The Glass is Half-Full and Rising!

The statistics for home sales in Hampton Roads for 2016 show that our real estate market continues to improve for sellers.  We’d like to say we are in a glass half full and rising market.  The average sale price for 2016 was $225,000, up from $218,000 in 2015.  More impressive was the fact that 9.02% more homes sold in 2016 than they did in 2015.  Most importantly for current sellers or people thinking about listing their home this year, the number of active listings continues to decline.  In December 2016 there were 9,108 homes listed for sale, which is the lowest number since April 2006.  Anytime you are selling anything, the less competition you have the better.
Part of the reason we say the glass is half full, is that the average sales price had a higher increase in 2015 (5.3%) than 2016 (3.2%).  Plus, rising interest rates will mean buyer’s have to have a higher monthly payment or look in a lower price range from a couple of months ago.
Having said that, we still feel that unless the economy takes a hard hit, prices should continue to go up in 2017.  We have written about this before, but as a quick reminder, local numbers show sellers are most likely to have their home under contract in April.  In order, the top five sales months are April, June, May, July, and March.  If you are going to sell your home this year, it is in your best interest to be listed before the end of February to take advantage of the number of buyers looking in March.
Now is the time to start talking about getting your home ready if you want to sell this year.  We are happy to do a quick, no obligation walk through on your home.  We can share with you some tips to help you get your house ready to bring top dollar, and tell you what your house could sell for in this market.  Please give us a call (757-726-SOLD) or email LeeCross@CallCrossRealty.com  or HarryCross@CallCrossRealty.com and we will help you take advantage of this rising market