July 2016 residential real estate sales have slowed from this point last year, though year-to-date performance remains strong. Year-over-year, the number of transactions fell by 4.7 percent, from 11,820 sales to 11,265. The value of transactions for July 2016 was $3.797 billion, 4 percent lower than in July 2015. Despite a moderate decline in pace and volume for July, year-to-date measures have outperformed 2015. Volume through the end of July 2016 exceeded $22.071 billion, a gain of 5.1 percent from last year’s accumulation of $20.992 billion.
Reflecting typical industry tempo, July sales declined from June; historically, the market climbs each month through June before tapering into the third quarter. Following the same seasonal trend, median price fell 4 percent month-over-month, from $289,500 in June to $278,000 in July. Median price did outperform last July by 1.1 percent, rising from $275,000. Average length of time on the market decreased 6.3 percent, from 64 days last July to 60 in July 2016. Rising median price and declining time on the market reflect limited inventory.
The Virginia residential real estate market has continued year-over-year and longer term improvement according to the Second Quarter 2016 Home Sales Report released by the Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR). Both the total number of sales and the value of transactions rose from the same period last year, to 34,688 units and $11.720 billion, respectively. Volume – the sum of all transactions for April, May, and June of 2016 – was 8.6 percent higher than the same period last year, and nearly 20 percent higher than the second quarter of 2014. Annualized residential sales, a rolling sum of the home sales closed in the preceding twelve months, rose from 109,574 units in the last quarter to 112,019 (up 2.2 percent). Year-over-year, annualized sales rose by 7.6 percent (from 104,091 in the second quarter of 2015). Consecutive periods of improvement in annualized sales, as demonstrated in Virginia’s market, indicate sustained market strengthening. Boosted by continued low interest rates and increasing seasonal activity, second quarter 2016 sales also rose 7.6 percent from the same period last year, from 32,243 to 34,688.
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