Median sale prices increased throughout the Hampton Roads real estate market in April, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute reports. The Hampton Roads region includes Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach cities.

With the exception of Norfolk City, the number of homes sold in the Hampton Roads region increased in April. In Chesapeake City, the number of homes sold rose by 11 percent, and in Hampton City it rose by 9 percent. Median sale prices increased throughout the region, with Newport News City seeing a 12 percent increase, followed by Norfolk City with a 7 percent increase.

The steep declines in active inventory seen in previous months continued throughout the Hampton Roads region in April. Virginia Beach City saw the lowest decrease at 35 percent, while Chesapeake City saw the largest decrease at 48 percent. Homes sold at a solid pace last month, with days on market averages ranging from 48 days in Virginia Beach City to 82 days in Hampton City.

“Although inventory has been declining across the country for three years, and Hampton Roads has seen steeper declines than other regions, the local market is still consistent and healthy,” said Gary Scott, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “Rising median sale prices cause some to worry that another real estate bubble may be on the horizon, but this market is very different than the one that led us into the recession.”

Scott said a number of factors made the pre-recession market susceptible, including the availability of credit and lack of regulations, the prevalence of adjustable rate mortgages, and home values that appreciated quickly in a very short time frame. Comparatively, it took 10 years of gradual increases for median sale prices to get to where they are now, he said.

The volatility of the stock market has resulted in many looking to the real estate market as a way to broaden their investment portfolio. Real estate investing is a great long-term strategy to build wealth that offers a number of benefits when planned well.

“There are a few key things to research and plan if you’re going to invest in real estate,” Scott said. “That includes trends in appreciation, vacancy rates, and supply and demand. You also need to establish clear goals and objectives.”

“Define your business rules and don’t deviate from them until it’s time to evaluate how your investments are performing,” he said. “Know what you can afford and what you can’t – consider the best case scenario, the worst case scenario and the most likely scenario. And have an appreciation and understanding that the real estate market changes.”

The Long & Foster Market Minute is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods and over 100 counties in eight states. The easy-to-read, easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, list to sold price ratio, days on market and more.

Information included in this report is based on data supplied by Real Estate Information Network multiple listing service and its member associations of Realtors, which are not responsible for its accuracy. The reports include residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales, and they do not reflect all activity in the marketplace. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion of REIN or Long & Foster Real Estate.