Is the pandemic affecting where we want to live?
Market Monday Data for June 29, 2020:
We’re down to the last week of the 2nd quarter, and we’ve started comparing 2020 and 2019 sales figures. Some numbers like New Listings will change a bit as we add one more week of data, but the average Days on Market aren’t that likely to be affected, so we thought we’d take a look at these figures a bit early.
Comparing the first 6 months of this year to the first 6 months of last year, we’re seeing some things that aren’t surprising us, and some that we’ll be keeping an eye on…
The AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET for the whole of the MLS has risen from 61 days last year to 66 days this year, an increase of 6.6%. But as is always the case, you need to look at the details…when we look at city areas versus rural areas, we see an interesting trend. As seen below, the Days on Market are INCREASING in the city (meaning they are sitting longer before selling), while the Days on Market are DECREASING in rural areas (meaning they are selling faster).
CITY
City of Charlottesville – 2019 Average Days on Market – 37
City of Charlottesville – 2020 Average Days on Market – 46
Percent Increase: +24.3%
Albemarle County – 2019 Average Days on Market – 57
Albemarle County – 2020 Average Days on Market – 65
Percent Increase: +14%
Greene County – 2019 Average Days on Market – 47
Greene County – 2020 Average Days on Market – 62
Percent Increase: +31.9%
RURAL
Fluvanna County – 2019 Average Days on Market – 68
Fluvanna County – 2020 Average Days on Market – 57
Percent Decrease: -16.2%
Louisa County – 2019 Average Days on Market – 58
Louisa County – 2020 Average Days on Market – 54
Percent Decrease: -6.9%
Nelson County – 2019 Average Days on Market – 153
Nelson County – 2020 Average Days on Market – 144
Percent Decrease: -5.9%
It’s probably too early to say that this is a rush to rural properties on the heels of the Covid-19 outbreak, but there is no question, we’re seeing a renewed interest in private acreage, reversing year long trends of movement back to the City center.
As always, Nest is keeping close tabs on the market, and analyzing the numbers to better serve our clients. Next week we’ll take a look at how the prices have changed amidst the pandemic.