May 2015, compared to May 2014, produced 24% fewer new listings, 30% fewer residential sales, and 30% fewer contracts in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. It might make you want to immediately sulk in the corner, but take heart! The sales that did occur produced an average price/square foot of $114, which is 10% higher than last May, and those homes sat on the market for 125 days — 9% shorter.

Plus… it’s far better to look at the big picture!

So, rather than get bogged down in one small month’s worth of data, let’s take a look at the year-to-date and past 12-month numbers.

2015 has leveled off in new listings for now, but over the past year, new listings has increased by 14%. More homes on the market = more options for buyers. We’re also seeing more sales close, up 5% YTD and 12% over the past year. As for contracts, thus far in 2015, we’ve seen about the same amount of contracts written as in 2014 at this time. But over the past year, 13% more buyers have committed to purchasing property. Translation: buyers are active! 

Homes are sitting on the market for a significantly less amount of time (33% shorter YTD; 7% shorter over the past year). And, they are selling for more money. The average price/square foot is now $108. This, combined with the average sold/list percentage, which is now at 98% YTD, tells us that sellers overall are pricing their homes more competitively and selling at prices closer to their final list prices. The median sales price over the past year is $185,000, up 6% from last year.

Not only are buyers active, but they have a sense of urgency. 344 home buyers wrote contracts on properties within 30 days of list date. Additionally, 102 of those sales had a price over the final asking price, which consists of 10% of total sales for the past year.

As an FYI, 25% of home sales in our area are for “attached” homes… townhomes, duplexes, etc.

Like what you see? Stay tuned for more Market Trends…