• Homes for sale: 458 (up from 420 last month and down from 479 one year ago)
• Home sold: 109 (up from 70 last month, up from 87 in March 2009)
• Average sold price: $405,379 (almost unchanged from $402,345 last month and $402,019 one year ago)
• Average days on market: 49 (down from 59 days last month and down from 75 in March 2009)

After rising steadily from the bottom of the price cycle in December 2008, Ashburn, based on these statistics, is the rock of stability.

It’s that time of the year when more houses come onto the market and this year is no exception. Ashburn has a great selection of homes and almost all of them are under 15 years old–the approximate age of the entire area.  The greatest thing about Ashburn is that it is flush with such a huge diversity of homes, an individual or family can keep trading up or down in size and style without ever changing grocery stores!  You can have change and stability at the same time.

Market report provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President, Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for Homes in Ashburn, VA: www.averyhess.com

• Homes for sale: 420 (up from 404 in January and down from 465 one year ago) 
• Closed sales: 70 (up from 65 in January, up from 60 in February 2010)
• Average sold price: $402,305 (down from $423,445 last month, but up from $401,215 one year ago)
• Average days on market: 59 (up from 51 days last month, but down from 78 in February 2009)

When you consider that there were only about 20 selling days in February due to the two record back to back snow storms, to have more sales in February 2010 than 2009 speaks to the sense of urgency that buyers have as confidence returns to consumers in the Greater Washington, DC area. 

Prices in Ashburn are stable to rising over the past year, but what influences the averages and medians are the quantity of lower priced houses that are selling. The bottom of the price range is still where the predominant amount of activity is occurring. The market bottomed in December 2008 and many who have purchased since then have actually already benefited from an increase in their equity position as prices have firmed and risen.

Perfectly normal is the fact that more houses are coming onto the market. We expect the number of homes coming on the market to increase each month for the next four months as is normal. The seasonality of residential real estate has not been repealed. This bodes well for buyers who want to take advantage of the low interest rates, liberalizing lending terms, and the Federal Housing Tax Credit. To get the tax credit you must be under contract by April 30th and close before June 30, 2010.

Ashburn has a great selection of homes and almost all of them are under 15 years old–the approximate age of the entire area. The great thing about Ashburn is because it is flush with such a huge diversity of homes, an individual or family can keep trading up or down in size and style and never change grocery stores. You can have change and stability at the same time.

Market report provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President, Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for Homes in Ashburn, VA: www.averyhess.com

• New listings: 18
• Closed sales: 15
• Average sold price: $140,000
• Average days on market: 73

The month of December had 18 new listings compared to 53 in 2008. For all of 2009 there were only 473 total listings, a decrease of 50% from the previous year. There were 15 homes sold in 2009 compared to 49 in 2008, down almost 70%. Only 431 homes sold in all of 2009, also down from 507 in 2008. Average sale price fell 14% to $140,000 for 2009.

Manassas Park is an independent city with its own police department, government structure, parks, and events.  It’s a full service town that includes retail shopping, dining, business and industry, in addition to residential housing.  Manassas Park has its own school system that includes elementary through grade 12.

There is also a new town center, gated condominiums, as well as single family homes and town homes.  Manassas Park City is also accessible by rail with its own stop along the Virginia Railway Express.

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

Search for homes in Manassas Park, and all the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

The following year-in-review statistics prove that 2010 should start writing its story on a new page.

In Caroline County, closed sales increased 45.5% and the average days on market decreased 53.3%,  which is great news.  Homes that are priced right, in good condition, and in a good location are starting to sell much quicker.  The percentage of original sales price increased 9.6%, meaning sellers are receiving much better offers.

You must be under contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 to receive the Federal Tax Credits for first-time homebuyers and move-up buyers.  The phone is ringing again and houses are being shown left and right.  2010 is off to a great start.

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

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

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

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

• Homes for sale: 288
• Closed sales: 90
• Average sold price: $304,655
• Average days on market: 36

For the second month in a row there was very little change statistically in the average sales price from the same time period one year ago, up about one percent.  Prices in Centreville are stable and there is less inventory to select from. If this trend continues, home prices should rise as a result.

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

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

Here is our year in review market report for Stafford County, Virginia:

We ended the year with a 23.4% decrease in listing inventory.  Stafford County had 3,574 listings in 2008, but only 2,739 in 2009.  If this trend continues we will start to see a healthier, more even market.

While the inventory saw a decline, the amount of closings in Stafford County increased by 12.6% in 2009.  The amount of pending sales also increased last year from 1,687 to 2,008.  In what is good news for buyers, but not so good news for sellers, the median sales price in Stafford County decreased 16.1% to $230,000.  While prices went down, percent of original list price received at sale went up 3.6% to 93.4% of list price.  The more that inventory continues to decline, the more the ratio of list price to sales price will go up.

Our local market is nice and active and starting off great this year.  Let’s say goodbye to 2009 and look forward to what 2010 has in store for us.

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

• Homes for sale: 460
• Closed sales: 117
• Average sold price: $414,047
• Average days on market: 70

After reporting last month that prices in Leesburg were down 20% from one year ago, this month shows that prices are up 15% when compared to December 2008.  Since December 2008 was the lowest point for home prices in most of the Northern Virginia market, going forward the price comparisons may get harder to beat. Even though inventory is down 32%, there are still 460 houses to choose from. With interest rates around 5% and sellers still willing to assist with closing costs, Leesburg offers a great buying opportunity at an affordable price.

In addition, Leesburg is home to a large outlet mall at the corner of Virginia State Route 15 and Route 7. Within that same area are numerous national chain restaurants of all price points and cuisines.

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

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

Avery-Hess Community Video: Fredericksburg, VA from David Tra on Vimeo.

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

The following is a summary of the market conditions in Fredericksburg, Virginia:

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Median sales prices have actually increased in the City of Fredericksburg by 59% from November of ’08 to November of ’09.  However, prices have gone down $47,800 from the second quarter of ’09 to the third quarter of ’09, which is quite a decrease.  The amount of listings has also gone down 15.3% from this same time last year.  While prices have gone down, a decrease in inventory will help to slow the decrease in prices.  The average days on market (DOM) have also decreased by 32.9%, meaning houses are moving faster now.

The City of Fredericksburg still has the lowest percentage of sales price to list price in the entire Fredericksburg area.  Spotsylvania, Stafford and Caroline Counties’ percentages have improved dramatically this year, while Fredericksburg’s only increased 2.4%.

With the history, location and uniqueness of Fredericksburg, it has always been and always will be a wonderful place to live.

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

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