Featured Property:  2944 Crystal Spring Lane, Harrisonburg, VA

I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market and things are starting to look slightly rosier, but it's still not as wonderful of a year of sales as we saw in 2013.

Click here to read the entire report online -- or click here to download the full PDF -- or read on for some highlights....



The good news, as shown above, is that there were 99 home sales in May --- which is ever so slightly more (+2) than last May.  Even with this slight improvement in the month of May, 12.6% fewer homes have sold thus far in 2014 as compared to 2013.  After a strong market recovery last year, many (most?) people assumed we would see further market recovery this year --- both in the pace and price of sales.

One theory is that the abnormally cold and snowy winter created a slower start to the year.  We'll have to wait to see if that theory holds water as we move through the rest of the year.  If that were to be true, I believe we would have seen more of an improvement in May, but I'm willing to patiently (?) wait to see what June home sales will show.

Another theory is that a backlog of buyers (many more than normal) bought in 2013, and that the pace of home sales in 2014 is returning to the trend we were otherwise seeing in 2011 - 2012.

 
Also in the "pretty exciting, but don't order the party bagel from Mr. J's yet" category -- the 99 home sales we saw in May was actually the strongest month of May sales in recent history.  That's good news, even if it does beat the old record of 97 by only two home sales.



There is good and bad news when examining the pace at which contracts are being signed this year....

• GOOD:  May 2014 showed the second highest pace of contract signing (135) in the past 24 months.
• BAD:  May 2014 shows a 6% decline in contracts signed compared to May 2013.
• GOOD:  The pace of contract signing has increased each month of 2014.
• BAD:  Fewer contracts have been signed (1,095) in the past 12 months as compared to the previous 12 months (1,149).
  

If you're feeling blue this Saturday morning about the 13% decline in sales this year, here are a few more pieces of good news that could cheer you up....

• YTD median sales prices are up 0.58% year-over-year.
  
• YTD median days on market is down 8% year-over-year.
• The list price to sales price ratio is still increasing.
• Median price per square foot of single family homes is increasing.
• Interest rates are staying quite low, currently around 4.1%
• The local unemployment rate (4.1%) is the lowest in at least 4 years.

And if those words didn't jump off the page at you and give you hope and enthusiasm for the weekend ahead, then take look through the full report that offers lots of colorful graphs that are bound to inform and entertain.  You can read it online here or download the PDF here.

Also, as always, if you're interested in talking to me about buying a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.....or if you are interested in selling your current home.....just drop me a line by email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102.