Local real estate sales in the second quarter of this year fell 6% from the same time last year to 96 total sales. The drop was more evident in Albemarle County as a whole, where quarterly sales slid 14%. But to folks who follow real estate, these small drops aren’t the whole story. The market is cooling and drifting back to conditions existing prior to Covid. Re-sale homes are sitting on the market a little longer, builder spec homes are being incentivized with lower prices and/or bonus upgrades, and new home contracts have fallen off slightly. A deep breather after five go-go years may not be what is wanted by sellers, but it is finally a bit better for buyers, who now have some decision time and choice.
In Crozet, seven of the total property sales were priced at $1.25M or higher (and will be excluded for statistical purposes). Only 20 sales were for new construction, down from 37 at the same time last year. Sixty-nine of the transactions were re-sales, 52% of which sold at the list price or higher. That’s the lowest percentage since the start of the Covid epidemic. There were five land sales during the quarter, down from eight last year. There were no distressed sales during the quarter.
Despite of the slower pace, the price for a detached home during the quarter rose almost 15% to $721,000. But the average size of these homes also rose over 14%, so much of this price increase can be justified. There were seven new construction sales during the period, four in Glenbrook, one in Old Trail, and two out in the county. The average sales price rose modestly, up 2.5% to $837,000. Meanwhile, the cost to build these homes quarter-to-quarter dropped 13% to $274 per sqft. The second quarter of 2024 was the first time that the construction cost of detached houses in our area exceeded $300sqft. Hopefully we can stay under this price!…