Inside the Virginia Housing Market: From Bidding Wars to Balance
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“The Virginia housing market is finding its balance again. We’ve moved from an intense seller’s market to one that feels more sustainable — where buyers have choices and negotiations are back on the table. After 30 years in this business, I’ve learned that every shift brings new opportunities for both sides.”
— Christy Crouch, FastExpert partner and RE/MAX Virginia Realtor®
The Virginia housing market has continued to shift from what has been a long-standing fast-moving seller’s market to a slightly slower-paced, more normal market. If there even is a “normal.” Having been in the industry since 1991, I’ve seen plenty of market trends and the shifts it’s made over the years. I must say the last decade undoubtedly feels a bit unprecedented.
Gone are the days when we listed a home and had a standing line to get in the door to see it. That same home would then bring in multiple offers, sometimes upwards of 20 offers on one home. Those offers were, in many cases, for well above the asking price, with all contingencies being removed to position buyers to be the most attractive option for the seller.
What We’re Seeing Now In the Virginia Housing Market
What we’re seeing now in the Virginia housing market is more homes for sale, which gives buyers more options to choose from. In addition to an increasing supply, homes are also sitting on the market longer than they have in years.
As a result, buyers have a little more power than they have had in quite some time. In Virginia, we are seeing home inspections come back into play, along with more contingencies based on the buyer’s needs. For a while, we stopped seeing offers contingent upon the sale of their homes because sellers simply didn’t have to consider this option. Now we’re seeing more of this, along with buyers beginning to offer under list price and even asking for closing costs assistance again.
The Story Stats Tell About the Virginia Housing Market
The housing market is driven by demand and data. Therefore, it’s important to understand the current conditions of the Virginia housing market. Everything from the average price to the number of homes for sale tells a story about what’s happening.
Here are the year-to-date market statistics for my market here in Roanoke, Virginia, as of 9/22/25.
Number of Homes for Sale: We currently have 1,365 homes for sale, which is up from 400-500, which was the volume we saw for several years consecutively. That’s heading toward triple the number of homes for buyers to choose from. In what I used to consider a normal market prior to Covid, this would’ve been a fairly normal volume, as we used to have anywhere from 1,600 to 1,800 homes for sale at any given time.
Sales Volume: There are currently 731 pending sales in our market. 3,758 homes have sold and closed.
Price: The average sales price in our area is $379,609, which is below the National average sales prices of $435,000.
Days on Market: The average time a home is on the market is 62 days, which is the same as the National median.
List to Sales Price: And the average list to sales price ratio is 98.1%. This number tells us how close to the asking prices homes are selling for. A number under 100% indicates that homes are selling for slightly less than the asking price, revealing buyers have more negotiating power.
Home values are stable but certainly not escalating at the pace we’ve seen over the past 5 years.
What’s On The Horizon for the Virginia Housing Market?
What’s next? That’s the question I feel most consumers are asking themselves as we come down from the huge tidal wave we’ve been riding for so long.
Interest rates remain higher than they were, in fact, more than double what they were. But if you look at the history of interest rates, under 7% is a darn good rate and what many would’ve counted their blessings to have in the past.
Consumers were spoiled, and might I even go so far as to say ruined, by rates at 3%. Now what they’re facing is double that. Meanwhile, home prices haven’t come down. This leaves home buyers to pay more in interest and at the same time more in home price, which makes them uncertain and hesitant to sell and buy again.
Whether downsizing, upsizing, or simply wanting something fresh and different, consumers are thinking twice before making a move.
This has left the Virginia housing market in quite unprecedented times.
Last week, when the Federal Reserve met, we anticipated interest rates to come down slightly, and instead they went slightly up. It will eventually correct itself, just a matter of time. The last time, in 2007/2008, when we saw the market soften, it took until 2013 to really start the upward trend again. We had a strong run of an upward-trending market from basically 2013 to 2023.
Is There a Right Time to Buy or Sell a Home?
On a positive note, no matter what the market conditions are, homes still sell and buyers still buy! The best time for you to move is when it’s right for you.
This time of year is a great time for sellers to be on the market, rather than waiting for the famous spring season. With the spring market comes more competition for sellers. It’s better to be one of the few homes for buyers to choose from than one of many.
You don’t have to figure out the market alone. FastExpert has industry experts across the country who can guide you every step of the way in your real estate journey.
