Up, up, up! Northern Virginia summer market keeps chugging

Up, up, up! Northern Virginia summer market keeps chugging by Realestateology.org Well - the spring market (that started in January 2013) just keeps on going! (Now, it's August 2013!). The stats are out for the Northern Virginia area and just about every category is UP comparing July 2012 to July 2013. Sales are up. Dollar volume is up. And average/median sales prices are up. Statistic Values YoY MoM Total Sold Dollar Volume $1,195,041,514 +24.24% -14.99% Closed Sales 2,146 +16.13% -14.02% Median Sold Price $489,950 +6.8% -1.99% Avg Sold Price $556,869 +6.98% -1.13% Avg Days on Market 25 days -43.18% +4.17% Avg Sold to Orig List Ratio 98.46% +1.32% -0.57% The average days on market, as a result of the tight inventory, keeps moving downward. The average time is 25 days on the market (less than 4 weeks!). Currently the monthly absorption rates are just as tight: Arlington County: 1.99  Alexandria City: 1.75 Fairfax County: 1.55 Washington DC : 1.53 Need more info on your personal market? Give us a call at Weichert Realtors in McLean, VA at (703) 821-8300 to connect. We serve Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Foreclosures? What foreclosures?

Foreclosures? What foreclosures? by Realestateology.org You may have picked up the report from news media outlets that we've now hit the lowest level of foreclosures in the country since before 2006. Well, it's true. USA Today reports "Fewer U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process or were repossessed by banks in June, the latest sign that the nation is shaking off its housing bust hangover," in a recent report. How that really matters to you is that in the Washington, D.C. area, except for Prince George's County, MD., most foreclosures and other distressed sales are nearly non-existent. The chart below rates the percentage that distressed properties make up of the available inventory in the D.C. metropolitan area. As far as the housing pool (foreclosures as a share of all housing units) Virginia stands with one out of every 1,654 houses; D.C. with 1 out of every 42,216 houses; and Maryland is at 1 out of every 647 houses in a distressed situation, according to RealtyTrac.com, which tracks foreclosure rates nationally. On a local level, 11.7% of all available homes on the market in the D.C. metropolitan area are distressed properties (short sale or bank-owned). The majority of them are in Prince George's County, MD where 30.5% of the available homes for sale are short sales or bank-owned properties. Montgomery County is down to 11.1%, with Alexandria City standing at 7.5%. Arlington County has 9 distressed houses on the market at this writing, which is 2.1% of their inventory. Fairfax County and D.C. are at 4.8% and 6.1% respectively. The financial effect distressed properties have on your home is nearly non-existent today. Appraisals these days rarely use the foreclosed sale as a comparable, so the value of regular sale properties are no longer impacted by the distressed sale in the neighborhood. Looking for sound real estate advice? Connect with me at Weichert Realtors in McLean, Virginia on Old Dominion Drive at (703) 821-8300 or leave a comment right here.  Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Interest rates on the rise – you better buy now

Interest rates on the rise – you better buy now by Realestateology.org Home shoppers purchase two products when they buy a house - the property itself and a mortgage. The difference between the two is the house price is advertised in living color online, on postcards, in QR codes, etc. The loan pricing, however, is a little less dramatic.  The house listed in today's market in Northern Virginia, while listed at $500,000, may actually sell for $515,000 or there abouts. The mortgage price, on the other hand, is measured in interest rates. How will it effect your buying power? Take a look at the chart below and you can actually measure the power of your  monthly payment by watching rates move up and down. About a month ago, rates were around 3.5% - now they are roughly a full percentage point ahead of that mark (yes - 4.5%). What's the phrase? You snooze you... Oh well - 4% rates are STILL REALLY GOOD RATES. Give us a call if we can help you talk with a loan professional or see how these moves in the market affect your buying power. (703) 821-8300. Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

D.C. Metro pending sales surge for May 2013

D.C. Metro pending sales surge for May 2013 by Realestateology.org You're going to hear about an amazing surge in pending sales for May 2013 pretty soon, but be still. In the midst of a hot market, there's always an explanation for why pending sales for pocket markets would escalate by 100+ percentage points. Taking a gander at the table below, you'll see that several markets in the D.C. area surged ahead of May 2012 in the 100%-plus range. The final numbers will differ a bit from the info below, but as of the 25th of May, the Alexandria zip code area of Fairfax County, for instance, was up a whopping 140%. In May 2012 there were 127 pending sales, this year for that same time period, buyers nabbed 305 contracts. The same type of surge occurred in Springfield (141%), Falls Church (120%), Fairfax (116%), etc. While we're excited about the surge, it's tempered by looking at the headlines and economic events that were occurring last year at this time. Namely, the NY Times announced, "Jamie Dimon, the bank's chief executive, announced in May that the bank had lost $2 billion in a bet on credit derivatives..." and subsequent reports put the loss at around $9 billion. (For more info, take a look at this wiki report: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_JPMorgan_Chase_trading_loss). What followed last year was a 1,100 loss on the Dow from April 27 through June 1, 2012, an investigation and resignations of JPMorgan Chase executives. As goes Wall Street, many times, so goes the real estate buyers' confidence. This year - the stock market is in all-time record territory, job creation is eeking upward and jobs are really growing in Northern Virginia, resulting in confident buyers with good mortgages, competing for homes. Meanwhile, other good local news includes: listings are up; prices are up; and days on market are down. Need more information? Call us at Weichert Realtors, McLean VA at (703) 821-8300 if you want to know how the latest news affects your real estate goals. The data below is compiled from the local MLS, MRIS.com.  Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

2013 Northern VA home sales prices nearing peak prices of ’06

2013 Northern VA home sales prices nearing peak prices of ’06 by Realestateology.org The day many homeowners in Northern Virginia have been waiting for finally arrived last month. The average sales price in the area moved up to $528,224 - which less than $10,000 away from the top price reached for March in 2006. At the rate that sales prices are escalating this spring season, the market could overtake the peak prices of 2006 by the end of the summer. Escalation clauses are pushing offers over the asking price by upwards to $25,000 and $50,000. (Don't be afraid, however, remember pricing is high enough here that $25,000 doesn't even represent a 5% increase in many cases). Meanwhile, as you can see from the chart below, prices fell to a low of $380,828 in March 2009 and now average prices have surged more than $150,000. While some communities are still digging out of the lows of the last few years, the inventory levels and cheap money are creating a situation where pricing is on the rise for the foreseeable future. Thanks for flying with WordPress.com