1. Home sales declined 20.16% in September 2017 -- from 129 home sales last September, down to 103 home sales this September.
    
2. Slower August and September home sales have lead to a 5.16% decline in year-to-date home sales.  Last year we had seen 1,008 home sales in the first nine months of the year -- and this year we have only seen 956 home sales.
    
3. Despite slower sales, the year-to-date median sales price ($196K) is 2.08% higher than it was last year ($192K) at this time.
    
4. The median sales price over the past 12 months ($195K) is 3.17% higher than the previous 12 months ($189K).
    
5. Homes are also selling more quickly -- with a 37.25% decline in median days on market, down to 32 days.

In summary, I believe slower sales are a result of lower inventory levels, not a result of lower buyer interest.  If buyer interest were waning, we would be seeing level or declining median sales prices, and increasing time on market, neither of which are happening in the current market.

As shown above -- we saw a LOT of home sales last August and September -- a total of 287 sales.  This year, during the same two months, there have only been 221 home sales.  This decline of 66 home sales (Aug/Sep to Aug/Sep) has put 2017 a good bit behind 2016 when it comes to year-to-date home sales -- and it does not seem likely that the final quarter of 2017 will somehow close that gap.

Above you will see what I'm referring to when I say that inventory levels are falling at a pace that is causing home sales to decline.  Today's buyers have 26% fewer choices than buyers one year ago -- and 38% fewer choices than buyers to years ago.  We knew that this would eventually cause sales to decline, as buyers won't just buy anything if it does not meet their needs now and into the future. 

Not all homes are selling -- and not all homes are selling quickly -- but quite a few are selling quickly!  The median days on market of homes sold in the past year has been 39 days!  Furthermore, 45% of homes that have sold have gone under contract within 30 days!  Yet another sign of strong buyer demand paired with low inventory levels.

And -- one more time to drive home my point....

Above you will see that we are experiencing a strong seller's market right now -- with lots of buyers (having steadily increased over the past few years) and very few sellers (having steadily decreased over the past few years).  There are now so few sellers that buying activity is starting to fade a bit in recent months.

OK -- I'll stop there for now.  I will continue to explore the latest trend in our local housing market in the coming days on my blog. 

Until then -- feel free to download and read my full market report as a PDF, or read the entire report online.

And, my reminders for buyers and sellers last month still apply....

SELLERS -- even though it is a seller's market in many price ranges right now, you must still focus on price, condition and marketing.

For further reading on buying or selling in this area, check out....

• BuyingAHomeInHarrisonburg.com


• SellingAHomeInHarrisonburg.com

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