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The State of Our Local Housing Market |
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Despite continued turbulence in many real estate markets across the country, the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County housing market continues to perform well, with stable values, despite a continued decline in sales pace. Many housing markets across the country have experienced net losses of 30% - 50% in housing values over the past three years. Harrisonburg and Rockingham have seen only a 2% downward shift in housing values over the past three years, as measured by the median price of sold residential properties per the Harrisonburg/Rockingham MLS. The Central Shenandoah's diverse economy has remained very stable in most sectors over the last several years, and our area's continued low unemployment rates have allowed our housing market to continue to perform well. While there are still those in our local community that are seeking employment, our local unemployment rate has been below the state and national rate for many years. This employment stability gives local home buyers confidence in moving forward with their housing purchases. While it hasn't created an enormous, market-altering boost in sales, the $8,000 credit to first time buyers has allowed many hopeful homeowners to buy over the past few months in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. The $8,000 is returned to the home buyer when they file their 2009 taxes, but can also be used as a down payment or closing costs in some cases. Of note, time is now running short for those hoping to take advantage of this $8,000 first time buyer tax credit. The deadline for closing on a home under this government program is November 30, 2009, and the financing process generally takes 45 to 60 days to complete. In addition to low unemployment, and the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit, very low foreclosure rates in our local market have also contributed to stability in home values. Home values increased quite rapidly between 2003 and 2005 in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, but did not increase fast enough and far enough to push large numbers of buyers into risky loan programs. In many other high priced areas of the country, buyers purchased homes using extremely risky loan programs during the market boom, which led to high foreclosure rates in those areas during 2007, 2008 and 2009. These foreclosed homes then re-entered the market and sold by the new owners (the banks) at values much lower than pre-existing market values. Since Harrisonburg and Rockingham County have such a low foreclosure rate, these few home sales have not significantly affected local housing values. Thus, it seems that our local housing market has experienced the lesser of two evils. Most local homeowners are glad that they have not seen 30% - 50% declines in the value of their home, yet the drastic decline in the number of homes that sell per year makes it difficult to sell a home in a timely fashion. Interestingly, many of the market that experienced huge drops in home values have now seen the pace of home sales increasing yet again. Prospective buyers in today's market ought to research home values carefully in the neighborhood(s) where they may buy, and shouldn't buy if they will need to sell again within a one to two year time period. Hopeful sellers in today's market should price and market their home aggressively to maximize the chances that it will sell amidst very high inventory levels. Recent Articles:
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
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