CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 News) — Inventory shortages and rising prices continue to strain the region's housing market.
The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors released its first quarter 2024 report on Monday.
Across CAAR's service area, home sales increased by 1% compared to a year ago, with six additional homes sold.
Home prices are still rising in most areas, up about $34,000 (8%) from the same time last year.
Inventories then fell another 4%, tightening the market with still high demand.
A big factor in all of this has been changes in mortgage rates, which have risen to 7.1% after falling to the mid-6% range earlier this year.
CAAR says this trend is likely to continue and could deter some people from entering the buyer's market at a time when the market is typically very crowded.
The association said sales activity remained relatively flat compared to a year ago, with the number of active listings continuing to shrink and upward pressure from rising home prices.
The report says these factors are likely to exacerbate already worsening affordability problems in the region.
Across the region, most local markets reported price increases. This reflects a lack of supply in the market and pent-up demand from first-time and second-time buyers.
The state's median sales price was $385,000, up 6% year-over-year, but the state also saw an increase in the number of listings, up 10.3% from 2023 and active sales at the end of the first quarter. The number of listings was 14,950. .
Additionally, homes are on the market three days longer than a year ago, with an average of 48 days on the market in the CAAR region.
At the regional level within CAAR's service area, Albemarle and Fluvanna counties reported an 8% and 19% decrease in sales, respectively.
The largest increase in sales was in Louisa County, where sales activity increased by 23%. Charlottesville came in second with a 16% increase, followed by Nelson County with a 5% increase and Greene County with a 4% increase.
Only one region saw a decline in median home prices in the first quarter. In Greene County, prices fell 6% or $24,900 to $365,000.
The biggest increase was reported in Charlottesville, where home prices jumped 28%, increasing by $104,500 compared to the first quarter of 2023. The current median sales price is $482,000.
In Nelson County, prices rose 18%, jumping from $60,000 to $385,000, and in Albemarle County, prices rose 15%, rising more than $68,000 to $526,900.
Louisa County's median price increased by 4% to $384,425, and Fluvanna County's median price increased by 1% to $341,000.
Two areas reported increases in active listings in the first quarter: Louisa County and Nelson County. By the end of the quarter, Louisa's inventory had increased 13 percent, and Nelson's inventory had jumped 29 percent.
The largest decline in inventory was in Fluvanna County, where the number of homes currently for sale is down 39 percent.
Greene County saw a 19% decline in inventory, while Charlottesville and Albemarle counties both saw a 9% decline.
In terms of days homes stay on the market, Albemarle and Fluvanna counties are selling five days faster than a year ago, with averages of 40 and 39 days, respectively.
Nelson County homes spend an average of 61 days waiting an additional 19 days to go on the market.
In Louisa County, homes take an additional 13 days to sell and sit for an average of 63 days. In Greene County, it takes an additional 10 days, with an average of 61 days waiting for a home to sell.
In Charlottesville, homes take an extra day to sell and typically sell by the 36th day on the market.
In contrast, the local job market remains very strong, with the unemployment rate in the CAAR region falling by 0.1 percentage points to 2.5%.
Virginia's overall unadjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged from last year at 2.9%.
The report found an influx of 10,600 jobs in February, Virginia's largest month-over-month increase in more than a year.
Click here to read the full report.
