New listings are down…signed purchase agreeements are also down…pending sales are down…days on market and months of supply are also down (which is good!).
Read this week’s report from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS)
Wondering what the median price for condominiums is in Arlington County? How about the past week versus the last ninety days? Below is an INTERACTIVE graphic that allows you to see the rolling median prices for both statistical categories.
In addition, the lower statistical graph also provides median inventory for the same periods. Just “click-n-drag” on the lower right (below the median inventory) to bring the interactive graph to life. You can see statistics going back to 2008!
For more information on statistics relating to specific zip codes in Arlington County, click here.
Wondering what the median price for single-family homes is in Arlington County? How about the past week versus the last ninety days? Below is an INTERACTIVE graphic that allows you to see the rolling median prices for both statistical categories.
In addition, the lower statistical graph also provides median inventory for the same periods. Just “click-n-drag” on the lower right (below the median inventory) to bring the interactive graph to life. You can see statistics going back to 2008!
For more information on specific zip codes in Arlington County, please click here.
Want to know how the condominium market is faring in Arlington? After prices had been declining for the month of June, and staying flat for July, they seem to have begun ticking upward since August 13, 2010. See the INTERACTIVE graph below for more information.
For more information on condominium statistics in Arlington County (days on market, inventory, zip code specific, etc.), click here!
Want to know how the single-family home real estate market is faring in Arlington? After median prices for single-family homes reached $741,396.15 on June 11, 2010, they dropped to $725,019.23 on July 23, 2010. Since then, for the past month or so, prices have been holding steady, with a median price of $726,919.23 as of August, 27, 2010.
Please use the INTERACTIVE graph below to see recent changes in the Arlington market.
For more information on Arlington County statistics (days on market, inventory, or zip code specific) please click here.
Arlington home sales had a solid first six months but ran into a roadblock in July! Could it have been the scheduled expiration of the tax credit? Buyers originally had until April 30th to ratify a contract, and settle by June 30th, though the buyer tax credit closing date was ultimately extended until September 30th. Could it have been that buyers were unaware of this extension and the sales volume drop off is just a reflection of a “normal summer market”?
According to the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), there were a total of 217 homes sold in Arlington County in July, down from 290 a year earlier (and down from 301 sold’s in June 2010)!
To be fair however, the aveage sold price of all homes was $574,704, up 9.81%. This figure surpasses the average sold price in June by almost 1.5%. The median sales price of all homes that sold during the month was $535,000, up 8% from the $494,950 recorded a year earlier (and up 7% from June 2010).
Of the homes that sold in July, it took an average of 51 days to go from listing to ratified contract, down from the 61 days a year before.
Some other statistics include:
What can we take from this? Is it all doom and gloom now that the buyer tax credit is coming to an end soon and we are smack dab in the summer market? Not all news from the June sales paint a negative picture- after all, the average sold price was up, the median sold price was up and the days on the market decreased!
And if interest rates continue hovering around 4.5 percent, who knows what can happen!
For more information on June 2010 Arlington County sales figures and statistics, please contact me.
Over 60% of those in Arlington County hold a bachelor degree or higher (with approximately 36% earning an advanced degree), making it the most highly educated community in the Greater Washington DC area! See what the Arlington Economic Development website has to say:
“Arlington is the epicenter of scientific research for the defense and homeland security industries. The Ballston area has the highest concentration of scientific research agencies, anchored by the National Science Foundation, DARPA, ONR and several top university-related research institutes.”
Arlington is also home to the highest concentration of business and finance workers in the region!
All told, Arlington County has the “perfect storm” of industry, occupational and educational characteristics, aided by the fact that a “larger than average” percentage of its population are 24-35 year olds.
So the next time someone makes a crack about the lack of public parking, the lines for some of the nightlife, the ever-present building cranes in the skyline…just let them know that we’ve got brainpower!
While pending sales of existing homes fell in June 2010, one of the area’s where they rose, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is the Washington DC area! While nationally pending sales were down 18.6 percent from a year ago, the NAR’s report shows that they only dropped 2.6% from May to June in our area. One of the major reasons for the lower pending sales is the spring surge that occured, as many buyers tried to ratify contracts before the April deadline, to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, believes there ”could be more months of slow activity before picking up later this year, provided the job market continues to grow.” Though Mr. Yun goes on to say that since home prices have come down to justifiable levels, there shouldn’t be any meaningful changes to national home values. Finally, Mr. Yun believes that interest rates will remain near historically low levels for the remainder of the year.
That said, the Washington DC area led the nation in home price gains in April. It had the best gain in median prices (April to May) versus 20 other markets surveyed in the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index.
As 2009 was ending, the “experts” were busy making forecasts about the U.S. economy and what to expect in 2010.
With respect to the housing markets, two predictions were made again and again:
Well, it’s July 1 and the year is half-over. Both predictions are proving to be incorrect. Home values are rising in most markets and mortgage rates are down. Way down.
It reminds us that economists are much more skilled with analysis of the past versus predictions of the future.
A pile of data can only get you so far.
Think of arlington housing market predictions like watching a local weather forecast. A meteorologist can look at the radar and tell you that rain is coming, but it’s never with 100% certainty. There is always a chance of change.
The housing market is the same way. Just as the U.S. economy is unpredictable, so are housing prices, and so are mortgage rates.
Therefore, when you have a personal finance decision to make, evaluate your options based on the information at hand today rather than an educated guess about the future. The future, after all, is subject to change — despite what the experts forecast.
