How High Will Home Prices Go in the Valley?
The Valley's residential real estate market has had minimal impacts caused by the pandemic. In fact, demand remains high. According to Virginia REALTORs, in the state of Virginia, December was one of the strongest months of 2020 for both attached and detached residential sales.
But what about our area? With low interest rates, low inventory, and increased demand, what does this mean for home prices in the valley? Let's first compare the median home prices for 2019 and 2020 for attached and detached residential home sales.
Median residential home prices across the valley went up an average of ~10% from 2019 to 2020 with the largest increases being in Page and Augusta Counties (15% and 12%, respectively). Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County increased ~8%.
If we look specifically at the month of December, median residential prices increased almost 14% in the valley. The biggest increases being in the City of Staunton and Augusta County at 21% and 26.1%, respectively. Curiously, Harrisonburg showed a median price decrease of 7%. But if you dig deeper into the data, the drop was due to a decrease in attached home sale prices. If you look at only detached, or free-standing, home sales in Harrisonburg, median prices increased by 20%.
I do not have a crystal ball, but trends would suggest home prices are not decreasing any time soon in our area. Demand is going to remain high as most major housing authorities project 30yr mortgage rates for 2021 to hover around 3%. Couple this high demand with reduced inventory levels, housing prices are going to remain elevated.
If you are a homeowner interested in selling your home, this could be the year to do so. With the inventory levels being at an all time low and new homes not being built fast enough in the area to keep up with the demand, it creates a very strong sellers market.
Stacey Treadway is a licensed Realtor for the Commonwealth of VA working for Funkhouser Real Estate Group in Harrisonburg VA
Please visit her website to search home sales in the Shenandoah Valley or inquire about what your home may be worth. www.StaceyTreadway.com