How did the local real estate market kick off the new year?

The real estate market in Locust Grove quietly entered 2025.  A snow storm, presidential inauguration, and the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady rather than cutting them could all be factors into why the real estate market both nationally and locally slowed in January.  Let’s take a look at what happened with the homes in Locust Grove during the past month.

Active Homes in Locust Grove on the Market

In January 2025, there were fifty five homes in Locust Grove for sale.  This is a decrease in inventory from December where there were seventy eight homes on the market.  These homes in Locust Grove are spending, on average, seventy five days on the market.  In December, homes spent an average of fifty nine days on the market.   The average list price for a home was $480,000.  In December, the average list price was $512,000.

What does all this mean?

January can be a slower time in the real estate market as winter is in full gear here in central Virginia.  There are fewer homes entering the market to replenish the homes that sold in December.  The decrease in average list price may indicate that sellers are willing to make price adjustments in order to entice buyers to write offers.  

Interestingly, when I looked back at the data from the prior years I gained some insight into the market.  From 2021 to 2025, there are more active homes in Locust Grove in January 2025 on the market than in the prior years.  Likewise the average days on the market are also higher than previous years.  This indicates to me that more sellers are ready to move; perhaps having accepted that interest rates will not be in the two (a historical low) to three percent range and that an increase in home values have given most sellers equity, sellers have felt ready to make a change.

Active Homes in Locust Grove in January

The changes in the interest rates and housing prices may not have been so kind to buyers.  With their buying power lessened, buyers have stricter standards when purchasing a home and are slower to write offers.  This leads to an increase for the average amount of time for homes in the market.  Looking at the chart, the average days on the market has consistently increased over the past five years in January.  While this doesn’t mean that a seller’s home won’t sell, it is important for sellers to know that the time a home spends on the market is increasing.

Pending Homes in Locust Grove

In January nineteen homes went under contract; in December twenty eight homes went under contract.  These homes in Locust Grove spent an average of sixty one days on the market; an increase from December’s forty nine days.  The average price for a home remained relatively unchanged at $444,000. (December was $442,000.)

Sold Homes in Locust Grove

In January, twenty homes were sold in Locust Grove.  During the previous month, forty two homes sold.  The average days on the market was forty seven and the average price was $477,000.