Roanoke, VA Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

As of September 2020, the Roanoke, VA, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index was at 225.3, up from 224.8 in August 2020. This is the highest the index has been since reaching 226.1 in July 2019. The FHFA house price index is a measure of home prices in the United States and is used as a tool by economists to track changes in home values over time.

The Roanoke, VA, metro area includes the cities of Roanoke and Salem, as well as the counties of Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, Montgomery, and Roanoke. Home prices in the Roanoke metro area have been on the rise for several years now, but they really started to take off in 2019. In September 2020, the median sales price for a home in the Roanoke metro area was $259,000, up from $239,000 just one year earlier. That’s an increase of 8.8%.

There are several factors driving these rising home prices in Roanoke. One is population growth; between 2010 and 2019, the population of the Roanoke metro area increased by 5%. This population growth is largely due to people moving from more expensive areas like Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia Beach seeking more affordable housing options. The influx of new residents has helped to drive up demand for housing which has put pressure on prices. Another factor driving up prices is low interest rates; with rates near historic lows it’s cheaper to finance a purchase which makes buying more affordable than renting for many people. Lastly, there’s been limited new construction which has further constrained supply leading to even higher prices for existing homes on the market