Walker’s Wholesale Houses

Home sales in the Richmond area fell 21 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in the prior year.

And the average sale prices dipped 14 percent to $250,181, according to a report released this morning by the Virginia Association of Realtors.

The group defines the Richmond area as the city of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico.

For all of 2008, sales for the Richmond area declined 23 percent from 2007 and the average price fell 3 percent to $268,973 from 2007.

In the greater Richmond area, which includes the city and 15 localities, the number of sales fell 33 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the same time in 2007. Sales declined 23 percent in 2008 vs. 2007 and the average price fell 3 percent to $264,467 in 2008.

via Fourth quarter home sales fall 21 percent in Richmond area | Richmond Times-Dispatch.

A new ethanol plant is coming to Hopewell, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch on November 23, 2008.  Along with that will come new jobs and the need for housing the new employees. 

Also according to the RTD on November 25, 2008

The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that sales of previously owned homes fell 3.1 percent in October from a strong gain in September, and down 1.6 percent from the same month a year ago.

October figures were unavailable for the Richmond area. However, the median price here in the third quarter — with half the houses selling for more and half for less — was $217,900, down 8.8 percent from a year ago, according to a report released last week by the industry group. The report covered the 20 localities in the Richmond area.

On November 22, the RTD Published “Housing Slump Felt in Richmond” which also refers to the “State of the Housing Market” describes

• House sales 2008 vs. 2006 down 37.22%
• Entire Region Price per sq. ft runs average $123
• 8.47 month supply of houses (6907 in inventory)
• In Richmond’s West End, it takes 5.5 months, compared with nearly 15 months in Goochland County, according to MLS data.
• A forgotten jewel is the Petersburg-Colonial Heights-Hopewell area, White said. The area will benefit from an expansion at Fort Lee and the pending arrival of a Rolls-Royce jet engine testing and assembly plant in Prince George County.
• The Richmond area has 15.9 percent of all mortgage loans underwater, he said.

Basically, Real estate is local.  Local, and local.

The Richmond Times Dispatch, Nov 19, 2008 Reports in

Housing Prices decline 8%

House prices in four out of five metropolitan areas in the nation — including the Richmond area — fell in the third quarter from the same period a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The median price in the Richmond region, with half the houses selling for more and half for less, was $217,900 in the quarter, down 8.8 percent from a year ago, according to a report released yesterday by the industry group. The real estate report covers a broad portion of the 20 localities in the Richmond metropolitan area.. . . .

Foreclosures are having a bearing on the local market, but only in some neighborhoods, said Brian Liggan, principal broker and owner of Virginia Capital Realty in Richmond, which deals exclusively with foreclosures.

Foreclosures in Church Hill and Highland Park, for example, are pushing prices down in those neighborhoods. “But they are having virtually no effect in Henrico County’s West End. Nor are they affecting Glen Allen.”

November 2, 2008.  Richmond Times Dispatch:

Prices Move Homes

The average house for sale in the sale in the city of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan sits on the market for 66 days, twice as long as the area’s average in 2005, according to data provided by Joyner Fine Properties.

Sales of modestly priced homes helped lift sales 1.6 percent in this year’s third quarter over the same quarter last year in Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico, according to the Richmond Association of Realtors.

But in central Virginia, which includes Richmond and 15 surrounding localities, sales fell 3.8 percent in the third quarter from a year ago.

“Some corridors sell quicker than others and at a higher price,” White said. “The near West End of the city, for example, has moved a little faster with less inventory than other areas of the market.”

Houses in Richmond’s West End sell on average in 49 days compared with 35 days in 2006. By comparison, houses in Goochland County, which has seen significant new house construction, currently stay on the market an average of 80 days, up from 58 in 2006.

But central Virginia’s real estate market has not seen the highs and lows that Northern Virginia has, and the Richmond area’s house prices have remained flat.

Joyner’s White expects that the next few months will see a continuation of the current market. “We won’t see a large increase in sales per month,” he said. “We’ll see a stabilization in prices, but we won’t see an increase for 12 to 18 months.”