It’s March 8th as I write this post, and it’s been several months since I last wrote a State of the Market post.  Heck, at this point I’ve still got 2008’s Year-End real estate report saved as a draft!  I’ve got a lot of work to do … but I also think it’s important to begin looking again at what is happening in real estate here in the New River Valley.

So let’s do it, huh?  Normally, when I do these posts, I’m considering a balanced market as being any area that has 5 months worth of real estate inventory, but in 2009 I think I’m going to increase that to 6 months; so we’re looking at how long it would take to sell the existing residential inventory in a particular area, if nothing else came on the market in the meantime.  Additionally, moving forward I’m going to be pulling Dublin into Pulaski County and looking at real estate in Pulaski County as a whole, as well as the other areas normally addressed – Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Montgomery County, Radford, Floyd County, and Giles County.

Scary stuff if you’re a home seller, but great news if you’re a home buyer.  We’re still in the winter market, so it’ll be interesting to see how these numbers change through June and July – hold tight.  I’m seeing more properties coming off the market now then there were in the last couple of months, and several properties – including some which have been on the market for years – finally going under contact.  Pricing is key.

Buyers, there are a number of opportunities for you as well, including if you’re a first-time buyer.  Let’s look at whether or not buying in today’s market makes sense.