Match Day 2013. Will this be the year that incoming UVA medical residents buy instead of rent?

For most people, (Match Day) is just another day. But for medical students, it’s Match Day, the day that determines not only where they will work after medical school, but what kind of doctors they will become.

For the first five years of my career, Match Day was a big thing for the Charlottesville real estate market – UVA Medical Residents would buy homes. In 2005 (the first year of this blog), I wrote:

This past Thursday was Match Day, the the new Residents find out which Medical School they will be attending. Most importantly, these Residents are a built-in market that comes about each year. Good for real estate.

You know what? At that time, UVA medical residents (and law students and Darden and other short-timers in Charlottesville) were a significant portion of the market.

Then the Zero to Five buyers went away.

The buyers who would buy and sell in a zero to five year timeframe are gone. In other words, the stepping stone of the “buying a home” lifecycle has been pushed further.

Which brings us to 2013.

Are the UVA Medical residents going to buy homes this year?

Answer: Maybe. Maybe more than last year. I’m hoping/expecting to see more quality inventory coming on the market this year than we’ve seen in some time, which should provide

But – student loan debt is a massive challenge.

From NYTimes –

“It’s become normal now to take out loans to get anything of value,” said Dr. S. Ryan Greysen, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of a fascinating study published this month on the historical and social factors that have contributed to rising medical student indebtedness. “Getting a medical education has become similar to getting a mortgage on your house.”

There is a lot of positivity in the market right now, and a lot of buyers who are buying now are buying with the intent to rent that house when their stint in Charlottesville is over. (this is a fantastic resource for real estate investors)

– Closed home sales are up in Charlottesville and Albemarle (where UVA Residents tend to live – as it’s within their ~20 minute distance threshold)

– Inventory has been down, and remains down.

– Prices in some market segments are seeing upward pressure for the first time in years.

– Buying can be less expensive than renting. (ask a good lender about options)

– I rarely actively solicit business here, but for those incoming residents, I’m taking on new clients.

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