Prices Rise as Pending and Settled Sales Increase

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (April 2023) – Activity in the Hampton Roads residential real estate market picked up in March, as both closings and pending sales increased by more than 30% as compared to February. Data from the Real Estate Information Network (REIN) also shows that active listings decreased slightly from February to March but were up by almost 12% when compared to March 2022.

Increased activity on the buyer side, combined with lingering inventory concerns, led to price increases, said Jon McAchran of AtCoastal Realty and President of REIN’s Board of Directors.

“Mortgage rates might be keeping some consumers out of the market, but there are still lots of buyers and plenty of competition when inventory is this tight,” he said. “We’re not at the level of buyer interest we saw in 2021 during the pandemic, but it’s shaping up to be a very competitive spring and summer in the local real estate market.”

McAchran said that while some real estate markets across the nation have been seeing buyer interest dwindle and prices fall, buyers in the Hampton Roads region continue to show a desire and a willingness to purchase homes regardless of present mortgage rates.

“Our biggest hurdle remains inventory,” McAchran said. “Buyers still want to enter the market, but many sellers have low mortgage rates on their existing loans and are hesitant to sell when not only are rates higher, but so are home prices.”

March data points from REIN:

• Active residential listings for March were 3,124. That’s down slightly from 3,130 last month, but up 11.8% year-over-year.
• Pending sales stood at 2,578, up by 30% from February’s 2,058, but down by 19.9% from March 2022.
• Settled sales during the month were 2,277, which is up 35% from 1,684 in February, but down 25.4% from the same month last year.
• Median sale price (MSP) of homes sold in the region jumped back up, reaching $320,000, an increase from $313,650 last month, and up 6.67% from $300,000 in March 2022.
• Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) for March was 1.27, up slightly from 1.24 last month, but up significantly from 0.88 in March 2022. MSI is a calculation of how long there would be homes on the market if no new inventory was added.
• Median days on market (DOM) for residential listings was 15, down from 20 last month, but up from just 7 year-over-year.
• Residential new construction sold in the MLS during the month was 296, compared to 319 for March of last year.