Rappahannock County – Fauquier County – Madison County – Culpeper County
In the Heart of the Piedmont (Rappahannock, Fauquier, Madison and Culpeper Counties), 2017 was another strong year. The number of transactions were up 3% and dollar sales were up 6% as compared to 2016. This is on top of an already strong 2016 which was up 9% in transactions and 10% in dollar sales from 2015.
Overall residential transactions were up 2%. On a county by county basis, Rappahannock transactions were up 22% (17 more sales) and Fauquier transactions were up 6% (68 more sales). Culpeper was relatively flat (1 less sale) and Madison was down 26% (37 fewer sales). Looking historically at residential transactions in Madison, the 141 properties sold in 2016 was an outlier and the 104 properties sold in 2017 is about average.
In aggregate, raw land transactions were up 10% for the year. Rappahannock and Culpeper were up 39% and 29% respectively. Madison was flat for the year while Fauquier was down 7%.
Home Sales
Rappahannock is a small market with about 80-90 residential properties changing hands each year. In 2017, 95 properties sold which is up from 78 in 2016.
The first half of 2017 was quite busy with the number of transactions doubling the prior year. In the third quarter, sales were slower (down 8%) though this was mostly due to a very weak July. A strong October gave hope for a robust fourth quarter (similar to 2016), but November and December were disappointing leading to a 21% decline in overall transactions for the quarter.
For the year, transactions were up 22% and dollar sales were up 16%. The chart below shows cumulative number of transactions and dollars sales for the year by price range.
The average sale price in 2017 was $412,318 which is down from $432,786 in 2016. On average, homes are selling at 5% below list price. There are currently only 89 homes for sale in Rappahannock County, which is about a one year supply. The average list price is $826,720 with an average of 322 days on market.
Land Sales
46 properties sold in 2017 as compared to 33 properties in 2016. Sales of lots less than 5 acres decreased by 44%, but virtually all of the other segments were either flat or up. There was only one sale over 100 acres unlike last year which had two sales in that range.
There are currently 45 lots on the market, which is roughly a 16-month supply. The average price per acre for lots over 25 acres was $5,350 down from $6,339 last year. Please note, there can be a lot of variability in price per acre. In Rappahannock, the lowest price per acre was $2,540 while two lots sold at $10,000 acre.
To see a complete listing of everything that sold in Rappahannock County this year (by quarter), please click on one of the links below:
Review other Market Trends Reports: Rappahannock County – Fauquier County – Madison County – Culpeper County
Review the Q3 2017 Market Trends Report for Rappahannock
Review the 2016 Market Trends Report for Rappahannock
