If you’re looking to buy a home, you can thank your lucky stars that you’re shopping now rather than a year ago. According to the second-quarter market report from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (CAAR), the real estate market now officially belongs to buyers, after several years of sellers holding the reins.
One factor in this change is a big increase in inventory. As of early July, there were nearly twice as many properties for sale (2,681) as there were at the same time last year (1,368). CAAR CEO Dave Phillips, who authored the report, says that the greater supply actually means a “return to normalcy.” So if you’re a seller, don’t expect to watch gleefully as buyers wage a bidding war for your overpriced fixer-upper.
Conversely, if you’re a buyer, you can be choosier than you would have been in 2005, and you can spend longer considering your options. The average property this quarter stayed on the market for 69 days, compared to 59 in the same period last year. Because the days-on-market average is under 100, though, the market is still officially “hot.”
Additionally, the median sales price went up $20,000 compared to second quarter last year, the smallest increase in several years. Overall, the market’s on its way down from the lofty peaks that have awed observers for several years, but Phillips still predicts 2006 will be the second best year on record for real estate sales in Central Virginia.
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