Maybe it was the weather, maybe something more, but first-quarter home sales across Virginia proved relatively anemic.
A total of 17,838 properties went to closing across the commonwealth in January, February and March, according to figures from the Virginia Association of Realtors (VAR). Thats down 5.7 percent from the 18,910 transactions reported in the comparable period of 2013.
A nasty winter weather that settled in early and didnt leave until the end of the quarter gets at least some of the blame for the weak numbers. But the sales report could also be sign of a slowing recovery, noted the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech, which analyzes sales data for VAR.
If the slow first quarter can indeed be attributed to the weather, we should see sales pick up substantially in the next couple of months, the analysts suggest.
The weak sales report had few bright spots. Only the Roanoke/Lynchburg/Blacksburg corridor saw a year-over-year increase, with sales up 8.3 percent to 1,468.
Ever other corridor was down, including a 9.3-percent drop to 7,614 sales in the broader Northern Virginia region.
Sales were down 2.1 percent in Southside Virginia, 2.2 percent in Central Virginia, 4.5 percent in Hampton Roads, 8.5 percent in Central Valley and 12.7 percent in Southwest Virginia.
Median sales prices, however, were up in five of the seven corridors, with only Southwest Virginia (down 16.7 percent to $100,000) and Hampton Roads (down 1.4 percent to $192,250) seeing declines.
Median sales prices rose 2.9 percent to $349,900 in Northern Virginia, which as defined by VAR is much larger than most other definitions of the region. It includes the counties of Arlington, Caroline, Clarke, Culpeper, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Westmoreland and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park and Winchester.
Among other geographic areas, the median sales price was $188,750 in Central Valley, up 1 percent; $187,000 in Central Virginia, up 6.9 percent; $146,500 in Roanoke/Lynchburg/Blacksburg, up 0.3 percent); and $75,500 in Southside Virginia, up 4.9 percent.
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Winter is gone, but impact on Va. real estate market remains