Home Sales Back In Line With Population?

The Weldon Cooper Center just released their 2014 Population Estimates and Harrisonburg and Rockingham County are growing, as usual.

2014 Population Estimates:

• Harrisonburg:  52,612
• Rockingham County:  78,953
• Combined City/County:  131,565

If we take 2000 home sales as a baseline portion of the population to be buying in any given year, and then we project forward based on actual population growth, we can conclude that....

• More people than usual bought between 2001 and 2007.  (housing boom)
   
  
• Fewer people than usual bought between 2009 and 2012.  (housing bust, and then recovery)
   
  
• In 2014 we may have finally returned to a "normal" portion of the local population to be buying in a given year.
  

Based on the data presented above, I believe the new "normal" number of people to be buying per year may be around 1,050 - 1,100 home sales.

Read today's Daily News Record article for more commentary on these new population estimates.