Virginia’s housing markets appear to be moving upward, with the lowest point seen in fourth quarter 2008 and steadily improving since then, according to the third quarter 2009 home sales report released Friday by the Virginia Association of Realtors.

“There seems to be no doubt now that we have hit the bottom and are moving back up, in terms of both price and sales activity,” comments VAR President John Powell of Colonial Heights. “We are now in our third consecutive quarter of marked improvement.”

Total existing home sales in Virginia are up 5.3 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter numbers, and have reached the highest quarterly total in 2009.

The statewide median sales price is up 2.2 percent over the second quarter and has increased about $28,000 this year. Nationally, inventory levels have trended down significantly, reaching the lowest level in 2008 and 2009, indicating the market is rebounding across the country as well.

The highest percentage increase in sales by quarter was in the North Central region (includes the cities of Charlottesville, Waynesboro, Lexington and Staunton), up 29.1 percent since second quarter 2009. However, the Southwest Virginia region posted the largest increase in sales compared to the same quarter last year, with a 7.6 percent increase in sales over 2008.

Median sales prices advanced 4.6 percent in the Northern Virginia region compared to the same period last year, while the South Central region showed the largest increase (7.7 percent) in median sales price since second quarter 2009.