May ’11 Summary

• The number of sales is expected to increase in 2011.
• Because of the large inventory of houses and the continued short sales and foreclosures, prices are not expected to increase for at least another year.
• The interest rate is expected to increase in 2011.
• It’s a GREAT time to BUY due to low prices and low interest rates.
• To sell a house, it needs to be a “Diamond and a Deal.” The house needs to be perfect, staged, clean, painted, landscaped, etc., and needs to priced to sell.

Supply of Condominiums

The inventory of condominiums (determined by the active listing and the sales rate) continues to remain high and has shown no signs of declining for the past 2 years (other than cyclical variations). Until the supply of condominiums drops to a normal level, there will be continued downward pressure on prices.

Source: CVRMLS data 4/28/11

Price Per Square Foot for Greater Richmond Condominium Sales By Year

The price per square foot by year shows that prices are still declining.

Source: CVRMLS data 4/28/11

Condominium Sales By Month and Year

 

The number of sales has been dropping every year. In early 2010, sales were stimulated by the First Time Buyer and Move-up tax credit. In 2011, without the government subsidy, the number of sales is above 2010 and 2009 sales.

Source: CVRMLS data 4/28/11

Inventory of Single Family Houses by Month in Greater Richmond

The supply of houses is determined by the number of active listings divided by the monthly sales rate for the past year. Note that the inventory has not dropped (other than cyclical variations) during the past two years. Inventory generally drops during the holiday months (November and December) and then starts to rise again in the spring.

Inventory of Single Family Houses

Single Family Price Per Square Foot By Area

Price per square foot also varies by Area with Area 20 (West end of the city) having the highest price per square foot.

Source: CVRMLS data 4/28/11

Single Family Average Sales Price By Area

Average sales price varies considerably by area with area 20 having the highest and area 50 having the lowest.

Source: CVRMLS data 4/28/11

Average Single Family Sales Price By Area

The number of active listings by area is shown. If you are selling in Area 54, there are 732 houses competing against your house.

Source: CVRMLS data 4/28/11

Year of Year Price Per Square Foot Change By Price Range

Price per Square Foot Change (Greater Richmond)
Price Range	4/09-3/10	4/10-3/11	Change
$0-$250,000	$107.83	$92.93	-13.82%
$250,001-$500,000	$126.66	$122.17	-3.54%
$500,001-$750,000	$148.67	$151.48	1.89%
$750,001-$1,000,000	$169.71	$173.60	2.29%
$1,000,001+	$226.59	$212.26	-6.32%

 Year over Year Price per Square foot was down in all price ranges except for the $500,000-$1,000,000 which had moderate increases.

 Source: CVRMLS data 4/28/11