More Southwest Virginia homes were sold during the first three months of 2010 compared to the same period last year, according to a new report by the Virginia Association of Realtors.
Compared to the first quarter of 2009, regional home sales increased 5.5 percent and the median sales price rose 6.4 percent. While some parts of the state recorded larger increases, the outlook for this region is bright, Bristol realtor Loretta Trayer said Friday.
“While we’re a more rural area than other parts of Virginia, we’re seeing activity in all price ranges,” Trayer said. “We haven’t had a fast market that some areas experienced. But our housing values held up extremely well during this downturn.”
Locally, it is a “buyer’s” market, but home sellers are still receiving “good” value for their homes, Trayer said.
Sales in Bristol, Va., accounted for most of the region’s increase, with an 11.8 percent gain compared to the first quarter of 2009. The rest of the region posted a 1.8 percent increase.
A total of 95 city homes sold during the first three months of this year, compared to 85 in the same period a year ago. The median sales price in the city was $112,690.
Across the region, 174 homes were purchased with a median price of $116,708, according to the report.
Compared to last year, six of the state’s seven regions posted sales increases, including 14.8 percent in the Shenandoah Valley. In Northern Virginia, however, there was a nearly 10 percent decline, when compared to the first quarter of 2009.
Across the state, first-quarter sales recorded a traditional decline from the fourth quarter of 2009, but activity was impressive in light of an “especially harsh winter,” housing consultant Rosemary deButts said during a conference call Friday.
Agents from across the state who participated on the call said most of the gains can be attributed to low interest rates and the federal first-time home buyer tax credit – which expired Friday.
“It’s evident that the tax credit did its job in encouraging on-the-fence buyers to get into the market before the cutoff,” said association President Cindy Stackhouse.
Trayer said the expansion of Alpha Natural Resources and its impending move into the city has contributed to home-buying in and around Bristol.
“That has brought in a lot of new people and opened up a good market for high-end properties, which we don’t have enough of,” Trayer said. “All different price ranges are benefitting.”
Trayer expects the gains to continue in Southwest Virginia.
“I think we’ll continue to get stronger,” Trayer said.
The median sale price of a home across all of Southwest Virginia, which includes the greater Roanoke area, was $141,524 during the first quarter of this year, the report shows. That compared to $133,000 in the same period last year and slightly more than $135,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
There were 15 home foreclosures in Bristol, Va., during the first quarter of 2010 – a 28 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2009, deButts said. Seventeen foreclosures were recorded in the rest of Southwest Virginia. Statewide, more than 15,000 foreclosures were reported in the first three months of the year.
dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532
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