Until last week, it had been a long time since I last wrote on this blog. December 2020, in fact. After several years of writing, life got in the way. And then the market that was in 2020 (and 2021, and 2022 …) happened. Things were a little crazy. Then just a few things happened in real estate this month, so why not dust off the blog and let’s do this again? We’ll see if anyone’s still sticking around.

Interested in what the markets have looked like? You can find all our biannual Market Reports at NestMarketReports.com.

So what IS the New River Valley real estate market doing through the first quarter of 2024? Quite honestly – tight. Despite interest rates bouncing around the 6.5-7% range this quarter, real estate sales in the NRV have remained strong for those properties actually on the market. It is very much a story of supply and demand. With a limited supply of homes for sale, those that ARE for sale are seeing high demand, and in some cases, multiple offers. Still. That’s not an absolute, of course, but throughout the NRV market the median list to sale ratio for the first quarter is still 98.1% across all price points, and the average was 97.8%, so a lot of homes are still selling quickly, and for good prices.

One of the regular things I watch are Mike’s weekly reports at Altos Research – you can subscribe to them on his Youtube channel. For some time now, he’s been reporting that the number of homes available nationwide is growing, and I wish that were true in the New River Valley. In January 2024 there were 909 homes for sale in the NRV … in February? 914. In Christiansburg? Flat, at 48 homes. And in Blacksburg, from 51 homes to 52. Growing, yes. Substantially? Not quite. It appears many people are still choosing to keep their homes off the market – with refinanced rates of 2.5%, it’s hard to imagine selling and buying a home at 6.5%. And you can’t blame them.

It’s important to note, however, that average 30-year mortgage rates are where they should be based on the broad trend line. Chart from The Mortgage Reports, another excellent resource if you’re interested in this stuff like me.

So where do we go from here? Forward. As I wrote last week, people are still going to buy and sell homes. We’re still moving into and out of communities, we’re still upsizing – and downsizing – our lifestyles. Prices and costs may change, and that’s okay. Change is sweet.