According to the January 2024 Virginia Home Sales Report released by Virginia REALTORS®, Virginia’s housing market saw a relatively slow start to 2024. There were 5,640 home sales across the state in January, 31 more sales than a year ago, inching up less than 1%.

Inventory remains tight and has shown little sign of improvement. At the end of January there were 15,229 active listings on the market in Virginia, 362 more listings than a year ago, an increase of 2.4%. This is the second straight month of more active listings on market; however, it does not necessarily reflect more sellers listing their homes, but homes that are staying on the market longer. There were 8,034 new listings in Virginia in January, 122 fewer than a year ago, inching down 1.5%.

“Many homeowners looking to buy another home remain reluctant to lose the low mortgage rates they are currently locked into,” says Virginia REALTORS® Chief Economist Ryan Price. “Because of this, many would-be sellers are choosing to pause their plans and not list their home for sale.”

“If mortgage rates continue to fall further as we proceed through the year, more move-up buyers could be enticed to enter the market, and this could provide some much-needed inventory supply across the commonwealth,” says Virginia REALTORS® CEO Terrie Suit.

Despite January’s flat sales activity, upward pressure on home prices remains a big factor in housing markets across Virginia. The statewide median sales price in January was $371,889, nearly $22,000 higher than in January of last year, a 6.3% gain. About two-thirds of the local markets in the state had a higher median sales price than last January (67%).

“The accelerated price growth has been driven by the low supply of homes for sale,” says Virginia REALTORS® 2024 President Tom Campbell. “We predict this trend will continue into the spring unless more listings come on the market.”

Click here to view the full January 2024 Virginia Home Sales Report.