Lynchburg, VA

LYNCHBURG - VA HOUSING MARKET REPORT

SEPTEMBER 2008

• ACTIVE LISTINGS 1996
• ABSORPTION RATE 6.83 MONTHS

• AUGUST STATS:

SOLDS 205

Avg Days on Market 144

Avg Sales Price $173,287.00

Sales Price to List Price % 98.83%

(based on information from the

Lynchburg Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing System)

Posted by:KATHY CARSON, RE/MAX 1ST OLYMPIC, LYNCHBURG, VA

Some pointers from Seth Godin and some trends i spot with well-read blogs

http://www.marketing-helper.com/?p=16

The question I get asked most often has to be, "So how is the market these days?" Even folks who aren't buying or selling a home want to know. Why is that? I believe its becuase the state of any local economy is largely influenced by how well the housing market is fairing. And remember... all real estate IS local. So let's see just how the market really IS doing these days.

One way to assess the market is to see what the average sales prices are this year versus the same period last year and the year before. From June 1 through July 31 of this year, we closed on 489 residental properties, with an average sales price of $186,462. For the same period in 2007 there were 548 homes sold at an average sales price of $187,657. Backing up one more year, in 2006 the statistics for the same period were 676 sold homes at an average sales price of $182,572.

So it would appear that while home values this year are off by about $1000 (a negligible amount), we're still up overall from 2006's numbers. However, this is for our entire market. What about more specific numbers for the region's different areas?

Let's first look at Lynchburg City. In June & July 2006, there were 251 residential properties sold, average sales price of $168,022. In the same period of 2007 there were 210 sales, average sales price of $164,514. Finally, this year there were 189 sales, average sale price of $170,279 - an INCREASE over the previous two years!

In Bedford County, June & July 2006, 165 homes sold for an average sales price of $228,778; same period of 2007 there were 152 sales, average sales price of $250,709; this year, same period, there were 131 sales, average sales price of $235,980. Again, while this figure is dow from the previous year, its still better than the 2006 numbers.

Finally, in Campbell County, June & July 2006, 128 sales with an average of $159,372; 2007's nubmers were 102 sales, average of 173,421; this year there were 81 sales with an average sales price of $160,756. Again, while this figure is down from the previous year, it holds at the 2006 level.

This underscores my answer to the above question, which is this: the VALUE of homes has held relatively steady, but the number of homes BEING SOLD has dropped off. So while people are still buying homes, they aren't buying them as frequently as they used to in the past.

Im going to be a first time homebuyer. Yes, congratulations to me. As a fairly new resident to the area, I didn't even know where to start! So what did I do? The VERY first thing was to get on Google, and start looking for sites that I could peruse houses in my area.

I found http://www.liveinlynchburg.com.

And of course... as soon as I tried to look for houses, it required my email address and phone number.

An hour later I got a phone call from Nannette Saunders who, if all goes well, will sell me my first home. So, here are a few things that she did right:

1. Search Engine Optimization: Her website comes up all over the internet. No matter what I did, I couldn't get away from it! Now when I WANT to find it, it is as easy as liveinlynchburg.com.

2. Localism.com: I'm not yet sure how she did it, but she is a "top neighbor" at localism.com in our city.

3. Send me informative emails: Getting my contact information once I hit her website was a great strategy. She started sending me personal marketing emails that - although I didn't have time to read them - helped to give her credibility in her field. And she was able to generate a warm lead out of that!

The first Virginia Tech Football game against East Carolina is fast approaching. The season starts August 30, check out the 2008 Schedule. Don’t miss out- 2008 Hokie Effect Orange and Maroon T-Shirts are now available at the VT bookstore.

Short sleeve is $6.00 each, long sleeve $10.00 each. Buy one of each at the same time for $12.00 total. Come out and support Coach Beamer and Virginia Tech football. Available:

On Campus:

University Bookstore

Dietrick General Store

HokieShop Stadium Stores

Off Campus:

Volume Two Bookstore