When someone considers selling their home, he/she is putting what is likely his/her biggest asset on the line. Listing a home on the real estate market is a big decision. It is beneficial to know how the market is performing, not just at this point in time, but what trends have been occurring over the past 6 – 12 months. On the flip side, buyers, too, are considering purchasing a large asset and want to get good value for their dollar. This is why we publish these market reports each month. It not only tells us how we’re doing as real estate professionals, but also guides buyers and sellers in their decision making. Our key takeaways for 2014 so far: sales and sale prices are steady, homes are slightly smaller, but price per square foot has increased. Sellers are getting a sales price that is closer to their final asking price, and buyers have plenty of options to choose from. Read on for more market trends…

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September’s sales have closed the gap in year-to-date sales by a whopping 3.8% (last month, YTD sales were down by 4.3%)! Homes are also sitting on the market for 21 fewer days compared to last year at this time, saving sellers almost an entire month in mortgage payments.

The number of buyers committing to purchase homes continues to increase at a steady pace, with a year-to-date growth of 2.8%, plus a rise in average list prices of 3.0%. This rise in prices of homes going under contract will likely translate to an increase in sales prices because the average sold/list percentage is nearly 97%, which means sellers are getting approximately 97% of their final asking price. When the list price rises, so does the sales price. And again, we see that homes going under contract are sitting on the market for 21 fewer days compared to last year.

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Average price per square foot is faring better now than it has since 2010, which means the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market is pretty healthy. Buyers are also continuing to write contracts on homes, which will translate to sales in the coming months. Sellers can be confident in listing their homes because of the likelihood that they’ll sell at a price fairly close to their final asking, and because their home would, on average, sit on the market for less time now than if they had listed last year at this time. Because of the healthy market from the seller’s perspective, buyers have a nice inventory of homes to choose from. We look forward to what the final quarter of 2014 will bring to our local real estate market. Stay tuned for more market trends…

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