Hampton Roads Market Sees Sales Hold Steady & Inventory Drop

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (January 2022) – December’s real estate market in Hampton Roads saw the number of residential listings drop significantly, the number of settled sales increase slightly, and the Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI) fall once again to another new record low.

This according to the Real Estate Information Network, Inc. (REIN), Hampton Roads’ multiple listing service and the source for local real estate data.

“In recent months, we’ve seen the number of home buyers remain steady, and in some instances increase, while the number of people putting their homes on the market has decreased considerably over the past year,” said REIN Board President Liz Moore, of Liz Moore and Associates. “This has led to record low inventory and a steady rise in the median price of homes being sold.”

In December, there were just 2,821 active listings. That’s down a whopping 26% year-over-year when compared to 3,818 active listings in December 2020. However, the number of residential properties that closed (settled sales) dropped only by 3.3% over the same one-year time period.

That tightening of inventory, said Moore, leads to higher prices for anyone looking to buy a home.

“The year-over-year residential median sales price increase reflects the competitive buyers’ market here in Hampton Roads,” she said.

In December 2020 the median price was $274,505. One year later it was $290,000, a 5.6% increase.

• The Months’ Supply of Inventory for December was just .88. That’s a record low and represents less than one full month of inventory. The MSI is a calculation of how long it would take for all inventory to be sold if no new properties came on the market. In December 2020, the MSI was 1.36. To further illustrate the lack of inventory, December 2019 recorded a MSI of 2.58, making .88 a decrease of 65.9% in just two years.
• Pending residential sales for December were 2,558, nearly equaling 2,565 from the year prior.
• The median number of days on market (DOM) for homes in Hampton Roads was 15.
• Residential new construction sales of homes listed in the MLS for December was 309, down almost 21% from 391 during the same month in 2020.