Centreville, VA Market Report 3/28/11

How does the Real Estate Market look for Northern Virginia this year?

All of the signs are for a strong market and increasing listing and sales prices.  Due to continued low interest rates and low inventories, the demand from buyers will continue to outrun the supply.

The Centreville, VA statistics reflect the overall climate for Northern Virginia:

Total 49 Unit Sales for February 2010

Total 58 Unit Sales for February 2011 – a 9 unit increase from last year

Average sale price for February 2010 was $288,836

Average sales price for February 2011 was $319,093 a dramatic 10.5% increase

Average days on the market listing to contract for February, 2011 was 52

If you are considering selling your home, get ahead of the start of the Spring market, pick a reputable well known and well capitalized company, interview at least 2 qualified agents, prepare your home and sit back and wait for the contracts.

Market data, commentary, and statistics proved by Jim Agnew, Managing Broker, Avery Hess, Realtors, Dulles Area Office, Centreville, VA

Centreville, VA Market Report 1/31/11

Gotta love those economists! A couple of months ago they were all on TV talking about the dreaded “Double Dip” for real estate. Now the local DC area economists are starting to talk about the impending housing shortage and what it is already doing to house prices.

So what is the lesson here? Don’t listen to the experts. When you are ready to own your own place, or go buy a bigger one, Like Nike says, “Just Do It!”

Looking for a good place to live? Check out Centreville, Virginia.

The following statistics reflect the real estate market in Centreville, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 307 (down from 333 in November, and up a tad from the 288 in December last year.)
• Homes Sold: 78 (Up from 64 in November and down from 90 one year ago during the home buyer tax credit frenzy.)
• Average sold price: $315,810 (up from $304,655 at the same time last year.)
• Average days on market: 44 (very stable all year in mid 30s to low 40s.)

So what’s important to help you make a good purchase? The most important thing is a reputable company backing up a top-notch agent. The agent has to be one that will fully represent your interests and stress over every detail to insure that your transaction goes as hassle free as possible. And the company has to be there for you with the full resources of a well-capitalized company, for when real problems arise, as they sometimes do.

Market data, commentary and statistics provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President.
Search for homes in Centreville, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Centreville, VA Market Report 1/3/11

Folks worried about falling prices and those wanting to make ridiculously low offers on real estate should look at the statistics. Prices bottomed out two years ago and having been moving up slowly and steadily since. The steal deals are long gone. But for those who are committed to owning their own home or trading up to a better one there is nothing to be afraid of. Double dips are more a theory than something to be concerned with. Looking for a good place to live? Check out Centreville, Virginia.

The following statistics reflect the real estate market in Centreville, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 333 (down from 360 in October, and almost identical to this time last year.)
• Homes Sold: 64 (down from 72 in October and down from 98 one year ago during the home buyer tax credit frenzy.)
• Average sold price: $337,785 (up from $311,189 in October and WAY UP from $306,090 at the same time last year.)
• Average days on market: 41 (very stable all year in mid 30s.)

Will there be a double dip? Double dips are highly unusual. They are more of a theoretical than a reality. As employment rises, demand for real estate to rent and buy also goes up. Here in the DC region, the employment rate is stable to rising. Those who currently have a job will most likely be keeping it or getting a better one. And these will be the people who buy real estate.

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

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

Springfield, VA Market Report – 12/20/10

Although home sales have begun to exceed new inventory for several weeks, because of the excess inventory prices have not yet stopped declining. Should the sales trend continue we can expect prices to level off soon and begin to climb back up.  Most areas of Springfield have seen increased activity. Here is a snapshot of the November activity:

New Listings                               61

Active Listings                            179

Under contract                           128

Sold in November                       53

Average Sold Price                     $358.244

Average DOM                             72

Prices in this market continue to be on a downward trend indicating a strong buyer’s market. However as sales increase and inventory declines watch prices as the market transitions.

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

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

Springfield, VA Market Report – 9/1/10

If we put 10 economists in a room to discuss the current real estate climate and the forecast for the future, we would likely hear 10 different opinions.  And if we believe everything we read and hear from the media to be true, we might wonder why we even get out of bed in the morning. Certainly the economy is still suffering and we are living in difficult times, but there is always a bright side, a silver lining to rely on.

Springfield is a microcosim of typical America and while there are an abundance of distressed properties, there is also hope for the future outlook of this area. The dog days of summer couldn’t have been more evident this year as we suffered through record numbers of 90 degree + temperatures but the intrepid souls in search of opportunity found what they were looking  for .

While the number of homes that went to settlement in August was down by 40% from last August, the number of properties that went under contract last month was up by 65% over the previous year. The issue is not the lack of inventory. There were 22% more homes available in August than in August of 2009.

Of all the homes available and under contract, nearly 1 in 3 are foreclosures or short sales.  This reflects a sad but real situation; banks are selling more homes than builders.  Homeowners opting to rent rather than sell found a lot of competition in August, but there seems to be an abundance of folks preferring to or only able to enter into a lease situation. There were 103 properties of individual owners for rent in August. By the end of the month, 61 had rented and another 14 had applications registered.

There are people in the Springfield marketplace buying and selling property. Many owners are waiting for the prices to go back up and many buyers are waiting to see if they’ll keep falling. Hopefully, with wise counsel, they won’t miss out on opportunity when it is standing right in front of them.

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

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

Centreville, VA Market Report 8/20/10

The following statistics reflect the real estate market in Centreville, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 356 (down from 381 in June, and down from 394 at same time last year.)
• Homes Sold: 79 (down from 101 in June and down from 94 one year ago.)
• Average sold price: $367,332 (another jump up from $338,208 last month and WAY UP from $314,426 at the same time last year.)
• Average days on market: 33 (very stable over past six months, but down from 50 days one year ago)

For close to a year, I have been saying that prices in Centreville were continuing to move up after prices bottomed out in December 2008. The increase in confidence paired with amazingly low interest rates fueled a growing trade up market where existing homeowners with equity started selling their house to buy a bigger one. This has helped pull up the average sales price.Even with only a four and a half month supply of houses, I expect the second half of this year to have fewer transactions than the first half because the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit distorted the market.  Markets always swing back to equilibrium if given time and lack of government interference, so I expect that to happen again. The lower price ranges are still hot as a firecracker.

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

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