Charlottesville’s summer market shifted. More contracts and listings than last year, fewer homes go under contract in 10 days or less, and days on market are rising.

The percentage of homes going under contract in 10 days or less is down. The days on market of both attached and detached homes are up as well.

Data: Charlottesville MLS (CAAR + Bright), detached and attached, July–September 2025 vs. 2024.

If I were doing a deeper analysis, I’d likely compare to 2019, but I’m looking more at “what’s happening in the Charlottesville real estate market right now.”

What does this mean to you?

Buyers

• 2026 likely will bring more choices and negotiating power than we’ve had since 2019.

• Learn your micro-market now so you can act fast when the right house appears.

• Patience matters: even 40-day listings may draw multiple offers.

I had buyer clients recently who decided to make an offer on a house that had been on the market for 40 days; we were one of three offers.

Sellers

• Prep matters more than ever. Homes no longer sell instantly. Start now. (a good step would be to reach out to me; better to start now than hurry and stress yourself even more).

• Start projects early to avoid last-minute stress.

• Price and present well; competition is increasing.

Moving can be traumatic; planning ahead for life’s knowable stressors is important.

When I do actual market analyses for clients, I do some of what I do here, and that is to look at the algorithms but my analysis is derived from looking at each comparable listing individually. Broad algorithmic analyses are useful to a degree, but we’re not yet to the point where Zillow is right enough to be actionable (something I have been observing since 2006!)

A snippet from my upcoming October 2025 Monthly Note

I’ve never liked market reports – they provide distance from the market itself, and the reports are often unexamined. When I run numbers for my clients, that often leads to curiosity.

Someone asked me a question about Charlottesville market data. I looked at the local realtor association’s market report, and the numbers just felt wrong. I dug. And the numbers were wrong. I frankly don’t care enough about their report check their others, so I’ll continue discounting them. (I have on occasion used their infographics, but no more). It is bad that they are so wrong, and worse that no one else questioned the data. In a world where facts and data are under attack, the data we have responsibility for is even more important and valuable. Good complete data builds trust. Simple.

Caveats

• Overall data (not resale, as in this post) is suspect because some builders do not put all of their sales in the MLS.
• Some of this data is suspect because I’m not looking at the history of each listing.

Questions?

I just liked this picture from a recent morning bike ride.