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The local real estate market broke more records in April of 2022 with the regional median sales price and two jurisdictions seeing all-time highs.  The month closed out with a nearly 18% increase in total sold dollar volume, going from approximately $288 million in April of 2021, t0 nearly $339 million in April of 2022.  Median sold price was up a whopping 15% year-over-year, clocking in at $440,000 in April of 2022 compared to $384,075 in 2021.  That beat the all-time high record of $410,000 set in February of this year.  Units sold settled at 731 in April of 2022, compared to 719 in April of 2021, an increase just shy of 2%. 

FAAR Board of Director Gary Gardiner comments, “The April market continued to be highly competitive for buyers and extremely positive for sellers. Multiple offers, escalating sales prices, and waived contingencies are some of the benefits sellers are evaluating to make the best decision.”

The stark rise in prices was very apparent in April with Stafford and Spotsylvania counties breaking previous price records and the other jurisdictions not far behind.  Spotsylvania County posted an all-time high price in April 0f 2022 of $409,999 while Stafford County came in at a staggering $499,825.  Gardiner continues, “Despite the recent increase in mortgage rates, real estate professionals are still experiencing more highly qualified buyers in the market than the number of homes available for sale. Low home supply and high buyer demand continues to be the driving force to our competitive market.”

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 stayed flat from last year at 14 days.  That reversed a months-long trend of increasing days on market that started in September of 2021.  Despite six months of increasing sit time on the market, overall days on market is still very low by historical standards.  The five-year average for April is 27 days on the market compared to the nearly half of that this April at 14 days.   

Active listings have shown year-over-year growth since July of 2021 with April posting another 44% increase in homes on the market compared to last year.  There were 727 homes on the market at the end of April compared to 505 last year.  While that increase is good for buyers, there were still nearly 1,000 fewer homes on the market this year than just three years ago in April of 2019.  New listings were down this April by about 12%, with 1,057 new homes coming on the market compared to nearly 1,200 last April.  New pending sales were down nearly 23% and overall pending sales are down nearly 30%, indicating that continued supply challenges and increasing interest rates could be dampening demand.

February 2022 was a record-setting month with the area’s median price eclipsing $400,000 for the first time in history.  The local market continues to be very challenging for buyers and for sellers who don’t have a well-defined next step.  FAAR Board Member Michele Freemyers states, “January and February closings numbers were down due to an overall decrease in the number of units sold. Monthly contracts bear the signs of a very difficult buyer’s market, with waivers of financing contingencies, appraisals, and home inspections.  Waivers of termite, well and septic inspections are even becoming the norm along with a significant number of cash buyers.”

Sold dollar volume was up in February nearly 10%, jumping from approximately $181 million last February to nearly $200 million this year.  The increase in volume was fueled by a more than 17% increase in median sold price, with homes in February of 2022 seeing a median price of $410,000 compared to $349,950 in February of 2021.  That is a doubling in median price from 10 years ago.  In March of 2012, the median sales price was $195,000, and had increased from just $159,900 ten years before that.  The swift pace of price increases is more than many buyers can handle, which led to a year-over-year decrease in units sold this February compared to last year.  In February of 2021, 487 houses were transacted compared to 457 this year, a more than 6% drop. 

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, increased 44% with houses averaging 23 days on the market in February 2022 compared to the incredibly low 16 days in 2021.

Overall active listings continued to show modest improvement with 23% more homes on the market this February compared to last year, but these are still very low numbers.  In February of 2021, there were just 360 homes for buyers to choose from and the market closed this February with 446 homes.  For comparison, there were 1,140 homes for sale in February of 2020 and many agents would have said that was not providing adequate choice for a lot of buyers.

Adding to challenges in the market are many of the negotiable terms that are being agreed upon by buyers and sellers.  “The other concerning trend is many contracts allow far less than the standard thirty days for settlement,” continued Freemyers.  “Often less than twenty-one days are given from ratification to closing, with significant rent back time periods up to sixty days. These shortened timelines put increased stress on the overall transaction, and the participants involved, as many sellers have back-up contracts with higher sales prices, so extensions of settlement dates are unlikely.”  All of these challenges are leading to reduced units sold and longer days on market as buyers are balking at the strenuous nature of transactions in the current climate and the steadily increasing prices. New pending contracts were up in February indicating that demand is still high, but overall pendings were down nearly 9% showing that buyers are feeling frustrated and some are pulling back.