More Homes for Sale, No Relief on Pricing
April brings mixed indicators for the local real estate market. Buyers will be paying more, even as more homes become available. Whether this spells better days ahead or trouble is unknown.
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By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Location, location, location.
In Phoenix, parts of Florida, and large swaths of the Midwest, home prices are falling and listings of homes for sale are on the rise.
Not quite so in the Fredericksburg area.
According to the April 2025 Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors report released on Monday, home prices continue to rise, home sales are declining, though the number of houses for sale is starting to grow.
Across the region, the average price of a new home is up 3% to $462,000 compared with April 2024. Area localities also saw rising average prices compared with a year ago, from a low of 3% in Caroline County to a high 6% in Fredericksburg. Two localities — King George and Colonial Beach, saw average prices fall.
Overall, the number of homes sold compared with April 2024 is down 8%, with Stafford County realizing a dramatic drop of 25%.
On the plus side, active home listings were above 1,000 for the first time in nearly three years.
If the numbers sound turbulent, it’s likely because the economy itself is experiencing turbulence.
Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Nicole Friedman noted that nationwide, “The crucial spring selling season is shaping up as a dud.”
While “inventory of homes for sale is steadily rising,” demand remains “tepid.”
One of the culprits is mortgage rates, which are hovering around 6.75%, more than double the rate just two years prior.
This is particularly worrisome because “Sales rose in February, but activity the next month suffered its slowest sales pace for any March since 2009. Then in early April, President Trump rolled out his tariff policy, causing fresh economic anxiety and the stock market to sell off.”
FAAR reports that “Real estate professionals representing both sellers and buyers remain optimistic for a positive future in our local housing market with stability in home pricing, reduction in mortgage interest rates, and increased inventory of homes in the marketplace.”
Whether that optimism is justified, or wishful, as Friedman’s reporting suggests, will only be answered in time.
For now, however, our location remains a desirable one — even with massive cuts to the federal government.
Location, location, location.
U.S. existing-home salesSource: National Association of RealtorsNotes: Seasonally adjusted at an annual rate; March2025 is preliminary.
The median price for April increased nearly 3%, going from $450,000 last April to $462,000 this year, while
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