Rappahannock County – Fauquier County – Madison County – Culpeper County
The heart of the Piedmont (Rappahannock, Fauquier, Culpeper, Madison) continues to be a strong market though growth did slow recently. Year to date, the number of transactions is up 12% over prior year and the dollar volume of sales is up 16%.
Looking at land and residential sales separately, for the entire region, the number of residential transactions is up 13% compared to last year. The average home price has increased by 3% to $355,165. The number of land sales is up 37% and the average price per acre has increased by 12%. Commercial transactions are up significantly (10 more than prior year all of which closed in the third quarter).
While the general trends are interesting, it is important to remember that each market is quite small and a handful of sales can dramatically effect the overall averages. For example, Rappahannock has only had 73 sales so far this year.
On a county by county basis, the results are a little more mixed though generally strong. Year to date, Rappahannock, the smallest of the markets, has had 6 fewer (11%) residential transactions, land sales have increased 50% (7 transactions). Fauquier County is up 9% in residential transactions and 52% in land transactions while Madison is up 30% in residential and up 17% in land (a significant increase from the first two quarters). Culpeper is up 10% and down 4% in residential and land transactions respectively.
Rappahannock Home Sales
25 residential properties sold in the third quarter of 2016 compared to 17 properties ($7 million) this year. Rappahannock had its first residential sale over $1,000,000 in 2016 in July.
The attached chart shows cumulative sales for the year by price range. For the year to date, the dollar volume of sales is down 1% compared to the prior year. Unlike previous quarters, we saw growth in all segments of the market with strong growth in the under $250,000 segment and our first sale over one million.
The increase in transactions may have been a result of deeper discounting; residential properties closed, on average, 9% below list price. There are currently 121 homes for sales in Rappahannock County which is about a 1.5 year supply. The average list price is $663,719 with an average of 260 days on market.
Rappahannock Land Sales
Eight properties sold in the third quarter of 2016 as compared to 4 properties last year.
With only about 25 transactions annually, you will find that there is still quite a bit of variability in price per acre based on views, water features and location. There are currently 76 lots on the market, which is a three year supply. For the quarter, land sales were up compared to last year.
As you would expect in Rappahannock, there is a dearth of small lots available. Year to date, we have sold 6 small lots and there are 6 available for sale which is less than a one year supply. If you look at lots over 25 acres, there are 41 for sale and only 9 have sold year to date which is almost a 4 year supply. Lots over 25 acres are listing at $7,378/acre and are selling at $6,542/acre.
Click Here to view a complete list of everything sold in July – September 2016. Please note: there was one commercial sale.
Review other Market Trends Reports: Fauquier County – Madison County – Culpeper County
Review the Q2 Market Trends Report for Rappahannock