Southwest Virginia Market Sees Stable Sale Prices in Third Quarter 2014

November 14, 2014

Market Minute LogoThe Southwest Virginia region saw a lot of stability in the real estate market when compared to the second quarter of this year, according to data from the local multiple listing services. The region includes Bedford, Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke counties, as well as the city of Roanoke.

Information for Long & Foster real estate market updates, such as this one, is compiled from data from residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales.

The number of homes sold decreased by 5.5 percent in the Roanoke region compared with the same time period in 2013, but the region saw a small 0.7 percent increase when compared to the second quarter of 2014. Similarly, in the New River Valley area, which includes Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski counties, as well as Radford City, the number of homes sold was down 4.9 percent compared to the same quarter last year. When compared with the second quarter of this year, the number of homes sold in the New River Valley area stayed relatively stable.

Average sale prices in the Southwest Virginia market have also remained stable, and there was no change when compared to the prior year in the Roanoke region. In the New River Valley region, average sale prices were down by 5.4 percent. In the third quarter of 2014, the average sale price to list price ratio increased by 0.6 percent in the Roanoke region, while decreasing by just 0.1 percent in the New River Valley region.

On average, homes in the Roanoke region experienced a days on market (DOM) average of 102 days for the second quarter of 2014, a day less than the 103-day average experienced in the second quarter of 2013. In the New River Valley region, the DOM average was 103 days, an increase of 3.5 percent when compared to the same quarter last year.

“The third quarter brought stability and modest improvements to the Mid-Atlantic real estate market, including in the Roanoke and New River Valley regions,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and chief operating officer for The Long & Foster Companies. “In many areas we saw average sale prices and the number of homes sold stay stable or increase slightly. These are welcome signs for real estate in the region, and with continued improvements being made in the economy, we expect a smooth end to 2014.”

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