FannieMae reported that “American’s confidence in their ability to buy and sell their home climbed sharply in May, “according to their Monthly National Housing Survey. The large boost in pace of residential sales from April to May, according to the Virginia Home Sales Report, suggests that Virginians are equally confident. The latest Virginia unemployment rate is 5.2%, much lower than the US rate which was at 7.6% last month. In fact, the Virginia rate is among the 10 lowest in the nation and the lowest in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions. Low unemployment isn’t the only reason to be confident. The median sales price continued to increase, but not unusually quickly. We continued to see a strong increase in volume of real estate transferred. Finally, homes are selling fast in many regions. In May, Virginia saw the lowest days on market since 2006. FannieMae says that increased consumer confidence could foreshadow a gradual increase in housing supply. As we hinted last month, Virginia is ready for additional inventory too.
Analysis and commentary by Mel Jones, Research Associate & Ted Koebel, Senior Research Associate, of the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech.
