REAL ESTATE NEWS

Market Trends for August 2011

 

As we know, August started with S&P’s downgrade of the USA’s credit rating and the entire world trying to figure out what this means for the economy. How did Richmond’s housing market respond? Continued volatility.  However, historically low interest rates of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will help.

 

Prices and Sales

Sales are down only slightly when compared to August 2010. The big downturn appears in August 2011 prices.  The Fan, Museum District, Malvern, and Bellevue areas are down an average of 10% compared to 2010. Church Hill is down a whopping 28%. Last year’s value was driven primarily by the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit. If you recall, closings had to occur by September 2010 to qualify, which drove-up prices and sales last year. It will be interesting to compare October 2011 prices and sales to 2010 when the tax credit was no longer spurring sales.

 

Inventory

Richmond City continues to be over-saturated with inventory. Over 300 houses are on the market currently  in Richmond.  With approximately 50 houses selling each month, it will take 6 months to clear out current inventory.  Foreclosures continue to plague the market. In Area 10, for instance, (click here for map) corporate owners make up close to 16% of the inventory and 23% of last month’s sales.