91��Ƭ��

By Joy Vann

Real estate professionals remain “slightly positive,” though cautious, about the current real estate market as revealed by the 91��Ƭ�� Real Estate Sentiment Survey.

More than 100 respondents including brokers, appraisers, developers, managers, bankers and others in the business responded to the survey in May when it was reinstituted after a five-year, post-COVID hiatus.

Simon Stevenson, Ph.D., the Robert M. Stanton Endowed Chair of Real Estate & Economic Development in the Strome College of Business and the director of The Harvey Lindsay School of Real Estate & E.V. Williams Center for Real Estate which produced the survey, said while the answers to the questions were not dramatic, they were telling.   

Hampton Roads scored a 57 on the scale where 100 is the best and 50 indicates total neutrality. At 57, he said the region is in a marginally positive position.

Participants were asked about general topics such as their economic outlook, their expectations for a recession and inflation and mortgage rates. They were also questioned about risk factors for real estate including the likelihood of slowdowns in the global and domestic economies, labor/workforce challenges and severe weather events. Of the 14 different factors to consider, respondents cited unease about global trade as the most concerning, which Dr. Stevenson noted was not surprising given the importance of The Port of Virginia in Hampton Roads.

Dr. Stevenson pointed to several other notable takeaways from the survey.

“The responses to questions about the national economy and real estate market conditions were generally cautious, highlighting the uncertainty currently present. There are concerns about economic momentum and inflationary pressures”.

The results however were more positive when it came to real estate conditions in Hampton Roads, indicating the relatively strong position of the local market. Positive sentiment was especially noticeable in the single-family and multi-family residential markets and was also seen in the main commercial sectors.

The only sector where a more downbeat view prevailed was in the hotel and lodging sector. Dr. Stevenson attributed that sentiment to concerns about a possible economic downturn and the impact that may have reduced on discretionary spending, including vacations.

Read the results of the survey here.