Median home sales price in Henrico up 8.1%

The median sales price of a home in Henrico through the first quarter of 2021 was $280,000 – up about 8.1% from the same period last year, according to the March 2021 Home Sales Report from Virginia Realtors.

Statewide, that figure was 11.7% higher when compared with the same period last year, according to the report.

Henrico’s increase trailed that of Richmond (up 24.2%, to $300,500) and Chesterfield (up 19.2%, to $318,310) but was higher than that of Hanover (up 7.4%, to $342,725).

So far in 2021, 1,006 homes have sold in Henrico – nine more than sold through the same period last year. More than 1,540 homes sold during the first quarter this year in Chesterfield, an increase of more than 230 from the same period in 2020.

Statewide, the median sales price of homes sold in March was $335,000 – up nearly 10% when compared to the same month last year.

In Henrico, though, the increase was slight – 1.8%, from $275,000 to $279,500. Chesterfield, Hanover and Richmond experienced jumps of 18.2%, 9.2% and 22.1%, by comparison.

This March, 397 homes sold in Henrico – just one more than sold last March, according to the data. A total of 627 homes sold during the same month this year in Chesterfield, up from the 546 that sold there last March.

Home prices have been rising quickly since last summer, and year-to-date home prices are up in nearly every local market across the commonwealth, according to Virginia Realtors. The growth has been fueled by strong demand, limited inventory, and very low mortgage rates.

“In the current competitive market, many buyers are engaging in bidding wars, offering over list price, and making a range of concessions to improve their offers,” said Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant.

There were 11,518 home sales in Virginia in March – about 1,000 more sales than in March 2020, or an increase of 9.6%.

But officials warn that Virginia’s dwindling inventory of available homes could cause a cool down in the spring market. Supply is very limited across local markets—at the end of March, there were just 15,787 active listings statewide – more than 13,000 fewer active listings than a year ago, a decline of 45.8%.

Comparing monthly home sales between 2020 and 2021 will be challenging moving forward, according to the organization. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the housing market last spring, and low mortgage rates fueled particularly high demand through the spring and fall.