January was quite a month…of snow that is! It’ll be challenging to compare last month to January 2009 or to even guage how this market is progressing so far this year because of the extreme weather we’ve had.  We received three weekends of snow that made it very difficult for prospective buyers to view available inventory.  On the other hand, the weather also made it hard for sellers to list their homes. New listings and pending sales were not what we had expected, however days on market, available inventory, and percent of original list price received at sale were all very promising.

The following table shows statistics for January 2009 in Stafford, Virginia.

One of the most impressive changes is the 9% increase in the amount sellers are receiving for their offers.  Buyers are having to give much better offers to even compete in multiple offer situations to secure the home of their dreams.  Inventory has decreased substantially, which makes homes that are in good locations, in good condition, and priced well highly sought after items.  It will be interesting to see if the decreased inventory level is due to the weather or if our inventory has actually shrunk that much.  Stay tuned.

Market data and commentary by Amy Cherry Taylor, Business Manager and Realtor at Avery-Hess, Realtors.

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