Northern Virginia Real Estate Blog
"Real estate is hyperlocal – find out what's happening here & now!" Presented by The Belt Team, Keller Williams Realty, McLean, Licensed in VA
Before you settle in to watch the Super Bowl, stop by one of our open houses this weekend!
Model Home at 9509 Francis Young Lane in Vienna
Open Saturday, Jan 31st from 1 PM to 4 PM
Open Sunday, Feb 1st from 12:30 to 3:30 PM
New home community of 15 homes on 2 cul-de-sacs.
Prices start at $1,249,900
305 Locust St SE in Vienna
Open Sunday, Feb 1st from 12:30 to 3PM
Listed at $1,175,000
NEW HOME! Walk to everything!
MRIS has provided us with the Trends Report for the 4th Quarter. Lots of great detailed information about our local markets! You can read the entire report here:
http://www.mris.com/reports/trendsreport/Q4%2C%202008%20Trends%20in%20Housing%20Report.pdf
Here are a few excerpts:
YEAR-END 2008 HIGHLIGHTS:
The Washington area housing market continues to emit mixed signals:
Prices continue to edge downward, with steeper declines at the regions edge
Days on market are up slightly year-over-year
For-sale inventory is at its lowest point in seven quarters
Lower prices in the outer suburbs, together with record-low mortgage interest rates, are propelling higher volume
The Washington market continued to edge toward regaining equilibrium at year-end 2008. Supply and demand remain out of sync, though the region is edging toward stability. Sale prices continued to edge downward in all areas. Lower prices are attracting buyers, helping to work through a high ratio of listings to sales. However, the national economic slowdown coupled with tighter lending standards have impeded buyer activity.
Buyers remain cautious about the economy, as the regions unemployment rate has edged up and national economic news dominates headlines. Times of distress foster opportunities, however. Washingtons for-sale housing market offers value at the ends of the price spectrum, with the middle tiers seeing flat or declining volume. The Washington area economy also continues to create jobs, which will fuel demand for housing and help the residential market regain equilibrium.
Average metro-wide prices of homes sold in the 4th quarter of 2008 were down 9.6% from the 3rd quarter and 21.6% from one year earlier. The average for all of 2008 declined 15.3% from the 2007 average. The 4th quarter 2008 average home price of $368,276 is the lowest since the 1st quarter of 2004; a high number of lower-priced sales in the outer suburbs continues to pull down the average. (See Figure 1)
Current market conditions favor buyers with access to cash or credit. As prices fall, buyers find more negotiating room, and they may be able to purchase more house than they would have a few years ago. At the same time, it is not a complete buyers market, especially in the closer-in Core areas where inventory is limited. Washington enjoys a growing population and employment base, which is helping the region work through a housing downturn. (See Figure 2)
Washingtons housing market is segmented geographically. Core area homes in the District, Arlington and Alexandria experienced their first significant price declines in two years in the 4th quarter of 2008, with average prices 6.6% lower than in the 4th quarter of 2007. For all of 2008, Core average home prices declined 1.0% from 2007.
The areas Inner ring of Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince Georges counties (and Falls Church and Fairfax cities) are seeing price declines accelerate, with 12-month drops of 17.1% in the 4th quarter of 2008. Average home prices for all of 2008 were 11.3% lower in the Inner ring than in 2007.
Read the rest of the report & see the various charts & figures here:
http://www.mris.com/reports/trendsreport/Q4%2C%202008%20Trends%20in%20Housing%20Report.pdf
2008 YEAR IN REVIEW
The Belt Team was blessed to serve 64 more families in buying and/or selling their homes this past year. We are proud to say that we sold more homes in Vienna / Oakton than any other Realtor!
It was a challenging year, but still one with many successes. Sellers who were not willing to stand helplessly on the sidelines watching prices fall were rewarded with a Sold sign in their yard and a successful settlement for their efforts. For buyers, it was the opportunity of a decade, perhaps of a lifetime, as perhaps this year will be as well.
Pricing did not continue to climb, but began to move the other way. With no sign of a rapid return to double digit appreciation, our sellers wisely did not hold out for that unrealistic expectation. We applaud them for moving forward. We also congratulate the buyers who were not frozen on the sidelines, and seized the opportunity to become homeowners or to find that perfect home at the perfect configuration of timing, pricing and favorable financing and interest rates. Give us a call if you want specific information on what’s going on now in your neighborhood or one you are thinking of moving to. We’ll be happy to help!
(703) 242-3975
WOW!
According to Forbes.com, Washington DC is now ranked the world’s best place for real estate investment. Check it out:
Don’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime. Call The Belt team at (703) 242-3975. It would be our pleasure to help you make your real estate dreams come true!
Northern Virginia: December 2008
The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® reports on December 2008 home sales activity for Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.A total of 1,510 homes sold in December 2008, a 25.94 percent increase above December 2007 home sales of 1,199. At the end of December, there were 1,321 sales contracts pending in Northern Virginia, a 40.08 percent increase over the 943 contracts pending in December 2007.Active listings decreased by 11.97 percent from last year, with 7,688 active listings in December, compared with 8,733 homes available in December 2007. The average days on market (DOM) for homes in December 2008 decreased by 10.68 percent, to 92 days, compared with 103 days in December 2007.
Sales prices continue to remain lower than those realized last year. The average sales price in December fell by 22.30 percent from December 2007, to $422,674, compared with last Decembers average of $543,970.
The median price of homes sold in Northern Virginia in December was $340,000, which is a decline of 22.29 percent compared with December 2007s median price of $437,500.
Greater Northern Virginia: December 2008
Sales activity in Greater Northern Virginia (NVAR jurisdictions plus Prince William, Loudoun and the Greater Piedmont counties) for December 2008 continues to show an increase from 2007.The number of Greater Northern Virginia region homes sold in December was 3,032, a 48.63 percent increase from December 2007s total of 2,040 sales. This marks the ninth consecutive month of increased year-over-year sales totals for Greater Northern Virginia.The average sales price of $334,239 in December 2008 continues to lag behind the 2007 average by about 31 percent. The December 2007 average sales price was $484,310.
Across Greater Northern Virginia, the number of listings showed a decrease from 2007 numbers, with 15,890 listings active, which is 22.28 percent less than this time last year, when 20,445 homes were available. The average DOM for a home sold in December 2008 was 100 compared with last years 114 DOM, a decrease of 12.43 percent.
(reprinted from NVAR.com)
Model Home at 9509 Francis Young Lane in Vienna
Open Sunday, Jan 25th from 1 PM to 4 PM
New home community of 15 homes on 2 cul-de-sacs.
Prices start at $1,249,900
305 Locust St SE in Vienna
Open Saturday, Jan 24th from 12:30 to 3:30 PM
AND Sunday, Jan 25th from 12:30 to 3PM
Listed at $1,175,000
NEW HOME! Walk to “everything”!
Model Home at 9509 Francis Young Lane in Vienna – Open Sunday, Jan 18th from 1 PM to 4 PM – A new home community of 15 homes on 2 cul-de-sacs. Prices start at $1,249,900
305 Locust St SE in Vienna – Open Saturday, Jan 17th from 12:30 to 3:30 PM AND Sunday, Jan 18th from 1PM to 3PM – Listed at $1,175,000 – NEW HOME! Walk to “everything”!
213 Apple Blossom Ct in Vienna – Open Saturday, Jan 17th from 2PM to 4PM AND Sunday, Jan 18th from 1PM to 4PM – Listed at $799,900 – Walk to Vienna Metro!
A colleague of ours over in Baltimore made an entry on his blog this year that we think makes a lot of sense. The numbers he gives as examples are not the same as they would be in Northern Virginia, but the idea is the same. Here’s what he said:
“One day this week in the Post an article ran that said home prices have dropped. The day before that the Sun ran a headline implying they are rising again. Confused? You shouldn’t be. With these and other articles you must always read the entire article and read it twice. The Sun’s article spoke of prices in Baltimore City rising this prior quarter. Just because house prices rose in the city doesn’t mean your value is any higher. It could mean a number of things……one is that the upper end sold more than the lower end and that brought the average price that sold up. Maybe the upper end has more new homes in it. Maybe the new homes are selling and the resales are sitting. And since you can’t buy a new home for under 400k in the city, it appears prices are rising. Maybe the old average price included a bunch of shells sold to investors for 10k each and since investors are not buying shells anymore………the average price soars. If you really want to know if prices are rising or falling, ask a decent realtor. They should tell you the truth. Ask someone who is on the ground, working with multiple sellers on a daily basis. They will know the pulse of the market better than a flawed statistic. ” (posted by Pat Hiban at http://www.hibantellsthetruth.com/)
In this crazy sea of media frenzy around the real estate market, we want to remind you that the most important real estate market is the street where you live. If you are curious about what is happening in your neighborhood, please give us a call so we can give you the numbers that are specific to you. Generalizations about national and even local real estate trends are difficult to translate to your home. We are happy to help you make sense of it all and forget the hype.
Give The Belt Team a call at (703) 242-3975. Having been through the markets of the 70s, 80s, 90s and today (doesnt that sound like a radio station tag line?!) we have the experience & expertise needed to guide you through todays market.
Buy your family a new home! Start the New Year off right!
Model Home at 9509 Francis Young Lane in Vienna – Open Sunday, Jan 11th from 1 PM to 4 PM – A new home community of 15 homes on 2 cul-de-sacs. Prices start at $1,249,900
305 Locust St SE in Vienna – Open Sunday, Jan 11th from 12:30 to 3:30 PM- Listed at $1,125,000 – Walk to “everything”!
Northern Virginia Real Estate Blog 