According to the December 2021 Homes Sales Report released by Virginia Realtors, the commonwealth’s competitive housing market broke numerous records in 2021.

Last year, there were 154,340 home sales statewide, a surge of 10.2 percent over 2020. Nearly every local market across Virginia had more home sales in 2021 than the previous year.

Much of Virginia saw rapid price gains. The commonwealth’s annual median sales price was $350,000, a $30,000 jump from 2020, which is a 9.4 percent increase. This is the largest annual price gain the state has had in years. This strong price growth was fueled by historically low mortgage interest rates, record sales activity, and the tight inventory of homes available.

The inventory shortage continues to be a major challenge in Virginia. There were just 13,469 active listings throughout the state at the end of December, a 24.2 percent drop from a year ago, which is nearly 4,300 fewer listings.

“Virginia’s housing market is very strong. The...