Know the Williamsburg Market

Quarterly Real Estate Market Update for Williamsburg Homes

Finally some good news! Williamsburg homes sales were consistently higher for the last 4 months of 2011 than sales for the same period in 2010. Year to to year sales were slightly higher. In 2011 there were 928 attached and detached single family homes sold in greater Williamsburg compared to 918 in 2010.  Inventory has come down to just under 11 months. In fact, the 920 properties listed for sale is the lowest number of any month in the past three years. A normal market occurs when there are about 6 months of inventory. The complete two-year comparison chart of sold, active, new listings and months of inventory can be viewed below.

However, the median sales price for homes sold in greater Williamsburg continued to decrease in 2011. For 2011, the median sales price of a home was $276,915 while the median sales price was higher at $289,000 for the same period in 2010. The average number of Days on Market, for properties that sold, was 139 days for 2011, while it was 132 days in 2010. For 2011, the average Sales Price to List Price was 89.17%. That means a home originally listed for $400,000 will likely have sold for $356,680.

In addition to the economy, two additional reasons for the still relatively slow market in resale homes is the existence of many new home sites in the greater Williamsburg area. The second is the inability of out-of-area buyers to sell their current home at their current location because of the mortgage crisis and general state of the economy.

It's a great time to be a buyer! Interest rates are still very low, lots of homes to pick from. Sellers are accommodating buyers. Prices are negotiable. Sellers are offering help with closing costs and one year home warranties.  Many sellers fix most repairs identified during home inspections.

To sell your home today one has to price it smart, make it look irresistible, and market hard. If you know of someone planning to sell their home, I would be happy to provide a free Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), a report that compares their home to similar homes that have recently sold or currently are on the market. Free reports to improve the home's appeal to buyers are available here on my website. To help show a home to its best advantage, one may want to use the services of a home stager. To see how I maximize the market exposure of my client's property to include all sources of first contact for home buyers, check out the "About Rolf" page.