Number of Homes For Sale Hits Three-Year High

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The number of homes for sale in Hampton Roads continues to climb, with inventory during the month of August at its highest level since October 2020. Like the number of homes on the market, the selling prices are also up year-over-year.

“Traditionally, when inventory increases prices will fall, but I think recent data shows that despite increases in inventory, it’s still somewhat of a seller’s market here in Hampton Roads,” said Gary Lundholm of The Real Estate Group and Board President of the Real Estate Information Network (REIN), the multiple listing service for the region. “Just five years ago during the same month, there were over 8,000 homes on the market. So, despite the increase in listings over the last few years, inventory is still well below what we might consider normal and that has impacted selling prices.”

For August, 4,811 homes were on the market across Hampton Roads. That’s up year-over from 3,680 in August 2023. August 2022 saw 4,117 homes listed, with 4,467 listed in August 2021, 5,105 during August 2020, and 8,824 were for sale during August 2019.

While inventory has fallen since 2019, selling prices have soared. The MSP was $350,620 in August 2024, compared to $341,100 in August 2023. In August 2022 the MSP was $315,990. It was $297,000 in August 2021, $275,000 in August 2020, and $255,000 for August 2019.

Those numbers represent a decrease in inventory of 45.5% and an increase in MSP of 37.5%.

A buyer’s market is typically defined as a time when the number of homes for sale is greater than the number of consumers looking to buy, which causes prices to stagnate or fall. It’s considered a seller’s market when there are more buyers than there are homes for sale, which can lead to competition among buyers and cause prices to rise.

With nearly 9,000 members, REIN is the leading source for real estate data in the region.

August data points from REIN:

• Active residential listings for August totaled 4,811, compared to 4,641 in July and 3,680 in August 2023.
• Pending sales totaled 2,123, compared to 2,315 for July and 2,289 in August 2023.
• Settled sales for the month were 2,282, compared to 2,346 in July and 2,478 in August 2023.
• Median sale price (MSP) of homes sold during August was $350,620. July’s MSP was $355,500. In August 2023 the MSP was $341,100.
• Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) for the month was 2.38. It was 2.28 last month and 1.68 during the same month last year. MSI is a calculation of how many months there would be homes on the market if no new inventory was added.
• Median days on market (DOM) for the month was 21. It was 18 in July and 14 in August 2023.
• Residential new construction sold via the MLS during August was 228, compared to 201 in July and 249 in July 2023.