From the Chesapeake Bay to the Shenandoah Valley to the Appalachian Plateau, the Commonwealth of Virginia enjoyed what's shaping up to be record-making year for home sales in 2001.

In November 2001, year-to-date closings were at 94,528, compared to 85,147 for the same period in 2000, an increase of 11 percent according to the Virginia Association of Realtors (VAR) in Richmond.

"Virginia continues to mirror and even exceed what's been happening on the national level," said VAR president Ann Palmateer of Virginia Beach.

Virginia's low unemployment rate, 3.6 percent in December compared to the nation's 5.4 percent rate, is largely due to a balanced economy with across-the-board strength in manufacturing, finance, insurance, real estate, retail, transportation and utilities.

The balance generated record earnings in December 2001 as the weekly wage for the state’s 276,600 production employees rose $20.63 from November to a record $619.89, surpassing the previous weekly wage high of $599.59 set in September 2001, according to the Virginia Employment Commission in Richmond.

The commission said even with recent layoffs, like those experienced in much of the nation. Virginia's average hourly factory worker wages also set a record in December, rising to $14.62, from November's previous high of $14.44 an hour. In addition to the state's record earnings for workers, factory workers with jobs enjoyed an average of 2.4 hours of overtime each week.

"All the factors are in place for a strong housing market, including relatively low unemployment, low interest rates, and a good supply of homes on the market," Palmateer said.

It doesn't hurt to also be the birthplace of the Internet (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and home of the Pentagon, both in Arlington. Those and other installations gives Virginia's economy a strong foundation in both defense and technology research and development to help keep the state's economy churning out jobs.

"The Washington D.C. area real estate market is and always will be one of the strongest, healthiest and most resilient real estate markets in the U.S.," Alexandria's Jobin Realty agent Scott Fortney reported to RealtyTimes.com's Alexandria Market Conditions Report.

"Buyers are now enjoying this softening or stabilization period, but they did not see a decrease in home value like they were expecting. Our market is very well insulated and we will not see a down market for a while. Recent price trends are stable, but with the spring market just around the corner, we will start to see the inevitable increase in demand for homes," Fortney added.

With a strategic, central East Coast location that offers waterways, ports, and an intermodal transportation system for both commerce and tourism, Old Dominion's quality of life also earned it a ranking as the nation's 4th most livable state in 2001, according to Morgan Quitno Press.

Even with double digit sales increases, homes remained relatively affordable.

In November 2001, the median sales price was $133,164, up only slightly from $131,707 in November 2000. The average price of a single-family home in Virginia was $151,396 in November, 2001, compared to $146,342 a year earlier, according to VAR.

"Over the past year or two, the Richmond market and surrounding areas have seen a significant seller's market. Even after the events of 9/11, the market still remained strong although there has been a slight shift toward a buyers market," Richmond's RE/MAX Commonwealth agent Stanton L. Thalhimer, reported to RealtyTimes.com's Richmond Market Conditions Report.

Other communities fared even better.

"The current home market in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake strongly favors the seller. This is in contrast to our historical market, which typically has been one that favored the buyer," Virginia Beach's William E. Wood At The Mall agent Chuck Evans reported to RealtyTimes.com's Virginia Beach Market Conditions Report.

Fortney, Evans and Thalhimer and other agents in the Alexandria, Richmond and Virginia Beach areas all rated their markets at or above 4 in both the Current Market Rating Average (where 1 is a buyer's market and 5 is a seller's market) and the Current Price Trend Average (where 1 is falling prices and 5 is rising prices) on RealtyTimes.com's Market Conditions Report.

"Buyers today need to be preapproved for their mortgage prior to entering the market and be prepared to move quickly when homes become available. This will continue through the spring and into summer," Evans added.

Published: February 8, 2002

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.