CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Despite usually being a slower time for the real estate market, the fourth quarter of 2025 saw a 10% increase in home sales, according to the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors 2025 Q4 Quarter Home Sales Report released Wednesday.

“The market is kind of normalizing, not weakening. Buyers have a little more choice because days on the market have increased some,” CAAR President Amanda Spigone told Cville Right Now.

She noted that because of weather and especially holidays, the fourth quarter can be slower compared to other times of the year. But trends over time, which used to be helpful in predictions, have been upended since 2020.

“Anything that was pre-COVID is kind of out the window,” Spigone said. “Any of the historical trends we saw, we don’t see those as much anymore. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason.”

2025 had 91 more homes sold in the fourth quarter than in Q4 2024 with some areas in the region seeing stark increases. Fluvanna County had a 20% increase in sales while Greene County’s sales increased by 85%.

One likely reason for the uptick in homes sales, Spigone believes, is interest rates coming down. According to the report, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.06% in the second week of January 2026, down almost a full percentage point compared to 2024.

“I think the biggest thing with Q4 was interest rates because it was hovering around six,” Spigone said, “we were almost at eight at some points.”

While rates can be hard to predict, she also doesn’t believe that number will change much in the near future.

As 2025 finishes, Spigone is optimistic for the area’s housing market due to the increased activity, although the recent winter weather may affect the usually more active spring market.

“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Spigone said, “my prediction is really, rather than late February-early March, we might be looking at March-April as our spring market.”