RICHMOND — The Fall 2024 housing market continues to outpace last year’s according to the November 2024 Virginia Home Sales Report released by Virginia REALTORS.

Closed sales rose sharply as did pending sales in November, according to the largest trade association in Virginia. Home prices are still climbing in most areas of the state, and the supply of active listings continues to expand.

Virginia’s housing market saw a large surge in closed sales last month, with 7,853 homes sold statewide in November — 905 more sales than a year ago, a 13% increase.

“For two months in a row now, Virginia has seen double-digit growth in closed sales,” says Virginia REALTORS Chief Economist Ryan Price.

Pending sales remain above last year’s pace, the trrade association said. There were 6,863 pending sales statewide in November — an influx of 905 new contracts compared to this time last year, a 15.2% jump.

“This marks a strong ending to what has been an otherwise sluggish 2024 housing market for the commonwealth,” says Price.

Statewide, it added, there were 9,031 new listings in November — 845 more than the same time last year, reflecting a 10.3% increase.

“Growth in new listings has been consistently stronger than last year as more sellers are choosing to enter the market,” explained Virginia REALTORS 2025 President Lorraine Arora. “While our inventory of listings has expanded, it’s important to remember we’re looking at an inventory that is still about 40% smaller than it was this time five years ago.”

In total, Virginia REALTORS said at the end of November, there were 18,870 active listings on the market throughout Virginia, an increase of more than 12% over the previous year.

Price growth remains strong in most areas of the commonwealth, the trade association said. The median sales price in Virginia was $415,000 in November, jumping up $30,000 from November 2023, and unchanged from the previous month. About three-quarters of all local markets — 76% — had median price growth in November.

With home prices continuing their upward march and mortgage rates showing little sign of retreating, affordability remains a key concern in Virginia, the association cautioned.

The Virginia Home Sales Report is published by Virginia REALTORS. Click here to view the full November 2024 Virginia Home Sales Report.

This is an extremely underrated aspect of bowl games, as home field advantage becomes much realer in teams’ final games of the season. As seen earlier in bowl season, like in the Birmingham Bowl featuring Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, fans have a big effect on the game.

Bank of America Stadium is roughly a 3 hour drive from Blacksburg, with Apple Maps giving an estimate of 3 hours and 6 minutes for a drive from Lane Stadium to Bank of America Stadium. Huntington Bank Stadium, the home of the Gophers, is significantly farther from Bank of America Stadium than Lane. Apple Maps estimates the drive from Huntington Bank Stadium to Bank of America Stadium to be a 16 hour, 43 minute drive. Virginia Tech fans travel fairly well and Minnesota’s fans will likely have to catch flights if they want to see their team play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

I would not be shocked to see a stadium heavily dominated by Hokies fans which could swing the momentum if the game is as close as ESPN’s FPI projects it to be. ESPN’s FPI system predicts the Duke’s Mayo Bowl as a true toss-up, with the Virginia Tech Hokies receiving a 51.3% chance to win and the Minnesota Golden Gophers earning a 48.7% chance to win.

This seems like a cop-out especially when you consider P.J. Fleck’s bowl record and the fact that Brent Pry has only coached in one bowl game, but Virginia Tech absolutely dominated a ranked Tulane in the Military Bowl last year.

Pry has shown up in big games as a head coach and almost picked up another signature win this year against No. 7 Miami, although that game just slipped out of the Hokies hands, Pry now has a chance to prove himself. He’s fired his defensive coordinator and now would be the perfect time to prove he belongs with a signature win against a strong Big 10 team as an underdog.

Pop Watson was the Hokies’ best kept secret, but it’s no secret now. He is absolutely one of the best young quarterbacks in the conference and I think he has the potential to light up the Hokies’ secondary in the Mayo Bowl. Watson might be the best quarterback that plays in this game and he has the skills to take down a extremely strong Minnesota secondary.

I would not be shocked if there are plenty of plays designed just to showcase Watson’s skills. He is a dynamic play maker who can take control of the ball game at any time. He has the arm to take the top off of the defense, and if any receiver can get open, he can definitely make the right read. Similar to Brent Pry, this is a big ‘prove it’ game for Pop Watson, and I think he definitely has what it takes.

Virginia Tech Transfer Portal Commitments (9)

Safety Sherrod Covil Jr (Previous School: Clemson)

RB Terion Stewart (Bowling Green)

RB Marcellous Hawkins (Central Missouri)

DL Jahzari Priester (Hampton)

DB Isaiah Brown-Murray (ECU)

DB Tyson Flowers (Rice)

DB Joseph Reddish (Wingate)

DB Isaiah Cash (Sam Houston State)

OL Tomas Rimac (West Virginia)