The major change we saw in the market this past month is that prices are climbing.  The lack of inventory has become a real problem, with about a three-month supply of homes on the market in Northern Virginia in general.  Bidding wars are taking place on many houses right now.  I wrote two offers for clients this week; one house had 5 offers on it, and the other 15.  Both had been listed just a few days.  Buyers who experience these situations tend to bid higher on the next house they see, and as a result prices in the area are going up.

The other thing that has been going up is interest rates.  It will be interesting to see how buyers react in a higher interest rate environment.  The cost of borrowing money went up about 10% in the first couple weeks of June.  Even though this is true, the biggest complaint I am hearing from buyers is that there are no good houses to see.

The spreadsheet with all the stats for the past couple of years, now including May of 2009 is below.  Note that the supply of homes on the market stayed pretty steady from April to May, while average prices climbed fairly significantly in most jurisdictions.  Make sure you click on the various jurisdictions at the bottom of the spreadsheet to find the area you are most interested in.

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Written by Jeff Royce of Frankly Real Estate, Inc. Fairfax, VA,  703-585-5663

The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market continued to sell at an even faster pace in May.  In the Norther Virginia area (including Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church City, Fairfax County, and Fairfax City) 32.69% of the homes on the market sold during the month.  Fairfax County led the way in that area with 33.68% selling.  And for the first time in a long time, average prices went up in Continue Reading »

Randy and Pam's Old House

I talked to a client on the phone this morning to get some information for her closing next week. Then I asked her what her schedule would be after the closing, when they would be leaving the area. And the excitement poured out of her. Awesome.

I realized that I just got to be a small part of what this couple has been dreaming about and working for for several years. I’m not going to give you details, because they have been blogging about it themselves.

When I started my real estate business 15 years ago, these guys were the very first people to trust me to help them purchase their home.  I remember showing up at their front door at midnight to get them to sign off on the contract we has just negotiated.  They

Randy and Pam in front of their New House

were in their PJs, and I was a bit more excited than they were.

We have become great friends since that time and my whole family will miss them.  I love how they went through a process of figuring out what they wanted to do with their time, put together a plan to make it happen, and are now about to embark on a journey that will take them down the road less traveled.  Check out their blog, it is an inspiring read.

Randy and Pam…have a great time traveling the country in your new home!  I’m glad to have been a part in getting you on the road.

The Northern Virginia real estate market had homes selling more quickly in March than in any month since January of 2006.  The supply of homes in the Northern Virginia market, defined as Arlington and Fairfax Counties, along with the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax, was at a 3.5 month supply in March.  Prices ticked up a little bit from February, but are still well under what they were a year ago.

Prince William County continued to sell at a rapid pace, with over 40% of the homes on the market selling in March, giving the Prince William less that a 2.5 month supply of homes on the market.

The close-to-dc areas of Arlington and Alexadria didn’t see as rapid of a sales pace, but did Continue Reading »