October Residential Real Estate Outperforms Last Year in Pace and Price October 2015 Virginia residential real estate sales exceed 2.7 billion dollars
RICHMOND, Va. – November 24, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — October residential real estate sales indicate sustained market improvement, with a rise of over five percent from the same time period last year. Higher volume coupled with a higher median sales price accounts for the bump in overall transactional value from $2.59 to $2.72 billion. According to the October 2015 Home Sales Report released by the Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR), sales each month this year have exceeded the sales for the corresponding months in 2014. A continued trend of year-over-year increase indicates sustainable market improvement.
The combined impact of a 2.83 percent increase in units sold and a higher median sales price boosted the dollar value of October sales volume by 5.02 percent over the same month last year. October 2015 sales represent $2.72 billion dollars in transactional value. Median sales price for October 2015 rose 1.54 percent from the same period last year from $246,200 to $250,000. Relative to September, October sales represent a seasonal decline that is typical to the industry cycle. Both sales pace and median price typically show steady decline through January of the following year.
“Year-over-year improvement in Virginia’s residential real estate market is apparent in our October sales figures,” said VAR President Bill White. “Upward pressure on rental rates continues to encourage first time buyers into the market, and both new buyers and refinancers are able to take advantage of relatively low financing costs to enter or upsize.”
The average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate decreased in October for the third consecutive month and has decreased year-over-year from 4.04 to 3.80 percent. Recent announcements by the Federal Reserve suggesting a December hike in interest rates may motivate buyers into the market. Consumer confidence may be bolstered by steady improvement in the national unemployment rate. Supporting other indicators of long term market improvement, days on the market have decreased by 2.5 percent to 78 from 80 in October 2014.
The Virginia Home Sales Report is published by the Virginia Association of REALTORS®, with analysis provided by the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech. Click here to view the full October 2015 Home Sales Report. Current and past reports are available to members, media, and real estate related-industries through the organization’s website.
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