Rappahannock County is a very different real estate market. It's different from the surrounding counties in a multitude of ways. It's more rural. There's no stop light in the county. There's no supermarket in the county and no fast food joints. There are more people than sheep in the county!

Those are part of what contribute to its uniqueness. But from a real estate perspective, the zoning restrictions contribute significantly to the difference. The minimum lot size to build (unless grandfathered in) is 25 acres. You won't see any mammoth subdivisions in Rappahannock County.

Because of all these factors the real estate market is different here. This county is battered less by the extreme ups and downs of the market. Demand is lower overall but there tend to be fewer peaks and valleys.

However, even Rappahannock County has noticed this market slowdown. There are 84 active listings in the county. Before the slow down that was generally in the mid-30s.

The average sales price is very unenlightening. With only three properties sold in an average month the numbers can swing wildly based on how many multi-million dollar properties sold. So we won't even bother with those numbers!

The average number of days a property stays on the market has jumped in the last year from 84 days to 196 days. Even in Rappahannock County, things are selling more slowly.

It appears there's no place to hide from this tough sellers market. But there's always good news out there and we'll talk about that tomorrow!

Now we move on to the Rappahannock County housing numbers for May. As we've noted in the past, there is less volatility in Rappahannock County. While we do see a drop in new listings and total active listings here, as elsewhere, remains high, there's not as much change as we've seen in Culpeper or Fauquier County.

The connecting theme is too much inventory. Selling two homes a month will require about three years to clear out current inventory. But the inventory is a little different in Rappahannock as well with a higher percentage of the market taken up by larger properties with higher price tags that do typically sell more slowly.