of last year, there was a considerable increase in new pendings and new under contracts, which could be a result of good weather encouraging would-be buyers to look at current inventory. Fristoe continued, “Homes priced under $300,000 and priced well do not last long. Many homes have multiple offer situations.”
