The Fredericksburg-area real estate market showed indications of cooling with the first year-over-year decline in units sold since the start of the pandemic. Units sold posted a more than 3% decline this October versus last year with 736 home sales in 2021 compared to 760 in 2020. Those declines were nearly universal across the FAAR footprint with Spotsylvania leading the way with a 15% decline in sales. Orange County was a noticeable outlier with a sizeable increase in units sold. In October of 2020, Orange County saw 53 sales. In October of this year, the County posted 90 sales, representing a 70% year-over-year increase.
“The market we experienced in 2020 and first two quarters in 2021 was a sellers’ market on steroids,” comments FAAR Board of Director Clay Murray. “There was a huge imbalance between supply and demand providing incredible opportunities for sellers with crazy intense competition among qualified buyers. That being said, it’s not sustainable and what we’re seeing is a healthy calming, not cooling, of that intensity — from crazy to hot. It’s still a very strong and solid sellers’ market for appropriately priced homes as some normalcy comes into play between buyers and sellers. Home inspections and appraisal contingencies are more prevalent and that’s a good thing for all. We all know finding some balance and being healthy is vital, the same thing goes for our local real estate market.”
Total sold dollar volume increased nearly 5%, settling at approximately $305 million this October compared to $291 million last year. Median price saw a more than 9% increase, going from $352,000 in October of 2020 to $384,677 in October of this year. Days on market, the time it takes from when a listing enters the market until it receives a ratified contract and is removed from active status on the multiple listing service, fell 10% with houses averaging 18 days on the market in October 2021 compared to 20 days in October 2020. The reduction in DOM is the smallest metric the market has seen since July of 2020 when DOM declined 9%. The local market has consistently experienced double digit declines in days on market for most of the last two years.
While new listings were down nearly 10% this October compared to last year, overall active listings are up over 20%. There were 653 active listings at the end of last October compared to 784 this year. Last year saw 890 new listings come onto the market in October, compared to 802 this year. New pending sales are down nearly 4%, indicating a slower pace of sales headed into the holiday season.