If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, make sure you know what’s happening in the market – not just in the “real estate market” in general, but what’s happening in YOUR market – the one where you live (or where you WANT to live)!
Here’s a snapshot of what is happening in OUR market – the Vienna Oakton real estate market:
VIENNA OAKTON CONTRACTS:
In Vienna, more homes went under contract in the past week than any other week in 2010. We have gone from a low of 9 contracts the week of February 9th to a high of 31 contracts this week.
In Oakton, 9 homes went under contract this past week, down 1 from last week’s high of 10 contracts.
VIENNA OAKTON INVENTORY:
In Vienna, inventory increased another 10% and is at a high for 2010. 222 homes are currently on the market.
Oakton’s inventory also increased from 70 homes on the market, to a 2010 high of 74 homes for sale.
VIENNA OAKTON AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET
Although inventory has increased, the rate of homes going under contract has increased more. This resulted in average days on market in Vienna going down to its lowest this year – 113 days. This is down from the 2010 high of 223 days in early February.
Oakton is also seeing a similar average days on market with 110 days currently, down from a high of 168 days in mid-January.
ADVICE FOR BUYERS & SELLERS
The information above gives you a good idea of what is happening in Vienna and Oakton. It’s more “micro” than what you hear on the news about real estate nationwide or statewide or even just what you hear about “Northern Virginia”. But if you are “in the market” NOW (ie-looking to buy or sell a home right now), then you & your Realtor need to delve further into what is happening in your HYPERLOCAL market.
Here’s an example:
You see above that the number of homes that went under contract over this past week is at a yearly high for both Vienna and Oakton. If you’re selling a home, this might encourage you to be aggressive in your pricing. And if you’re buying a home, it might tell you that you need to be prepared to possibly “compete” for the home you want.
HOWEVER . . .
What happens if you delve a little deeper?
You would find out that of those 40 contracts in Vienna Oakton last week, 35 of them were on homes listed at $768,000 and below. And 5 were on homes listed over $1,000,000. And nothing sold in between.
If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the $799,000-$999,000 price range, you might have to change your strategy from what we said above.
This is just one example of “delving deeper”. Your Realtor can & should help you with this analysis. And there are lots of factors to consider: price range, home type, school district, lot size & more.
Bottom Line: DON’T BE AN APRIL FOOL. Ask your Realtor for the FACTS!
Northern Virginia Real Estate Blog 
