Learn more about this month's Featured Property: 4290 Brown Roan Lane
I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market. Jump to the full online market report, watch the video overview video, or download the PDF, or read on for highlights....
First, a video overview....
Next, let's take a look at the overall market performance in April....
We are, again, looking at signs of strength and growth for our local market....
- April 2016 home sales (100) showed a 7.53% improvement over April 2015.
- Year-to-date home sales (320) showed a 13.48% improvement over 2015.
- The Year-to-date median sales price has increased 3.96% to $190,500.
- The time it takes to sell a home (median days on market) has declined by 9.88% over the past year to 73 days.
Let's dig into a few details....
Wow! This graph shows very clearly (look at the last two bars on the right) how HOT of a Spring real estate market we are experiencing this year. The pace of contracts in March was a new record for March -- and in April, buyers have done it again. As far back as I have on record (2007) there has never been a month of April when this many (158) contracts have been signed in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
Single family homes are often the best indicator of overall trends in a local housing market. As shown above, sales of single family homes are quite stable -- and the median price has been on the rise for several years now. It seems likely that we will see another increase in the median sales price of single family homes in 2016.
Most housing market analysts consider six months of inventory (active listings) to be an indicator of a balanced market (between buyers and sellers). The "BUYERS" trend line above is illustrating how many buyers are buying in a six month period. The "SELLERS" trend line above is illustrating how many sellers are in the market (active listings) at any given time. Over the past four years we have been seeing a steady increase in buyers in the market and a decline in sellers in the market.
In Summary....
BUYERS -- The record number of contracts (March and April) indicates that you have competition when it comes to great houses that are well prepared and well priced. Get your ducks in a row -- talk to a lender, start researching the market -- so that you are ready to make an offer quickly when the house of your dreams comes on the market.
SELLERS -- Just because many homes are selling quickly doesn't mean ALL homes are selling quickly. Take the time to understand YOUR segment of the market -- as it pertains to property type, price range, location, etc. Know what to expect of buyers in your corner of the market, and prepare your home (price, condition, marketing) to be well received by those buyers.
More and Much, Much More....
There is more, oh so much more, in my full real estate market report. I have even made it very easily accessible for you to read online....
And as is always my encouragement -- if you will be buying or selling a home in the near future, become a student of the housing market! Learn what has been happening recently, what is happening now, and what is likely to happen next. Being informed will allow you to make better real estate decisions.
Finally, here are two handy references to prepare yourself to buy or sell....
