Sales of existing homes picked up in South Hampton Roads in April, and home prices rose slightly as the spring selling season continued at a steady pace, according to a report released Friday.
Real Estate Information Network Inc. released data showing that 841 homes sold last month, up 5.3 percent from March but 15.1 percent below the number sold in April 2008.
The Virginia Beach-based multiple listing service also reported the median sale price in April was $215,000, up less than 1 percent from $214,000 in March but down 4.9 percent from $226,000 a year earlier. The median is the point at which half the prices are higher and half are lower.
Home sales and prices typically slip to their lowest points each year during the winter months and rise again in the spring.
Barbara Wolcott, president and CEO of Prudential Towne Realty, said first-time home buyers represent the strongest sector of the current market.
First-time buyers, some who crept into the market hoping to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit, are in turn enabling some sellers to move up and purchase a larger home, Wolcott said.
"I think we're beginning to see the start of that pent-up demand coming out," she said.
Still, this selling season is bringing different challenges for real estate firms.
"The market has moved to the point now where you have buyers who think they can steal the property and sellers who don't have a realistic expectation of what their home will bring," Wolcott said. "It takes a lot more time to put a sale together."
The report showed that the number of homes on the market last month in Hampton Roads rose 2.5 percent, to 14,326 from 13,981 in March.
The inventory of homes tends to swell during the spring as more buyers shop for homes. It's the highest number of homes on the market since October.
The average time on the market for existing homes in all of Hampton Roads was 96 days in April, compared with 82 days at the same point last year.
Both of those figures include the Peninsula and outlying regions such as Williamsburg and northeastern North Carolina.
Barbara Zimmer, an agent for real estate firm William E. Wood and Associates, said the thawing of the local market has been welcome news.
Her sales activity has picked up in recent weeks, she said.
"I had a feeling a few months ago that people were waiting to see when the bottom would hit," said Zimmer, who has been an agent in the area for more than 20 years.
"Of course, you don't know where the bottom is until you're already out of it."
Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com
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Build Equity or Cloud 9?
It would be foolish to buy a house for more than it’s worth. I think the Norfolk Real Estate market is very guilty of this. Especially with the two largest real estate mongers keeping an arrogant hold on the prices. It’s amazing they are the first ones to say hey you need us to educate you through the process. However, they blame the sellers for unrealistic asking prices when they’re the professionals who are supposed to help the seller determine the listing price to begin with. Take some responsibility. You ask them to substantiate their PFA price and they give the run around, give “comps” from another neighborhood or houses that are currently listed. People selling and their agents act like the list price is golden. Everyone gets upset when an educated buyer comes along and “in their eyes” gives a lowball offer when in fact the offer is more than substantiated by superior comparables. Then the professionals (the agents) in the deal, the ones who know how to “bring the deal to closing,” freak out when the appraiser does his (or her) job and substantiates the original CMA done by the buyer or in English supports the lowball offer or the would be lowball offer. Wh
RE: to Ethan
Most people would agree that paying more to rent than own is undesirable. Rent is often increased and generally tends to be a little lower than fair market value at any given time. While ownership, over time, provides equity due to inflation and a lower payment after a few years. Maintenance and upkeep expenses are usually minimal without upgrades. Many opportunities exist now to buy a place and rent it for out for 100% or more of the mortgage for a responsible, disciplined buyer. As property values deflate, no real money is lost from the system. So when real money is just printed off by the gov't while unbacked, inflation will occur as our money is diluted. The market seems to be corrected, rebounding, and normal inflation will soon take over. Our economy is not built on housing, but we've seen what harm irresponsible lending can do.
Slumlording is a job. If I
Slumlording is a job. If I put down 70% on most homes I could make them "cash flow" against the mortgage by renting them out.
Still waiting for the high end to crash.
Rents are going down. Also, renting gives you an important advantage which is especially good in Hampton Roads. That is the ability to rapidly leave the region. I'm hearing more and more people talking of pulling up roots and bailing. I think the housing mania gave people excitement as they saw their property values rise on paper. Now that the excitement is gone, they are looking at leaving.
I'm not against owning. I'm against having to compete against people who shouldn't be buying homes running up the prices with loans they will not pay back. And against competing against gov't programs giving people huge amounts of assistance, in which drive up prices.
I want price per square foot figures. And the end of Realtors.
Don,
Thanks for pointing out trend lines because if you look further you will see that the percentage increase this year is more than the percentage increase last year going into the spring. You are strictly looking at the volume being lower than last which means nothing regarding trends. Again, prices will not automatically jump to their highs when a recovery is in progress.
By the way outside of gold most metals tanked harder and faster than stocks. Thank YOU for the laugh!
UniversalD - What's cheap?
UniversalD - What's cheap? You said home prices should be higher than renting, not true. If you rent, your landlord has to take care of maintenance and upkeep of the dwelling, which is very expensive over time. Also, if you rent you have better mobility, which means you can escape Hampton Roads before it steals your soul, going to work for companies that are productive and world famous. But look past these points and just look at history. Do you think buying a place and renting it for 1/2 the mortgage is a good move? The obama money being put into the system is nothing compared to the money being lost as the property values deflate. Buying makes sense, when prices are proper. Our nation can't survive on real estate, we need people to be more productive and innovative. Reselling pressboard boxes for ever increasing levels of debt will not pave a good future for our country.
To GlenF1, I guess you've never heard of
seasonal trends and fluctuations, have you? If the REIN showed the first three months of the prior year, you'd see that this so-called "sales swell" is nothing more than a normal, seasonal trend. Housing's low point is during the winter months; it gradually increases through the mid-summer, and then slacks off again. What's disturbing is that the trend lines, while forming their normal pattern, are lower than the prior year, pointed towards more pain in the market.
You said: "Just like the stock market we are well off of the highs reached last fall but are up over 30% from the bottom. I'm guessing people like "doninvb" always but high and sell low. Thanks for the profits Don!" Actually, I went to cash and metals before the market tanked, thank you, and my home is up 300% in six years. By the vehemence and irrationality of your response, my guess is that you're in the real estate business, in some capacity. Thanks for the laugh, Glen!
Looks like january was the bottom
It looks pretty clear now January was the bottom out point. We don't want it at the rate of last year because that was bubble conditions. We want it back with the long term growth line.
It appears that most of the
It appears that most of the comments on this article are from renters hoping home prices sink further. Yes the median home price is down significantly from a year ago, but it's also slightly up from a month ago. But the fact is that home prices will only go so low because homes are not suppose to be cheap, neither is land. Pres. Obama has pumped so much money into the economy that the recession won't last. We may pay for it in the future in taxes and inflation, but it won't last now.
The truth is that home ownership *should* be more expensive than renting. It would be foolish to rent when you could own, and build equity for less. We've already been through a lengthy recession. Inflation will soon bring home prices up further and many people who could have financed home ownership will realize they missed a golden opportunity to buy and continue not to build equity owning with the inflation soon to happen.
This is no different than the stock market percentages
Why is everyone so negative just because we are below the previously reached peak? Once you hit bottom and reverse course it does not automatically mean prices will jump all the way back to the peak. The trend is what matters.
Just like the stock market we are well off of the highs reached last fall but are up over 30% from the bottom. I'm guessing people like "doninvb" always but high and sell low. Thanks for the profits Don!
Headlines
Who is in charge of coming up with these headlines! I understand the pilot does not want to come off as being to negative but come on!
The truth.
"up less than one percent from $214,000 in March, but down 4.9 percent from $226,000 a year earlier". The real estate market in HR is in the tank and indications are it is going to get worse. Even worse than that is the fact that the city assessors offices will live in denial of the severe price drop and your house will be assessed about 20% more than the retail value of your property. Do YOU VOTE?
Just a simple question:
If a 5% increase from March is reported as: "Hampton Roads home sales swell", shouldn't a 15% decrease from the prior year read: "Hampton Roads home sales in the toilet"?
it's expected
Unless you're in one of those goofy mortgage finance plans, or lost your job recently, this stat doesn't matter. Buying or selling houses is like cable TV, usually it's luxury decision for the most part unless you're leaving the area. People flip around way too much these days.
So the supply is outrunning
So the supply is outrunning the demand. As usual, there is only the median purchase price, not the price per square foot. There is no indicator if people are getting much better deals now than two years ago, or what kind of inventory is moving. I definitely wouldn't buy now, as it's still cheaper to rent than to own, which generally means the purchase prices are still high. But I thank others for taking the plunge and marking to market the downfall. Today's buyer is tomorrow's underwater owner, and the prices continue to revert to historical norms. And no Realtor, houses were never "undervalued" before, that was just the market. Our so-called leaders are going to kill our country trying to save the un-savable and unrealistic high home prices.
SWELL?
I would not call it a swell but way to go trying to put a positive spin on it.