Number of Realtors is no longer growing in the Fredericksburg area with housing slump

BY BILL FREEHLING

Date published: 9/8/2007

BY BILL FREEHLING

When Suzy Stone entered the Fredericksburg real estate business in 1999, she was one of about 500 local Realtors.

Now she's president of the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors, whose membership has swelled to more than 1,700 agents in the past eight years.

Those numbers were due to a booming real estate market in which contracts were written hours after homes went on the market. Recently, as homes take longer to sell and go for lower prices, fewer people are becoming Realtors.

"If you're just getting started it's a little tougher," Stone said. "The clients aren't just falling into your lap."

Data recently released by the Virginia Association of Realtors tell the story. There were 356 home sales completed in the Fredericksburg area this past July. That's down about 20 percent from July 2006. Year-to-date, sales are down in the area about 21 percent.

The median sales price in the Fredericksburg area was $316,000 in July. It was $339,950 in July 2006.

Home prices showed modest drops in Spotsylvania and Stafford counties between this July and last. The median sales price during that period dropped 6.6 percent in Spotsylvania and 3.9 percent in Stafford.

There were larger percentage declines in the city of Fredericksburg, where median sales prices dropped 18.7 percent this past July compared with July 2006.

Homes have been staying on the market by at least 50 percent longer in Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania this year compared to last, according to the data.

Stone said the recent conditions have forced Realtors to go "back to basics." That means coming up with a marketing plan and working with your client base.

It's not all doom and gloom, however. Fewer new people are entering the business, but most existing Realtors are staying with it. Overall, the number of local Realtors is neither substantially growing nor declining.

"The real estate business is still a great business to be in," Stone said.

The real estate market in many parts of Virginia has stayed blissfully consistent throughout the past year, said Melanie Thompson, who owns Century 21 AdVenture in Spotsylvania and is president of the Virginia Association of Realtors.

Thompson said the recent troubles have mostly been isolated to Fredericksburg and areas to the north, where the housing boom occurred.

Five of the 24 Virginia areas listed by the state Realtors association showed increases in properties sold this past July. The average time homes spent on the market statewide--119 days --was less than the tallies for May or June.

Thompson believes it's a good time to buy a home. She noted that interest rates are still relatively low for borrowers with good credit records. There are numerous motivated sellers. She think the market should return to normal conditions by this time next year.

"Normal is good," Thompson said.

Date published: 9/8/2007