Real Estate News Update
Photo courtesy of murfomurf on Flickr
Read all about it!
That little blip of good news for August sales? Well, it’s back down to the “normal” levels of sales prices we’ve seen in Arlington for the previous few months. Compared to a year ago September, Arlington Virginia condo sales prices are down 7-9%, townhouse prices are down 17-22%, and single family home prices in Arlington are down 11-18% (the ranges are due to different ways to make the calculation: median or average, with averages being more affected by extremely low or high prices which affect the calculation).
Concurrently, average days on market are up again: 73 for condos, 106 for townhomes, 91 for single family homes.
How about Fairfax County in Northern Virginia?
Sometimes it helps to get a little perspective. In neighboring Fairfax County, the average sales price for a condo has been on a very steady decline, dropping from $297,333 a year ago September, to $223,030 by September 2008. Steady drop, no blips — that’s a statistical term 
. Very same trend for townhomes and detached single family homes in Fairfax. With drops in prices of almost 30% compared to a year ago. Ouch!
Say it ain’t so
Today? Late October, with all the country more or less shocked by all the poor economic news and terribly anxious about the outcome of the upcoming election? Only 21 homes have been listed for sale in October and gone quickly under contract since the beginning of the month. Only 124 homes that were listed sometime after September 1st have gone under contract or sold since then. There are 868 homes currently for sale in Arlington County. Dividing 124 into 868 produces an absorption rate of 7 months. That means, at this pace, it will take 7 months for a home to sell in Arlington County. That’s a really high number for this county. In other counties, however, that absorption rate is MUCH higher.
Opportunity? Opportunity!
All the talk these days is about two things: the economy and the election. Intertwined? You bet! Remember, this is a political town, and so our cycles of events tend to be dominated by elections every four years. This time the emotions are at an all time high, those emotions being predominated fear. But there are a few people who see the opportunity, and are able to grab it. Foreclosures in Fairfax County are selling at a pretty brisk pace. As brisk as the banks can accommodate, that is.
We’ve seen the cycles before, and we’ll see them again, and the question is, will you be at the beginning of the wave or wait and ride it later along with the others, when you might feel safer. Like any investment, there is risk and there is benefit. Except with this one — if you do it right, with a down payment and an affordable monthly payment — you get shelter, probably some land, and a place to call home.
