Median sale prices increased in much of the Winchester region last month, according to the Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report. Winchester City was the only area that saw a decline with a 15 percent decrease, while increases in the rest of the region ranged from 2 percent to 10 percent compared to the previous year. Frederick County saw a notable 14 percent bump in inventory, followed by a 5 percent increase in Winchester City. Units sold declined throughout the region. 

The Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report for the region includes Frederick, Shenandoah and Warren counties, and the city of Winchester.

Throughout the country, inventory of available homes has begun to increase, but at the hyperlocal level many areas are still feeling the squeeze, as evidenced by last month’s 13 percent decline in Warren County.  

“This low inventory environment is caused by a combination of factors,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “The main reason is that baby boomers are aging in place and remaining in their homes. Also, you have the combination of people who refinanced or bought at historically low rates that don’t want to move away from that and builders who are unable to keep up with demand for lower priced homes.” 

Although mortgage interest rates are expected to increase this year, industry experts lowered their predictions and they continue to remain down.  

“I don’t expect that to be a trend moving forward,” Foster said. “We’ve avoided another government shutdown and investors are becoming more confident around U.S./China trade talks. We’ll see money shift out of Treasuries and into equities, which will cause the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond to go up within the next few weeks, unless something else happens in the world economy.”  

The housing affordability index improved recently, and Foster noted that while the index has typical seasonal fluctuations, there are three factors that influence those fluctuations.  

“The three things looked at in the housing affordability index are mortgage rates, appreciation of homes, and people’s ability to pay – or wages,” Foster said. “When these things come together in the right way, it leads to more affordable housing, though that normally happens this time of year anyway.” 

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.