Six months of the year are behind us, and it’s a downhill race to the finish in 2010.  To say it’s been an interesting year in real estate is an understatement – there was the rush to get under contract for the buyer credit, and then we’ve seen a much slower-paced market since April 30th.  I posted the YTD real estate figures for Blacksburg last week, and today it’s Radford’s turn.  Following are the sales and inventory figures in Radford for the first six months of 2010:

Radford Inventory Levels and Average Sales Prices

< $200000 –                   9.7 months       $122055

$200001 – $300000 –   28.0 months     $262443

$300001 – $400000 –   22.3 months      $355997

$400001 – $500000 –   36.0 months      $456000

$500001 – $600000 –   29.4 months      $545583

$600001 – $700000 – No sales

$700001+ – No sales

These inventory levels are referencing what’s called the “absorption rate” – how long it would take the market to “absorb” the current inventory if nothing else came on the market.  In the New River Valley – and in most real estate markets, really – a balanced market is a figure of six months.  Anything less than six months is a sellers market, anything more than six months is a buyers market.  So by looking at how many homes are on the market in a particular price point, as well as looking at what’s sold over the last six or twelve months, we can get an idea of just how long it would take the market to absorb the current inventory levels.

Radford is typically a slower market than many others in the New River Valley.  Don’t get me wrong – inventory levels are high in Radford, but they are high just about everywhere else, as well.  In Radford in particular, it’s a balance between what’s the lowest you’ll take for your home vs. the patience to wait in what is obviously a much slower real estate market.  Price your home to sell, and make sure it looks better than everything else.