Higher mortgage rates, more price reductions, and changing buyer expectations are creating an interesting dynamic in Richmond real estate. But are buyers overlooking some real opportunities I recently sat down with a local Realtor for another Tailgate Talk, and we covered quite a bit of ground—from what’s happening in the Richmond housing market to creative financing strategies that can make homeownership more affordable. One theme kept coming up: We may be paying too much at

360 price reductions in just seven days. That’s what caught my attention when reviewing the latest MLS activity across the greater Richmond area. During that same period, 318 new homes were listed, 258 went under contract, and 222 sales closed. Buyers are clearly still active, but sellers are making adjustments. The question is whether they’re making the right adjustments. What’s Behind All These Price Reductions? My suspicion is that many homes simply started at prices highe

When people begin thinking about buying a home, one of their first questions is, "How much house can I afford?" It's a reasonable question. But after years of helping people finance homes, I've come to believe there's a better one: "How much house can I comfortably afford?" Those two questions can produce very different answers. What You Qualify For Isn't Necessarily What You Should Spend Mortgage qualification generally focuses on income, existing debt, credit, and available

What Gives Richmond? More homes for sale. Fewer transactions closing. Buyers having more choices. You might expect that combination to push home prices lower, but that's not what September's Richmond-area housing numbers are showing. According to a Richmond metro market report using Central Virginia Regional MLS data, the median closed-sale price reached $430,000 in September, up 2.9% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, active listings increased 16.5%, and closed sales declined 7

Mortgage rates have moved sharply. Buyers are wondering whether they should wait. And with more homes available for sale, it would be reasonable to wonder whether home values are starting to weaken. Nationally, there are some signs of that. In September, the median asking price was **down 1.4% from a year ago.** Richmond is telling a different story. Richmond-area active listings were up **21.3% year over year in September**, giving buyers substantially more choice. Yet the m

Something interesting is happening as we head into the fall housing market: Richmond buyers have more homes to choose from — but they’re becoming more hesitant about buying them. Active listings across the Richmond area increased 20.9% in August compared with a year ago, while new listings rose 9.3%. Normally, you’d expect that much additional inventory to put significant pressure on prices. So far, it hasn’t. Richmond’s median asking price was $440,000 — still 2.4% higher th

Why one homeowner's low mortgage rate wasn't telling the whole financial story—and what happened when we looked at debt, equity and cash flow together. I recently worked with a past client who had something a lot of homeowners would never want to give up: a very low mortgage rate. But while he'd spent years protecting that rate, something else had been quietly happening in the background. Over time, he'd accumulated a significant amount of higher-cost consumer debt. The month

What really happens behind the scenes in Richmond real estate? In this Tailgate Talk, I sit down with Kim Ligh for a candid conversation about the things buyers, sellers—and sometimes even real estate professionals—don’t always see coming. We get into some of Kim’s funniest and strangest experiences showing and listing homes (yes, somehow six-year-old chicken nuggets make an appearance 😂), but there’s plenty of practical real estate strategy mixed in too. We talk about Richm

For many homeowners approaching or already in retirement, there can be an interesting financial contradiction: They may have substantial wealth—but much of it is tied up in their home. A homeowner may have spent decades paying down a mortgage and building equity, yet find that monthly cash flow becomes increasingly important in retirement. That’s where a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), commonly called a reverse mortgage, may be worth considering. What Is a HECM Revers

Richmond’s Second Housing Season Is About to Begin School buses are rolling again. Vacations are winding down. Schedules are getting back to normal. And if history is any guide, something else is about to pick up: Buyer activity. Spring is traditionally Richmond’s busiest housing season, but fall brings a second wave of activity—and we’re entering that period with more homes available than buyers had a year ago. That combination could make the next several weeks particularly

Imagine you’re choosing between two homes. One costs a little less and looks better on the spreadsheet. The other costs a little more—but cuts your commute, gives you the extra bedroom you’ve needed, has a yard, and feels like somewhere you could happily stay for the next seven or ten years. Which is the better financial decision? The answer may not be as obvious as it seems. We spend a lot of time trying to answer, “Is this a good time to buy?” Mortgage rates. Home prices.

One of the most common questions I hear is: “Should I wait?” It’s a fair question. Mortgage rates remain higher than many of us became accustomed to a few years ago, and affordability continues to be a challenge for many buyers. Sometimes waiting is absolutely the right decision. But here’s what I’ve noticed…. When people think about waiting, they usually calculate what they might save. Very few calculate what waiting might cost. Looking Beyond the Mortgage Rate In the Richm

Today’s housing decisions requires a different way of thinking. If you’ve followed the national news over the past year, you’ve probably come away with one conclusion: the housing market is in trouble. The headlines have been predictable. Higher interest rates. Slower home sales. Predictions of falling prices. Depending on the source, we’re either headed for another housing correction or simply waiting for rates to fall before everything returns to “normal.” But here in Centr