Mr Williamsburg, Revolutionary ideas on real estate!Hampton Roads Virginia

Total homes sales in the core area of Richmond — the city and Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties — rose 1.6 percent in the third quarter from the same period a year ago.

Hanover and Henrico reported sales increases of more than 2 percent, according to a report released  by the Virginia Association of Realtors ( VAR).

In the greater Richmond Virginia area, prices remained flat. The median price for new and existing homes, with half the houses selling for more and half for less, was about $238,000.

Amid the national financial uncertainties and news about the economy and stock markets, the central Virginia and Richmond economy and housing market are outperforming the country and most metropolitan areas, according to an analysis included in yesterday’s VAR report.

Sales are still slipping in Virginia — and in the greater Richmond metropolitan area — but not nearly as much as they were in the first half of the year, according to the report.

Nationally, third-quarter figures are not available. However, sales of existing single-family homes fell 10.7 percent in August from a year ago, according to the latest figures available from the National Association of Realtors. The median home price was $201,900 in August, down 9.7 percent from a year ago.

After nearly a year of sluggish sales and price depreciation, the housing market in Virginia is beginning to show signs of strength, said Lisa Fowler from the George Mason University School of Public Policy, who spoke yesterday during a news media conference call.

The state’s healthy economy is helping housing here as other markets continue to languish, Fowler said.

Home sales statewide fell 3.9 percent in the third quarter from the same period a year ago, according to the VAR report. The median price rose 1 percent to $232,601.

In central Virginia, which includes Richmond and 15 surrounding localities, sales fell 3.8 percent from a year ago.

The dip is mild compared with the first quarter when sales in the region dropped 31 percent in the first quarter and 28 percent in the second quarter from the year-ago periods.

The market in the Richmond area is stabilizing There is still a large inventory  of homes to choose from. We still need to see price reductions to increase sales.

The housing market across the state will benefit from a slowdown in construction, as inventory levels fall. Housing starts statewide are at their lowest level since the early 1990s.

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