Bristow, VA Market Report – 3/16/10

A normal market balance is considered six months of inventory. With 148 houses for sale and 36-40 selling per month, Bristow has less than a balanced supply. If this continues we can expect prices to continue rising in the near term.

Below you’ll find a report of the previous month’s housing market in Bristow, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 148 (largely unchanged from last month, way under the 206 of one year ago)
• Closed sales: 36 (largely unchanged over the past two months, up 20% from a year ago)
• Average sold price: $338,808 (up from $299,055 one year ago, and $16,000 from just last month)
• Average days on market: 42 (has climbed from 21 days in January 2010 due to snow storms, but still way under the 94 days of one year ago)

Bristow’s prices bottomed out around December 2008 and have moved up steadily since that time. At under $350,00 and selling in an average of 42 days, Bristow homes remain underpriced in this marketplace. Bristow remains an affordable and in-demand place to live. With interest rates remaining around 5%, consumer confidence rising, and inventory at such a low level, high buying activity is creating an upward drift in prices.

Keeping in mind the that normal market balance is six months worth of housing inventory, Bristow has a less than balanced supply with only 148 houses for sale while selling 36-40 units per month. If this continues we can expect prices to continue rising in the near term.

Since homes in Bristow in the past year are typically less ten years old, it’s a good place to buy a home and not have to worry about a lot of repairs, as long as the previous owner did their regular maintenance. If you’re unsure about a home, think about getting a home inspection to fully understand the systems of the house you’re buying. Also ask for a warranty so you can be protected from costly, unexpected repairs.

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

Bristow, VA Market Report – 2/12/10

As we have said before, almost everything in Bristow is less than ten years old. Therefore, it’s a good place to buy a home and not have to worry about a lot of repairs, as long as the previous owner did their regular maintenance. If you’re unsure about a home, think about getting a home inspection to fully understand the systems of the house you’re buying. Also ask for a warranty so you can be protected from costly, unexpected repairs.

Here is a complete analysis of last month’s housing market in Bristow, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 166 (up 8% from last month)
• Closed sales: 35 (up 9.4% from last month)
• Average sold price: $350,374 (up 13.4% from one year ago, and over 10% from just last month)
• Average days on market: 30 (virtually unchanged for the last three months)

Bristow’s prices have moved up rapidly from the low $300s, which was way underpriced, to the mid $300’s which is still underpriced, just not as ridiculously so. Bristow remains an affordable and in-demand place to live. The average sales price of $350,374 is way above 2008’s average, but still very affordable. Bristow hit its statistical price bottom in December 2008 and has risen slowly and steadily almost every month since then. A year ago it took 69 days for a house to sell, more than double last month’s 30 days. With interest rates remaining around 5%, consumer confidence rising, and inventory at such a low level, high buying activity is creating an upward drift in prices.

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 – 1/28/10

Prince William County borders Stafford, Fairfax, and Fauquier Counties and has Virginia Route 28, US Route 29, I-66 and I-95 going through it, making it a easy commute to points north and south.  PW County has a nice mix of rural settings, historical areas, waterscapes, and new homes in every size. Manassas is located in Prince William, and has a rich history and nationally recognized shopping.  Prince William County is a great value–giving a homeowners a little more room for less money.

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

• New listings: 635
• Closed sales: 542
• Average sold price: $209,000

December 2009 had 635 listings ,down 33% from 952 in 2008.  For the entire year in 2009, there were 11, 312 listings, down 33% from almost 17,00 from the previous year. Meanwhile, 542 homes closed in 2009, compared to almost 1,000 in 2008. A total of 8,654 homes closed in all of 2009.

The average home sale price in Prince William County was $209,000 in 2009, down 10% from 2008. In January 2009 the average days on the market was only 34 days, while for the year the average was 69 days on the market.

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

Bristow, VA Market Report – 1/4/10

Bristow, has a wide range of home styles and prices. The majority of homes in Bristow were built and sold during the real estate boom years of 2003-2006, so there have been many sales that were either owned by banks or sold by sellers with no equity–foreclosures and short sales, respectively. This has not deterred anyone from buying here, as can be seen by the rising prices month after month.

Here is a complete analysis of last month’s housing market in Bristow, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 154 (virtually unchanged from last month)
• Closed sales: 32
• Average sold price: $317,677
• Average days on market: 26 (virtually unchanged from last month)

As home prices were in the low $300,000s last month and continuing to rise,  Bristow remains an affordable and in-demand place to live. The average sales price of $317,677 is still below 2008’s average, but has been slowly climbing since hitting its lowest point in December 2008. A year ago it took 76 days for a house to sell, a far cry from last month’s 26 days. Once again, interest rates are still low, consumer confidence is rising, and inventory is reduced, causing high buying activity in the $300,000 price range.

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

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