After three years of incredible growth, the Lake Anna real estate market is currently experiencing a slowdown with many economists are predicting a sluggish market for 2023. As a real estate professional the past 25 years, I must note we have certainly seen a lot of unusual trends over the past several years.
In addition to the Covid effect, bidding wars and homes selling at and above list price, we also enjoyed historically low interest rates that created a booming real estate market that lake home prices to soar.
Now however, sellers are concerned that home prices will decline as the market slows due to inflation and the rising interest rates. On the flip side, buyers are hoping that the home prices will come down.
Many industry experts are predicting that home sales will fall the first half of 2023 with a slow recovery in the last half of the year. With high mortgage rates and high home prices, many buyers are expected to hold off due to affordability.
Lucky for us, the lake is a recreational destination, and many are choosing to retire here, so our market is not comparable to the more urban areas. We are also blessed to have four seasons without the harsh winters as many up north experience every year. These factors continue to make Lake Anna a popular choice.
We also have an active vacation rental market. This gives those wanting to retire here the opportunity to help pay for the home prior to retirement.
Home inventory at the lake is currently low, with only 39 homes listed. This also correlates to the time of year. Of those, 22 are waterfront and 17 are access homes. Also, we see less listings in the winter, which oddly enough, is a good time to list since there is less competition. However, during this time of year many are preparing their homes to sell in time for the spring market.
In comparison to 2021 there have been less homes sold simply due to inventory, however sales have been good.
Total homes sold in 2021 was 274 and this year we have sold 214 with 18 pending sales. Some of these maybe credited in next year’s sales numbers due to closing dates. Another interesting statistic regarding those sales is the number of homes that sold over a million. In 2021 there were at total of 42 homes that sold for over one million and this year we have sold 53 homes above that mark with four more homes waiting to close. That brings us to an amazing 57 homes that sold for over 1 million at Lake Anna for 2022.
Regarding land sales, those numbers have also dropped due to current inventory. In 2021 we sold a total of 239 lots compared to the 138 lots sold for 2022. We also have nine pending lot sales, which would bring it up to 147 if closed by the end of the year. We currently have 76 lots for sale at the lake with 23 waterfront and 53 lake access.
Developers for the new subdivision, Rock Island Landing are preparing to sell direct, so those numbers are not included. Rock Island Landing is an 80-acre community featuring over two miles of shoreline.
In closing, remember you need a local agent that knows all the complex details of selling and buying at the lake. Having the right agent by your side can make or break your home buying or selling experience. A local experienced agent knows the area and market better than anyone and will save you time and stress throughout the buying and selling process.
You can reach the author at libbysandridge@gmail.com
