Richmond home sales jump, but buyers face inventory crunch
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Richmond is headed into the spring real estate market with renewed sales activity compared to last year, but little relief on supply.
Why it matters: Richmond's real estate market is something of an outlier compared to the national scene, but there's still some bright spots for homebuyers.
The big picture: After a sharp slowdown in real estate activity in 2022 and 2023, metro Richmond's real estate market largely stabilized in 2025, per data from the Richmond Association of Realtors.
- Last year saw only modest price growth (median sales price up 2.2% compared to 7.2% in 2024), homes sitting on the market a little longer (28 vs. 26 days) and home sales closing at or below list price (as opposed to 3% over).
- And 2026 is off to a strong start with pending and closed sales both up by double digits last month compared to the previous month and year, per the latest stats from the Richmond Association of Realtors.
- Pending sales were also up significantly for both periods and median sales price only ticked up slightly.
Yes, but: Inventory and competition remain challenges for prospective Richmond homebuyers.
Threat level: Inventory is down nearly 10% year-over-year for metro Richmond and 14% for single-family homes, specifically.
- That puts RVA at just over a month of inventory so far this year, well shy of the five to six months needed for a "healthy market."
- And while Richmond's median sales prices have only increased modestly at 2.2% compared to recent years, it's still "well ahead of the national average of 1.3%," per Homes.com.
- "Among the top 40 largest U.S. markets, Richmond's annual price growth rate was 12th," Homes.com's market analytics director Nick Leverett tells Axios.
Stunning stat: The median sales price for a single-family home in metro Richmond last month was $420,515.
But, but, but: The spring market is just getting started and new listings usually start to ramp up along with the temperature, per the state realtors association.
- And most signs point to a "busier spring market this year," they say.
The bottom line: It's still a seller's market in Richmond, according to industry experts, but recent sales activity and slowing price growth suggest some positive momentum for buyers.
What we're watching: Mortgage rates, which surged well above 6% this week after dropping below it for the first time since 2022.