Learn more about this month's Featured Property: 5448 Jesse Bennett Way

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 below, download the PDF, or read on for highlights....

First, a video overview....



Now, let's take a look at the overall market performance in 2016....



Home sales increased 12% in December 2016 to add to the overall excitement of the year and we now, finally have a full year of data to work with -- and my oh my, what a year it was in the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County residential real estate market!

With all of the data in, we find....

• There were 16.25% more home sales in 2016 than in 2015 -- rising to an annual pace of 1,309 home sales.
   
• The median price rose 4.05% during 2016 to $192,500 -- as compared to $185,000 one year ago.
   
• Homes are also selling slightly more quickly -- with a median of 52 days on the market in 2016 as compared to 54 days on the market in 2015.

Now, to graphically contextualize the improvement in the pace of sales....



As you can see, above, home sales started quickly in 2016 and never slowed down -- finishing the year out well above the pace of home sales in any recent year.

Now, let's take a closer look at the trends we have seen over the past two years....



The graph above shows a rolling 12 months of the number of home sales in the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area, as well as the median price of the homes that sold during these time frames. Each data point shows one year’s worth of home sales, which eliminates the volatility of evaluating sales figures on a monthly basis. What jumps out to me is that....

• We have seen relatively consistent increases in the annual pace of home sales over the past two years, which has now risen to more than 1,300 sales/year.
   
• And after many years of median sales prices hovering between $173K and $175K (not shown above), they finally made their way up to $185,000 by summer 2015 and have now risen to $192,500.

The other big story here is inventory -- or lack thereof....



As shown above, buyers only have 413 homes to choose from today -- as compared to 560 one year ago.  That is a 26% decline in the number of homes for sale over the past year -- all while we have seen a 16% increase in the number of homes sold. 

In some ways, the increased sales have created the inventory problem -- buyers have been purchasing homes left and right and depleting the inventory of homes for sale.  But now that inventory levels are so low, we must wonder whether sellers will keep pace (in listing their homes) with the buyer demand that we are likely to see in 2017.

I'll pause here for now, with you knowing that sales are up (16%), prices are up (4%) and inventory is down (26%) in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.  There is plenty more to read in my full monthly market report, which you can find over at HarrisonburgHousingMarket.com.

In coming days on my blog, I'll be exploring....

• What do 2016 year end home sales mean for buyers and sellers in 2017?
   
  
• How has the pace of home sales in the City vs. County changed over the years?
   
• When should we expect to see buyer activity start in earnest in 2017?
   
• The startling 2017 recovery of single family home sales
   
  
• Why did townhouse sales cooled off in 2016?
   
• Is the local real estate market still balanced, or has it tipped in favor of sellers?
   
• Have increased sales been spread evenly across all price range?
   
• Which price range of homes have been hit the hardest with reduced inventory levels?
   
• The reduced impact of foreclosure sales on our local market
  

Until then, feel free to read my full online market report, or download the PDF, or click here to sign up to receive my real estate blog by email.

And -- as is always my encouragement -- if you will be buying or selling a home in the near future, start learning about our local housing market sooner rather than later!  Being informed will allow you to make better real estate decisions.

Here are two handy references to prepare yourself to buy or sell a home....

• BuyingAHomeInHarrisonburg.com


• SellingAHomeInHarrisonburg.com

And if you are ready to get the process started, simply contact me at 540-578-0102 or scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com.