Richmond Area Housing Market Today vs 1976

Merry Christmas! I hope today has been a day full of love, laughter, and lightening quick gift opening like it has been in my home. Having two 6 year olds really keeps us on our toes and it has been wonderful watching them discover the magic of not only Santa, but the reason for the season.

During the fast and furious exchanging of gifts, I opened one of those “Remember When…” books for my birth year, 1976. (I’m not actually going to tell you my age, but you can do the math!) When I had a moment to take a look at it, I realized many things. I share the same birth year with Reese Witherspoon, Peyton Manning, and even Colin Farrell. I’m in interesting company! But, it was the page on cost of living that really peaked my interest. As your Richmond VA Realtor, I am often drawn to facts and figures such as these.

So how is the housing market today vs 1976? Vastly different! Did you know that in 1976 the cost of a new house was $43,340? And the average rent was $220 per month? I had no idea. Boy, have times changed! Curious by nature, I took to my Central Virginia MLS to look at some statistics of my own and year-to-date the average sold price of homes in Henrico County is $242,540. In Richmond, it is $208,918. Chesterfield County is $223,141. Hanover County is $246,901. And in Goochland County it is $388,100. That is certainly a price hike in the last 36 years! (Did I just give away my age?!)

The book went on to talk about the price of a new car in 1976 ($4,557), the cost of a movie ticket ($2.00), and even the cost of gas ($.60 per gallon). There was no mention of interest rates, so I took to Google. I know we have been seeing historical lows in mortgage rates this year so I wanted to see how far the dollar would go for housing today vs 1976. My research indicated that the mortgage rate for 1976 was 6.25% vs today’s 3.25%-3.50%. Very cool! (CORRECTION: After searching a little more, I have found that the mortgage rates in 1976 were closer to 8%-9%. Source: http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=42)

Lately, we have been seeing mortgage rates slowly inch up but they are still very, very low. And, in the Richmond VA real estate market we have been finding a shortage in inventory. What we have now are buyers who want to take advantage of these great mortgage rates, but no sellers taking advantage of the lack of inventory. Sellers, if you have been thinking about selling your home, now is the time to get off the fence and capture these ready and willing buyers! Thinking of waiting for spring? Don’t! STAND OUT from the competition by not having any competition!

Want to learn more? Contact your Richmond VA real estate agent, Shannon Milligan with Keller Williams Richmond, to unlock the possibilities! But first, go spend the last few precious hours with your family and friends. My dinner is just about ready and I can’t wait to finish the day with loved ones!