BTVAR Homes Sales Report – Q4 2022

Economic Conditions
- Virginia’s job market slowed down recently. The state had about 2,200 fewer jobs in November, compared to October. Despite this dip, the overall job base in the state is now about 4,500 jobs above pre-pandemic levels, reflecting a robust job recovery over the last couple years.
- The unemployment rate remains very low but inched up for the first time in nearly two years statewide. In November, the unemployment rate was 3% in Virginia, up from 2.8% a year ago. In the BTVAR region, the November unemployment rate was 3.7%, up from 3.2% last year.
- Mortgage rates have started to stabilize and trend downward. In the third week of January 2023, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.15%, which is down from around 7% a few months ago.

Housing Market Conditions
-There were 158 homes sold in the BTVAR market in the fourth quarter of 2022, which is a 32% reduction in sales from this time last year, or 73 fewer sales.
- Home prices continue to rise through much of the area. At $151,196, the fourth quarter median sales price in the BTVAR market climbed 9% from the fourth quarter last year, a gain of about $12,000.
- The average days on market in the BTVAR region in the fourth quarter was 65 days, inching up from 64 days a year ago.