Are home prices going down in Charlottesville, VA?

No, home prices in the Charlottesville area are not going down over the past year. The median sale price was $550,000 for the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2026, up 1.6% from $541,328 a year earlier (Keeton & Co analysis of CAAR MLS data). What has changed is leverage: there are more homes for sale, more price cuts and longer market times. Sellers who priced for last year’s market are feeling it, even though values aren’t falling.

Google’s AI Overview, captured Nov. 1, 2026, opens with: “No, home prices are not going down in Charlottesville, Virginia; instead, they remain generally steady to modestly rising.” Our MLS numbers back that up. Here’s the detail behind it.

What do the latest Charlottesville sales numbers show?

Charlottesville area (CAAR)	12 months ending Oct. 31, 2026	12 months ending Oct. 31, 2025	Change
Closed sales	2,026	2,019	+0.3%
Median sale price	$550,000	$541,328	+1.6%
Median price per square foot	$264	$259	+1.9%
Median days on market	12	9	+3 days

Source: Keeton & Co analysis of CAAR MLS data, closed residential sales.

The most recent quarter tells the same story. From July through September 2026, the area median was $545,000 across 517 sales, compared with $530,500 in the same quarter of 2025, up about 2.7%.

Judge prices by 12-month or quarterly numbers. A single month in a market this size can swing tens of thousands of dollars on a few large sales.

Why do some headlines say prices are dropping?

Because single months are noisy. The September 2026 area median was $495,000 on 155 sales, compared with $580,000 in September 2025. That looks like a crash, but the quarter and the full year both rose. A handful of high-end sales landing in one month or the next moves the median a lot.

What is real is that buyers have more room to negotiate:

Charlottesville area, September	2026	2025
Months of supply	4.6	4.2
Active listings	786	734
Sales with a price reduction	32.9%	27.5%
Sale price to original list price	99%	98.4%

Source: Keeton & Co analysis of CAAR MLS data, Sept. 1 to Sept. 30.

The median price reduction in September 2026 was $30,000. Sellers who started too high had to come down, and that’s what buyers notice.

If you’re a buyer, look at listings that have been on the market 30+ days. That’s where most of the negotiating room is.

Is it different in the city vs. Albemarle County?

Yes. The two markets behave differently:

12 months ending Oct. 31, 2026	Charlottesville city	Albemarle County
Median sale price	$507,055 (vs. $506,000)	$570,000 (vs. $550,000)
Median price per square foot	$311 (vs. $326)	$254 (vs. $247)
Closed sales	461 (vs. 434)	1,565 (vs. 1,585)
Median days on market	13 (vs. 10)	11 (vs. 9)
Q3 2026 median vs. Q3 2025	$512,100 vs. $491,000	$560,000 vs. $535,100

Source: Keeton & Co analysis of CAAR MLS data. Prior-year figures in parentheses.

The city’s median held flat while price per square foot fell about 5%, so buyers paid a bit less for each square foot inside city limits. Albemarle rose on both measures. Albemarle also had 5.0 months of supply in September 2026, compared with 3.3 in the city, so county buyers have more to choose from.

For a deeper look, see our city vs. Albemarle sales comparison and the Albemarle County market page.

Should you buy in Charlottesville now or wait?

Buy now if…	Waiting may make sense if…
You’ve found the right house and plan to stay 5+ years	You can’t yet cover the down payment and reserves
You want negotiating room on price or closing costs	Your job or move date isn’t settled
You’d rather compete with fewer buyers in fall and winter	You need to sell first and haven’t prepared your house

Nobody can tell you where rates or prices go next. The data shows a market that’s steady on price and softer on terms, which usually favors buyers who are ready.

Ask for a seller credit instead of a price cut when rates are high. It can lower your cash at closing more than the same amount off the price would.

What should Charlottesville sellers do differently?

Price to the last 90 days of sales, not to a neighbor’s 2025 sale. With nearly a third of September sales taking a reduction, the first price matters more than it did a year ago. Prepare the house well, plan on a few more days on the market and expect buyers to ask for help with closing costs.

Your first two weeks get the most attention from buyers. A price that’s right on day one beats a reduction on day 30.

Why work with Keeton & Co in Charlottesville?

I’m Daniel Keeton, Broker and Founder of Keeton & Co Real Estate. We have an office in Charlottesville, closed 706 homes in the last 12 months and more than 4,200 all-time, and have 1,722 Google reviews. RealTrends verified 718 transaction sides and $295.32 million in volume for us in 2025. I’m biased, but we track the CAAR numbers every month.

See the Charlottesville market report. If you’re selling, get your home’s value. If you’re buying, start your search or call 804-373-2223.

Market figures are Keeton & Co analysis of CAAR MLS data for the periods shown. AI Overview text was captured from Google on Nov. 1, 2026. Written by Daniel Keeton, Broker & Founder. Updated Nov. 1, 2026.