County home, land sales up in 2017; average price falls
Real estate transactions in Rappahannock County increased by 22 percent in 2017 when compared to 2016, while raw land transactions were up 39 percent.
At the same time, the average home sales price was down in 2017, as was the price per acre of land that sold.
“Rappahannock is a small market with about 80 [to] 90 residential properties changing hands each year,” Adam Beroza, vice president of Sales & Marketing for Cheri Woodard Realty in Sperryville, wrote in his annual market trends report for the county.
“In 2017, 95 properties sold, which is up from 78 in 2016,” he said. “The first half of 2017 was quite busy with the number of transactions doubling the prior year.”
According to Beroza, home sales “transactions were up 22 percent and dollar sales were up 16 percent” for the year, albeit the average sale price of a home fell in 2017 compared to 2016.
“The average sale price [of a residence] in 2017 was $412,318, which is down from $432,786 in 2016. On average, homes are selling at 5 percent below list price.”
The average list price of the 89 homes currently for sale this month in Rappahannock County is $826,720, with an average of 322 days on market.
As far as land sales in Rappahannock go, 46 properties sold in 2017, compared to 33 properties in 2016, although the price per acre dropped significantly.
There are currently 45 lots on the market as of this month, with the average price per acre for lots over 25 acres at $5,350 — down
from $6,339 per acre last year.
Beroza stressed “there can be a lot of variability in price per acre. In Rappahannock, the lowest price per acre was $2,540 while two lots sold at $10,000 [an] acre.”
On a county by county basis, Rappahannock transactions, as stated before, were up 22 percent (17 more sales), while Fauquier transactions were up 6 percent (68 more sales). Culpeper was relatively flat (1 less sale) and Madison was down 26 percent (37 fewer sales).
Looking historically at residential transactions in Madison, Beroza pointed out that “the 141 properties sold in 2016 was an outlier and the 104 properties sold in 2017 is about average.”
In aggregate in the Piedmont region, raw land transactions were up 10 percent for the year. Rappahannock and Culpeper were up 39 percent and 29 percent respectively. Madison was flat for the year while Fauquier was down 7 percent.
The average list price of the 89 homes currently for sale this month in Rappahannock County is $826,720, with an average of 322 days on market.