Home sale prices increased across most of the Charlottesville region in May, according to the Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute Report. Aside from the City of Charlottesville, which had a 2% decline, the rest of the region had increases ranging from 60% in Nelson County to 2% in Albemarle County.
The number of homes sold decreased throughout the region, with Buckingham County declining by 71%, followed by Greene County with a 38% fall. Inventory also dropped, with declines ranging from 56% in Buckingham County to 22% in Greene County.
Long & Foster Real Estate’s Market Minute report for the Charlottesville region includes the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle, Buckingham, Nelson, Fluvanna and Greene counties.
“Though we had a bit of a hiatus in April and May, we expect there to be a strong boom in June and July,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. Though the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, caused the market to slow down a bit, things are starting to pick back up.
Mortgage rates dipped below 3% for the first time ever, allowing for more home buyers to become qualified. These low rates coupled with the pent-up demand for housing indicates that the market is going to be revitalized in the coming weeks. Though inventory continues to be a challenge, many of the homes that were taken off-market at the start of the pandemic have been listed again.
Home showings also increased to their highest level since February; another indicator that demand is high and people are actively searching for a new home. However, it’s never been a better time to be a seller. Foster cautions against sellers becoming complacent due to it being a seller’s market, saying that sellers still prep the home for home showings, such as decluttering, staging and cleaning. Home buyers also need to be prepared by getting pre-qualified.
To learn more about your local market conditions, visit Long & Foster’s Market Insights. You can also learn more about Long & Foster and find an agent at LongandFoster.com.