The housing market on the Peninsula and Middle Peninsula finished up 2008 with prices down only 1.8 percent to $216,000 from 2007
Most agree that prices are mostly back to levels before the heated real estate market peaked in 2005.
Virginia has been able to ride out the storm better than other states, said John McClain, senior fellow with George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis. The state saw a 13.6 percent drop in sales between 2007 and 2008 but only a 1.2 percent slip in the median sales price, which was $244,493.
A dramatic turn in the state’s housing market won’t happen in the first part of 2009, according to a report by the Virginia Association of Realtors and George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis. State and federal policies, including those directed at homeowners at risk of foreclosure, will have an effect on how quickly the state’s housing market picks up, the report said.
The state in 2008 saw a spate of foreclosures tied to subprime loans from the housing boom. Northern Virginia’s foreclosure rate leads the state. Its third-quarter foreclosure rate is roughly nine times the rate seen in Hampton Roads.
Real estate professionals across the state said they’ve noticed interest in buying has picked up since the holidays.
Some buyers — overwhelmed with the number of available homes — have been slow to put a contract down on a house. Others are coming in with bids 10 to 15 percent below the asking price, hoping to get a deal.
The fourth quarter in the Hampton Roads area, which includes South Hampton Roads, saw an uptick in business. Sales were down just 3.8 percent from the same period in 2007 — better than the year-ending percentage of 18.7 percent — with the median sales price down 22.6 percent to $221,857.
The Williamsburg and Middle Peninsula areas saw double-digit median sales price increases during the fourth quarter. In the Williamsburg area, sales were down 42.4 percent but the median sales price was up 11 percent. For counties on and around the Middle Peninsula, sales were down 44.4 percent but the median sales price was up 14.6 percent.
The Williamsburg-area market’s median sales price was propped up by sales of high-end condos in Braemar Creek and Foundation Square in New Town. The median sales price of condos in Williamsburg, Yorktown, James City and New Kent was up 17 percent, according to information from WAAR the Williamsburg-area association of Realtors.
Statistics for this article were compiled from the REIN MLS ( Real Estate Information Network) and The WMLS ( Williamsburg Area Association of Realtors MLS)
If you would like a detailed report of real estate statistics of any neighborhood or community in Hampton Roads or Williamsburg VA email John@MrWilliamsburg.com
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