Cindy's Blog

Well, it's official. All of those comments to my clients and blog posts saying that the market is not as bad as the media makes it out to be, and that it is starting to pick up a bit are validated by the recently released Housing Market Analysis by the Richmond Association of Realtors.

The results of the analysis are as follows-

Based on past experience, the Richmond metropolitan area has weathered national recessions better than many other regions because of its diversified economy.

Home sales were down 31% in the Central Virginia area in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the first quarter of 2007.

Prices have not dropped in the Central Virginia area as they have in some other areas, and our foreclosure rate is still considerably lower than that of other areas, particularly Northern Virginia.

Home sales do typically pick up in the spring, and this year seems no different. According to this study, there were 311 more homes sold in our area in March 2008 compared with January 2008. That represents an increase in sales of 45%. While this uptick is not as strong as the January-March increase in 2007 (60%) it does indicate that the general ebb and flow of the market seems to be in order. *

At the risk of repeating myself, this is pretty much what we have been saying. Also, at the perhaps greater risk of sounding like the marketing campaign for the National Association of Realtors, buying a home is still almost always better than renting (unless, of course, you can only qualify for some insane mutation of a mortgage that will eat you alive in five years, in which case, please refer to ever mortgage bubble article written in 2008!) But for most people, if you move because you're having a baby, your "babies" are leaving the nest, a parent is moving in, a spouse is moving out, or you just want to change your lifestyle, if you move where you love, worrying more about what you like than what the investment will net you (not to totally discount that of course!) you will be okay.

*Information excerpted from the Analysis of the Richmond Area Housing Market, First Quarter 2008 by the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis.