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Charlottesville Housing Market Continues to Improve
Posted on May 21, 2010 by The Woodlands of Charlottesville
There’s no better time to invest in a new home at The Woodlands of Charlottesville. The housing market is finally starting to improve and The Woodlands offers a luxurious condo community which overlooks some of Charlottesville’s most beautiful vistas. The article below highlights the recent changes in the housing market.
Virginia housing market is improving, Realtors say
By Carol Hazard, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
Housing is mending as the economy continues to improve and people gain enough confidence to buy houses, according to a first-quarter home-sales report released yesterday by the Virginia Association of Realtors.
Realtors from eight regions across the state were almost giddy in their assessment of the industry in a conference call about the report yesterday, shortly after the Commerce Department announced that the U.S. gross domestic product rose 3.2 percent in the first quarter.
“What a difference a year makes,” said Jeff Gaffney, a Realtor from Charlottesville. “Last year it felt like the dawn of the dead.”
Realtors cited incidents of multiple offers and a flurry of activity, even as foreclosures and short sales continue to drag down the industry.
Some of their optimism may show up more in second-quarter results as buyers scurried in the past few weeks to meet yesterday’s deadline to qualify for federal home-purchase tax credits.
In the Richmond metropolitan area, the median price of a house, with half selling for more and half for less, was $190,067 in the first quarter, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the report. Sales in the region rose 9.1 percent to 1,643.
“The most positive thing is the median sales price [in some localities] is finally going back up — not in great leaps, but not the real drop-off that we saw in the last two years,” said Jack Torza with Long & Foster in Mechanicsville.
Statewide, the median price rose 7.2 percent to $236,877 in the first three months of the year from the same period a year ago. While the number of sales fell 1.1 percent from a year ago, it dropped 34 percent from the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter had an unusually high number of transactions, probably because of the homebuyer tax credit that was set to expire on Nov. 30 but was extended to yesterday, Realtors said.
A separate report yesterday showed that the U.S. GDP measure of the overall economy rose 3.2 percent in the first quarter, confirming the end of the recession and boding well for continued improvement in housing.
“The 3.2 percent growth in the GDP was about what was expected, but what wasn’t expected was the increase in consumer spending and consumer confidence,” John McClain, a senior fellow at George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, said during the media call.
“People are beginning to feel better about the economy,” he said. The numbers show positive glimmers, he said.
The housing market has a long way to go before it recovers from a three-year slump that led the country into the steepest recession since the Great Depression, industry experts say. But prices seem to have stabilized and sales numbers are rising in some areas.
Torza said the federal tax credits — as much as $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for move-up buyers — have been a boon for the Richmond region.
Realtors from other regions said their lobbies and conference rooms were full yesterday as people tried to get contracts signed by the midnight deadline for the credits.
“We’re hoping we don’t drop off a cliff because the credit is coming to an end,” Torza said.
He said sales are picking up in the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck regions, prime second-home markets. If housing continues to improve in Northern Virginia, where the median price rose 12.6 percent to $366,407 in the first quarter from a year ago, it should spur demand for second homes on the river, Torza said.
Rosemary deButts, an economic and housing consultant, said Northern Virginia was the first region to suffer from an onslaught of foreclosures, but foreclosures are abating there, which could be a predictor for the rest of the state.
“Happy days are here again,” said Barry Bridges, a Realtor from the Roanoke region. “We’re happy, and we haven’t been so happy for awhile.”
Tagged: charlottesville apartments, woodlands, housing market, housing, real estate, homeowner, national association of realtors, homebuyers
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