The Virginian-Pilot
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The spring home selling season got off to a strong start in South Hampton Roads as sales of existing homes picked up last month and home prices rose, according to the local multiple listing service.
Real Estate Information Network Inc. reported that 799 homes sold last month, up 38 percent from February but 10 percent below the number sold in March 2008.
The Virginia Beach-based multiple listing service also reported the median sale price in March was $214,000, up 7 percent from $200,000 in February but down 4.3 percent from $223,600 a year earlier. The median is the point at which half the prices are higher and half are lower.
"It's spring and people are out more when the weather is nice," said Ron Foresta, president of the resale division for Rose & Womble Realty Co. "Our agents have been very busy."
Home sales and prices typically slip to their lowest points each year during the winter months and rise again in the spring.
"I think the lower interest rates are having a profound effect," said Ron Pearman, regional vice president of Long & Foster Real Estate in Virginia Beach. "People are starting to get out and look at homes a little more. There are as many incentives in the marketplace right now as I've ever seen."
One of the incentives is an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, which is buoying much of the buying activity for the lower half of the market, Foresta said.
"We're seeing a tremendous amount of activity in the below $400,000 range," Foresta said. "If they feel secure with their employment and have good credit scores and all those other things, they are moving."
Home sellers and real estate agents alike hope this spring selling season marks the end of the local housing downturn.
"Usually by May we know about how our year is going to go," Pearman said. "If we're going to make it at all this year, it's going to be between now and September. We're poised for substantial gains, but we just don't know for sure."
Pearman said he expects home prices to stay below year-ago levels through the summer.
"We still have way too much inventory right now," he said.
The report showed that the number of homes on the market last month in Hampton Roads rose 1.3 percent, to 13,981 from 13,801 in February.
The average time on the market for existing homes in all of Hampton Roads was 95 days in March, compared with 86 days at the same point last year.
Both of those figures include the Peninsula and outlying regions such as Williamsburg and northeastern North Carolina.
Both Foresta and Pearman said foreclosures now make up about 15 percent of sales monthly. James Koch, an economist at Old Dominion University, said he expects prices to remain stable through summer, then drop again in the fall.
"If spring and summer doesn't bring a big bang, you'll see the homeowners who have been reluctant to lower prices giving in," he said.
Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com
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Sold is Sold
Sold is sold, if you get a list of houses that sold in the current month they don't include properties "pending" or "under contract" unless the list is pulled to include that and it isn't clearly written in the article. Properties that close are considered solds, none of this contingency stuff. A property wouldn't be considered "sold" if it was contingent on anything. And no one keeps accurate data of who are "speculating" or are just landlords buying more properties. You can only tell by the number of non owner occupant loans taken out and that isn't an accurate reflection of anything. I just think we need to stop using "median" values as a reflection of anything. We have million dollar houses that askew "median" values. As more affordable homes are sold the "median" will appear to lower, but it has no reflection of the direction of the market. Reporting reports the "facts" but you have to understand when to property use those "facts" and what they pertain to.
Renting doesn't make sense to me if you have already saved up enough for 20% down and have a stable job. Just sounds to me like fear of taking a leap and owning. It's okay to be afraid. It's not for everyone.
Its tempting, but don't do it
Those buying now, will be underwater in the future. Just catching a falling knife, and will be wondering what to do because you are underwater. Also, if your buying at this point, make sure you will be living in the home more than 5 years. For military, it may be better to rent, in case you get orders to move again. A couple of friends bought and having a hell of a time selling their home, but had to move anyway because of orders. Now they are unwilling landlords and hate it.
Revisions
Anyone who thinks that home numbers do not get revised must be new to any and all types of economic reports.
Not directed toward new homes only
Slow down on ALL projects. Resales need work, additions, upgrades, repairs, reasonable for a new owner or existing owner to handle and helps the people who've not worked steadily with the slowed economy. Build a positive attitude instead of negative water torture. Sure it's a tough time but a constant diet of neg talk makes it worse.
johns - a quick google for
johns - a quick google for home sales revised shows otherwise. Pages and pages of home sales numbers that were revised from previous months.
You can't ignore that the prices are loopy. It doesn't really matter, people will leave.
Bull market won't last, we aren't near a bottom by any means. Sorry, it's the truth.
What happened to the posts..
that were on here earlier? Some were directed at Ethan, who asked some valid questions about this article. While those posts in question made some comments about why someone was not echoing the alleged 'positive news' of the article, there was nothing derogatory in any of them to warrant being pulled.
I've asked this before, with no answers submitted: can a poster him or herself pull a post that's already been approved and posted, or can they request that it be pulled after it's been posted? Anyone know?
Throw the massive BULL flag on this one!
I pass by a lot of houses that have signs out front that have been on the market for quite some time and still don't have an "UNDER CONTRACT" sign on them.
Sold is Sold not under contract.
Ethan, nothing gets revised down, a Sold house is considered sold when it successfully closes with a title company. What you are implying are properties that are under contract or pending. Those aren't calculated in the sold number. You'd know this if you bought a house, but you still rent...
And yes jobs here suck pay wise. But people have to live somewhere and buying is always nice if it makes sense.
How to sale your home in 30 days!
I sold my house in thirty days!!! How? I was not greedy. Hampton Roads residents need to get real about how much they think there home is worth. I listed my house for $20,000 less than every house listed in the neighborhood and still made a nice chunk of change. That was a year ago there are still homes in the neighborhood that were on the market when my home sold. Now they are asking about what I sold for a year ago. When home prices come down homes will sell. I live in Jacksonville FL now. The prices here are realistic. 2300 square ft in a nice neighborhood new construction for $207,000 that was a year ago. Now homes are barely over $200,000. STOP BEING GREEDY AND HAVE PEACE OF MIND. LOWER THE MEDIAN SALE PRICE. THAT EASY
Those Vultures out there.
I'm glad those Real Estate Vultures are out there, after all, vultures don't kill, they clean up carcasses. If it weren't for vultures we'd be neck deep in dead animals. So those investors aren't tanking the marketing they are cleaning it up and equalizing it.
Ethan-Speculators aren't buying those guys are the ones that have already lost their houses to foreclosure the first ARM reset. Speculators are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the next market boom, whether it be real estate or stocks. Then they jump all back in again. Price per square foot means nothing, you should take a real estate class and understand that, take an appraisal course. Price per sq ft isn't an accurate number to judge anything. Then again using median prices doesn't say much either.