Closed Deals Up 26 Percent
March 1, 2002
Mild Weather, Low Rates Bring Huge Increase In Virginia Home Sales
Inman News Features
January home sales for Virginia finished well ahead of last year's numbers, according to the Virginia Home Sales Survey published by the 22,500-member Virginia Association of Realtors.
Closed sales were up 25.8 percent with 6,847 contracts closed in January compared with January 2001?s figure of 5,441 total resales.
"We had relatively mild weather in January along with continued low (mortgage interest) rates, so home buyers were able to get out in a time when sales are normally not as brisk," said VAR President Ann Palmateer. "With that has been a rise in consumer confidence, plus the demographics of children of baby boomers moving into the typical home-buying age are helping to boost the marketplace. It's our belief that we'll see a typically active market this spring that will benefit both buyers and sellers."
Only three of the 24 areas in Virginia reporting showed a decrease in closed sales over last year. Areas showing the greatest increases in closed contracts included Chesapeake Bay and Rivers, South Central and Southside Virginia, Williamsburg, Prince William, Lexington/Buena Vista and Charlottesville.
The average time on the market for homes sold in January was 117 days compared with 133 days in January 2001. The average price of a single-family home was $156,456, up from last year's average of $151,774. The median sales price was $136,742 for the state, also up from last year's median price of $132,587.
Copyright: Inman News Service
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