Brick’s Blog

     So long 2009. You sure were game. A true fighter. Yeah, you were helped by the 1st Time Home Buyer Credit, but considering the economic times you did okay. 

     I cannot help but to continually reiterate how resilient a real estate market Richmond is.  I am in contact with real estate agents across the country. They’d love to have the situation we have here. Yeah, our prices are down, sales are down, and some are “underwater” on the mortgages, but we still have relatively low unemployment and “hope & change” is on the horizon with a new “jobs” governor starting Saturday. I am not predicting a breakout year in 2010, but Virginia will at least hold its own this year, which will be good compared to other parts of the country.

     Let’s take a quick glance at the year that was – 2009.  Overall, ’09 unit sales where down only 3 % from ’08. If you remember how dark it was back in the late Winter and early Spring of ’09 than this 3 % decline is nothing. This 3 % decline is only about 250 less sales than in ’08. Where these fewer sales fell on the price range is the important thing. In ’09 there were about 400 less sales at a price point above $400,000 than in ’08.  Wait a minute, Brick, didn’t this also occur in ’08 when compared ’07. Unit sales between ’08 and ’07 were down over 30 %. Funny you should ask.  Yeah, there were almost 700 less sales above the $400,000 point in ’08 when compared to ’07, but sales above $400,000 comprised 15.5 % of the total sales. In ’07, sales above the $400,000 point were 16.6 % of the total sales. In ’09, sales above $400,000 represented only 11.3 % of total sales. In 2009, over 88 % of the market activity occurred under $400,000. Hey, onto 2010 …. my motto in ’10 is onward and upward. Tune in next month when I have my first installment of 2010.