It is time once again to take a look at the monthly sales statistics for the Charlottesville area real estate market. July continued the trend of falling sales and rising inventories. If you think this is beginning to sound a bit like a broken record, you are not alone. 2007 has been the year of falling sales and rising inventories.
As always, the sales statistics are closed transactions recording in the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS MLS, and cover the areas included in the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Let’s take a look:
July 2007
July 2006
Breakdown:
Every area was down significantly compared to last year. Albemarle, Charlottesville, and Fluvanna all saw sales drops of at least 32% compared to July of 2006. Greene County was the big loser, 45% less sales, while Nelson saw only an 11% drop (two sales). Over all, the Charlottesville area was off 34% from the sales pace set in July of 2006.
On a positive note, the median home price increased in every area. This helped push the Charlottesville area to a 3% increase in median home price for July.
Now, let’s take a look at how the Charlottesville area is doing year-to-date:
2007 YTD
YTD 2006
Breakdown:
Every area continues to lag behind the sales pace of 2006, which should be a surprise to no one at this point. Albemarle is 15% lower, Charlottesville 32% lower, Fluvanna 20% lower, Greene 35% lower, and Nelson 22% lower. The Charlottesville area as a whole has seen 22% less sales in 2007 compared to 2006 through July.
The median price data is mixed for the area. Albemarle has actually posted a 3% drop in median home price for 2007. Every other area has posted at least modest gains in median home price, helping push the overall median for the Charlottesville area 4% higher in 2007. I don’t have any hard evidence or statistics to back it up, but my instincts tell me that the drop for Albemarle County is probably due in large part to the changing market for new construction homes. New construction stats are notoriously unreliable from the MLS, but in talking to other industry people, new construction isn’t providing the boost that it normally does in the area. The interesting news is that while sales might be slower, prices are holding. For sellers, this is at least one positive thing.
2007 has been an interesting year in Charlottesville area real estate, and it promises to get more interesting as we move into the second half of the year and look to the horizon through the lens of new mortgage lending restrictions. As difficult as the market may seem right now, the impact of new lending restrictions may still have yet to be experienced in the Charlottesville area. More on that in the next few days. . .
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