A report released Tuesday shows home sales in Virginia were down in Feburary compared to the same month last year.
Virginia REALTORS released the information revealing that February 2025 saw nine percent fewer homes sold across the state than in February 2024.
The organization, made up of more than 35,000 realtors from across the commonwealth, also revealed that Williamsburg and surrounding Peninsula communities saw the sharpest drop.
News 3 reached out for specific February numbers from communities in Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore.
South Hampton Roads:
Virginia Beach: 372 homes sold, down 11.6 percent from Feb. 2024
Chesapeake: 234 homes sold, down 4 percent
Norfolk: 210 homes sold, down 3.7 percent
Suffolk: 117 homes sold, down 10.7 percent
Portsmouth: 117 homes sold, down 12 percent
Peninsula:
Williamsburg: 10 homes sold, down 41.2 percent
York County: 58 homes sold, down 28.4 percent
Newport News: 143 homes sold, down 20.6 percent
Hampton: 126 homes sold, down 19.2 percent
Western Tidewater:
Isle of Wight County: 39 homes sold, down 11.4 percent
Southampton County: 9 homes sold, down 18.2 percent
Eastern Shore:
Northampton County: 10 homes sold, down 41.2 percent
The report indicates economic uncertainty coupled with winter storms could have been what led to the sagging numbers.
Sales rebound in the works:
Christy Allen, Associate Broker for Decker Allen Realty in Virginia Beach, says she's noticed a typical slowdown following last year's presidential election, but says March appears to be rebounding strongly.
"It's been March Madness for real estate," she told News 3 anchor Anthony Sabella. "In Virginia Beach alone, in the last two weeks, about 300 new properties (were put) on the market and more than 100 are already under contract."
She says the rate at which people are buying is significant, adding that of 687 properties listed in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth in the last two weeks, 215 are already under contract.
A townhome Allen is selling in Virginia Beach was under contract in under two weeks, she told News 3, and sold for $5,000 higher than the $369,000 asking price.
"[Spring is] normally a big time, but also we had an interesting thing happen. Rates started to dip down finally," said Allen. "We've got buyers starting to tiptoe back into the market because rates are dipping down, but we're also seeing multiple offers. I had a young couple, we put an offer in on a house a few days ago. We're one of eight offers."
But Allen adds that, while interest rates are down, inventory still hasn't increased enough. That means sellers could sell a home at a higher price.
"We need the inventory," she said. "You're going to get a lot of eyes on your property right now because as soon as something hits the market, you've got realtors all over Hampton Roads sending it to their clients."
As for how long the busier housing market will stick around, Allen says she's hoping it will last through the summer.
