Buyers, Sellers (and Realtors) would do well to take note of this chart depicting inventory numbers for residential properties in Charlottesville and Albemarle. The short analysis: Houses are taking much longer to sell and buyers are being more demanding and patient. Sellers have to be prepared to negotiate in a way that they have not needed to before. The number of sales, year over year comparison, is almost half that of 2006.

*ignore the “months inventory” column for “current 2007”

Taking condos out of the mix:

All-inclusive – Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna and Greene:

From the Wall Street Journal:

Large inventories have caused prices to level off or fall modestly in much of the country over the past year or so. The recent surge in defaults on subprime mortgages — loans to people with blemished credit records — has prompted lenders to tighten credit standards. That tightening is expected to put downward pressure on home prices by removing many potential buyers from the market.

*Note: I would love to be able to show this data graphically as a line graph, but am unable to do so right now.
* Source: Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS, whose data is “good enough”

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