Virginia Loans & Mortgages

Historic Virginia: Real Estate and Home Loan Information

By Sharon Secor

Direct Lending Solutions Staff Writer

Virginia is a state famous for its history, playing a prominent role in the early European settlement of North America as one of the original thirteen colonies. This part of the nation was the first area of the continent to be continually inhabited by settlers from the beginning of British colonization in the 1600’s until the American Revolution. Named by Queen Elizabeth I of England, Virginia originally occupied a much larger area, including regions that are now parts of the states of West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. During the Revolutionary war, Virginia also claimed most of the areas that make up the states of Wisconsin and Michigan today. Eight United States presidents were born in this founding state of the nation, more than in any other.

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Although history is a defining quality of the state, Virginia is firmly grounded in the present as well, with a thriving and diverse economy. Technology industries serve as a large segment of the Virginia economy, with computer chips ranking as the highest grossing export from the state in 2006. This state is home to the highest concentration of technology workers in the United States. Other segments of the Virginia economy include military and federal government installations, defense contractors, agriculture, tourism, communications, and coal. Hosting many of the corporations listed in the Fortune 500, Virginia is one of the wealthiest of the southern states and considered to be among those most friendly to business.

The combination of Virginia’s vibrant economy, mild climate, and historic southern charm draws many new residents to the state every year. These new residents will find a housing market with an increased inventory of homes for sale, and an interest rate on 30 year fixed rate Virginia home loans that has fallen from an average of 6.80 percent in July 2006, to 6.11 percent in December 2006. Consumers in some areas of the state are currently finding rates as low as 5.75 percent. The current median price of existing single family homes in Virginia range from $470,000 in Northern Virginia to $91,250 in the Martinsville area of the state.

These statistics indicate conditions that make the Virginia real estate and home loan markets quite favorable for the consumer. With the real estate market weighted towards the buyer and very affordable home loan rates, there is no better time to purchase a home in the beautiful and historic state of Virginia.

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