The housing market in Virginia, including the Richmond area, has steadily improved this year and prices are stabilizing in some areas -- but not yet here, the Virginia Association of Realtors reported yesterday.
Sales rose in 14 of 26 areas in Virginia in the third quarter from the same period a year ago, the report said. But prices fell in 17 regions, including the Richmond area, where prices dropped nearly 12 percent from a year ago.
"There seems to be no doubt now that we have hit the bottom and are moving back up, in terms of both price and sales activity," said VAR President John Powell of Colonial Heights.
"We are now in our third consecutive quarter of marked improvement."
Sales in the Richmond area rose 1.5 percent from a year ago. But the median price, with half the houses selling for more and half for less, dropped 11.7 percent to $202,322.
By comparison, sales in Virginia dropped 2.2 percent from a year ago and the median price was $252,324, down 0.1 percent.
Karen Tilson Smith with RE/MAX Commonwealth blamed the lower prices here on rising foreclosures. She credited the increase in sales activity to an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which is set to expire Nov. 30.
Most of the home sales in the region were for houses less than $300,000, she said.
In a separate report yesterday, national home resales in September recorded the largest monthly increase in 26 years as buyers hurried to finish their purchases before the tax-credit deadline.
Sales across the country rose 9.4 percent in September from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million last month, the strongest pace in two years and beating Wall Street estimates of 5.35 million sales, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"There's a miniboom going on in the housing market," said Thomas Popik, who conducts a monthly survey of real estate agents for Campbell Communications, a research firm.
Nationwide, sales are up nearly 24 percent from their bottom in January, but are still down 23 percent from four years ago. The median price last month was $174,900, down nearly 9 percent from $191,200 a year earlier.
In Virginia, sales are up 39 percent from the lowest point in fourth quarter of 2008, but down 38 percent from their peak in 2005.
In the Richmond area, quarterly sales are down 43 percent from a peak in 2005. The average price here is $238,347, down 20 percent from hitting a high in 2007.
John McClain, a senior fellow at George Mason University, Center for Regional Analysis, said in a conference call with the media that if people are thinking about buying, now is the time. Mortgage rates are still low, but they will not stay low forever, he said.
He said the economy is improving, except for the rising unemployment rate. And prices are stabilizing -- a sign that the market has turned, he said.
Contact Carol Hazard at (804) 775-8023 or chazard@timesdispatch.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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