According to the Virginian-Pilot, sales of existing homes in South Hampton Roads continues to grow. The medium price of existing homes also continues to improve. "October marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in the median price of existing homes sold in Hampton Roads," wrote Sarah Kleiner Varble ( http://hamptonroads.com/2012/11/home-sales-pick-hampton-roads ). A lower inventory of existing homes for sale is helping push the median sales price up.
Interest rates remaining at historic lows has also helped to keep home buyers active. With weekly mortgage rate averages remaining at or below 4.0% since November of 2011 ( http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/ ), those buyers who had been sitting the fence on buying decisions seemed to have jumped into the market. The increase is due in part to the number of distressed sales, those homes that are either bank-owned or sellers who owe more on their homes than the properties are worth. Distressed sales must decrease for the housing market to fully recover, and tracking does indicate a drop in foreclosure activity in Hampton Roads.