Damascus, MD Market Report – 11/25/09

Located in the northern end of Montgomery County, Damascus is a terrific place to live. Damascus has numerous Sports leagues, a volunteer fire department, the July Fireman’s Carnival, and several holiday parades. It’s like small town living used to be 40 years ago. Although the new Damascus Centre gives local residents a choice of two grocery stores and retail centers to choose from. A little known fact about Damascus is that it is still a “dry” city, meaning that no alcohol can be sold or served there. On your way to see Damascus, be sure to take time to stop and visit Butler’s Orchard off of Route 27.

Read on to find out more about the market conditions in Damascus, Maryland.

Prices are stable in the Damascus region at this time after taking a big drop in the early and middle part of the recession. There is huge demand for homes as shown by the numerous multiple-offer situations that sellers are experiencing. Though inventory is down by 30% from the same time one year ago,  Damascus has homes in a wide range of prices. The majority of the housing in Damascus is single family detached or townhouses.

Market data and commentary provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President and Managing Broker. David raised his children in Damascus, who attended Damascus High School in the 1990s.

Search for homes in Potomac, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Vienna/Dunn Loring, VA Market Report – 11/24/09

The table below represents the current market in Vienna and Dunn Loring, Virginia:

The Vienna and Dunn Loring housing market is still showing signs of stabilization.  Once again, most of the statistics for October 2009 show an improvement in the market over 2008.  We see active inventory down significantly, sales up significantly, and the average days on market down significantly.  The only number that looks negative, but really isn’t, is a drop in average sales price of 3.6%.  This is a fairly low drop, and given the other trends, is actually showing that the market is stabilizing.

With the recent extensions of the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, I believe we will continue to see the market improve.  More importantly, one of the new provisions in the extension is a tax credit for people who have lived in their home for five of the last eight years who want to move into a new home.  They are eligible for up to a $6,500 tax credit as well.  (Please consult your accountant for full details of the credit!)  But what this will hopefully do is spur people who would like to move up to sell their lower priced property and purchase another home.  The market is quite ripe, with high demand in the lower priced homes and a bit softer on the more expensive homes.  Conditions are perfect for moving up!

This extension is for people under contract by April 30, 2010.  If you are thinking of making a move, it would be best not to wait too long. With the market stabilization and multiple contract offers that we are seeing, combined with the tax credit extension and expansion, I believe that we are returning to a more normal, stable market.  This should bode very well for the local area.

Market data and commentary provided by Tom Conner, Managing Broker, Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for homes in Vienna, Dunn Loring, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Potomac, MD Market Report – 11/23/09

• Homes for sale: 278
• Closed sales: 36
• Average sold price: $1,215,001
• Average days on market: 84

Normally with such a low number of transactions, the average and median sales prices in Potomac fluctuate from month to month and can sometimes be quite confusing. However, the trend is upward moving and has been for over 18 months.

With its close proximity to Washington, DC, the Potomac market stats–like other nearby, wealthier areas–dropped less in percentage during the recession and recovered faster than lower priced and more distant suburbs. The average sales price in Potomac this year is 20% higher than at the same time last year.

If you’re ever in Potomac, Old Angler’s Inn on McArthur Boulevard is a popular restaurant and watering hole with the local residents and hikers from the C&O Canal, which runs parallel along the Potomac river and into the District.

Market data and commentary provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President and Managing Broker.

Search for homes in Potomac, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Arlington, VA Market Report – 11/20/09

Last month we expressed some cautious optimism as the number of units sold increased and the days on market continued to decrease. That trend continues in the Arlington, Virginia market through October as seen by these statistics:

• Active listings: 950
• Closed sales: 195
• Pending sales: 265
• Average sold price: $529,360
• New listings: 416
• Average days on market: 46

The number of units sold for the month was up 25% over the previous year, but down 12% from last month. While the average sales price was down 7.25% from a year ago it is up 5% from last month and is back above the half-million dollar mark. Meanwhile, the days on market continues to drop significantly. New listings and pending sales remains robust so it appears that reasonably priced homes in good condition are selling quickly.

In addition, the pool of qualified buyers seems to be growing as well. The list price to sales price ratio remained unchanged from a year ago at 95%, which suggests that the number of multiple bid situations decreased. The extension of the Federal Housing Tax Credit is good news for both first-time and move-up buyers. For the last few years, foreclosures basically eliminated the move-up segment from the market as banks became the sellers of property, but were not repurchasing. Now, with the number of foreclosures decreasing and the incentive for move-ups in place, hopefully we’ll begin to see a return to some level of normalcy in the  marketplace.

Market data and commentary by Charles J. Carroll, Managing Broker at Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for homes in Arlington, and the rest of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Bristow, VA Market Report – 11/18/09

New. It’s is how someone would describe Bristow, since the houses, roads, restaurants and retail stores have all been built in the last five to ten years. The following numbers reflect the housing market in Bristow, Virginia.

• Homes for sale: 155
• Closed sales: 48
• Average sold price: $315,179
• Average days on market: 28

With prices now down into the low $300s and starting to rise, Bristow is not only new, but hot, too! The average sales price of $315,179 is still below 2008’s average, but has been rising slowly since bottoming out last December. This time last year it took 97 days to sell a house, compared to this past month when it only took 28 days. Low interest rates, rising consumer confidence and reduced inventory is causing a buying frenzy in the low $300s–which is Bristow’s sweet spot.

At some point soon prices in Bristow have to soar because there is not going to be anything left to buy. Inventory is down 31 percent from one year ago and has dropped 10 percent just in the past 30 days. So while I have not said this in any of my blog posts in the past, if you want to live in Bristow, now is the time to act!

Market data and  commentary provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President and Managing Broker.

Search for homes in Bristow, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Prince William County, VA Market Report – 11/17/09

The following report represents the market conditions in Prince William County, Virginia:

• New listings: 841
• Closed sales: 629
• Median sold price: $220,000
• Average days on market: 43

In comparison to last October, new listings have dropped over 35% and closed transactions have seen a decline by almost 35%.  Pending sales are also down by 18%.  However, the median sale price increased from $199,000 to $220,000 up almost 11%.  Also, the price that a property sold for as a percentage of list price increased from 93% to almost 100%.  We’re also seeing the amount of time it takes to sell a home decrease, as days on the market fell from 110 days to 60 days–a decrease of over 60%.  The total number of listings is about 1,200 single family homes, condos and town homes.  This number representing the housing inventory is down by about 75%.  Last year the number of listings in October was over 3,900 units.  Furthermore, year-to-date closed sales are down 3% and pending sales are up by almost 2%.  The average sale price year-to-date  is still down by almost 17% from $240,000 to $200,000, and listings in 2008 were at almost 1,5000 units while year-to-date 2009 has only 986.

This information is good news for the overall real estate market, but not so good news for buyers.  Prices are rising, inventory is decreasing, offers are being made over asking price, and the final sales price is about 100% of the list price on average. Personally, I feel this is a temporary peak in the market trend.  Granted our local unemployment rate is lower than the national average, but nonetheless unemployment rates are functions of the housing market.  In addition, government spending will cause interest rates to rise to head off inflation, further punching the housing market price level.

Market data and commentary provided by Steve Mayes, Managing Broker, Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for homes in Prince William County, and all the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com