Economist weighs in on drop of home sales in Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - It’s a slow real estate market in the commonwealth this spring, according to the Virginia Realtors Association.

“When we look at the total number of sales in Virginia, actually down lower than they have been in more than a decade,” Chief Economist Ryan Price said.

The association says there were about 8,000 homes sold in April, which is about 31% less than last year.

“It’s kind of coming from both sides: The inventory is tight, and then the interest rate conditions are keeping it even tighter,” Price said.

Even though sales are slow, home costs are still rising.

“Charlottesville is one of the places where prices are continuing to climb, and this has been driven by the desirability of the region,” Price said.

As far as the practice of companies buying up homes and turning them into rentals, Price says that is not common in the Charlottesville area.

“This is not really a widespread phenomenon. It is happening, of course. That happens in every market,” Price said.

So, what would it take to see things speed up?

“If we see the inventory start to go up, if we see the interest rates start to go down, I would imagine that we’d start to see a little bit more sales volume,” Price said.

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