Most of the time here, I take a city-wide or county-wide look at market statistics, which is great if you are looking for a general idea of what the market is doing in your area. However, when you are trying to get a specific idea of your home’s market value (or the market price of a home you are considering purchasing) you need to look a little closer, as pricing can vary wildly by zip code, or even neighborhood. Case in point, median price for single family homes in Leesburg:
Let’s look specifically at the May 1 to September 1 time span, which in 20176 corresponded to a slight rise but overall gain of about $3000. During that same span in 20175, median price jumped up from $555,000 to roughly $602,000…slight difference, huh? And since then, an even bigger difference, as 20176 plummeted to around $590,000 while 20175 saw volatility before inching up to around $595,000. See why it’s so important to look more closely? I can’t break these charts down on the neighborhood level here (although I’m happy to run those numbers for you individually, by request) but I’d venture to say that on that level, we’d see a variety of trends too.
If you would like me to give you specifics about your neighborhood and house type (whether you are in Leesburg or anywhere else in Northern Virginia) just click on the What’s My Home Worth? button or email me at heather@LoCoMusings.com .
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: Leesburg, median price, single family homes
Sterling Single Family Homes
For single family homes, median price started to climb the beginning of December, and is just about recovered to where it was in August. (Although the winter decline was only about $10,000.) Inventory continues to drop while days on market appears to climb~~I still maintain that the short sales are clouding the days on market statistics by remaining active, in many cases, while lenders consider situations and market value.
Sterling Condos and Townhomes
Townhomes and condos have been fairly price stable in Sterling, as the median price has swung only $10,000 since Aug. 09. Meanwhile, inventory and days on market is mirroring the single family homes segment; there is little to choose from at the moment while days on market increases slightly. Inventory right now is actually less than half of what it was at it’s peak in 2008.
I’m already seeing signs of the beginning of the spring market…lots of buyer activity, multiple offers on listings, increased website traffic to home search pages. If you are thinking about buying or selling this spring, now is a great time to reach out for more information and guidance so you can make educated decisions going forward. I’m here to help, so please reach out.
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: days on market, inventory, median price, Sterling
So we’ve turned another year in our never-boring real estate market here in Loudoun County. It has certainly earned it’s “LoCo” nickname. Going into last year, I was cautiously optimistic about the spring market, and whether the market would stabilize here, at least in terms of prices. Looking at the year ending stats below, it looks like the market is a lot less volatile. While we are not selling nearly the volume of homes across the county that we did in 2004-2006, we are now seeing mostly stable prices, and very low inventory. What this means for you, if you are planning to sell this spring, you can likely make it happen in a reasonable period of time, and still find a decent deal on a move-up, or downsized home. If you are looking to buy, there are not as many properties to pick from, but there are still some deals to be had on foreclosure properties or, if you have the patience and flexibility, short sales.
I’ve broken these up by home time, all single family properties first, followed by the combined condo/townhome market. All charts reflect the full Loudoun County market.
My thoughts…
- Median Price: for single family homes started the year just under $550,000 and ended the year at $540,000. This is not a huge swing and to me that shows stability. Same goes for condos/townhomes, ended the year right about where it started.
- Inventory: way down across all parts of the market. Not as many to pick from as lots of buyers jumped off the fence this year to take advantage of the tax credit, while folks that didn’t have to sell stayed put with a wait and see attitude.
- Days on Market: the charts are a little deceiving, those huge jumps up really only show a less than 20 day swing; single family homes ended the year taking on average a week longer to sell, and condos/townhomes just five days more.
Single Family Homes
Condominiums and Townhomes
If you are thinking about making a move this spring, now is an excellent time to take a look at market value and market activity. I’m available to help you calculate the market value of your home, or to help craft a purchase strategy. Feel free to call, text, email, use the chat feature above, or hit the Ask Heather button. It’s what I do. (smile)
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: days on market, inventory, Loudoun County, median price
Single Family Homes in Purcellville
Condos/Townhomes in Purcellville
Single Family Homes in Round Hill
Condos/Townhomes in Round Hill
Last week we took a look at the market on the Eastern side of Loudoun County, in Sterling, and found that pricing there was mostly stable over the last six months, while inventory had dropped. Now, let’s look at the westernmost part of the county, and see how it compares. (Trends typically start in Sterling and then ripple west through LoCo.)
I’ve included the charts for townhomes in Purcellville and Round Hill, but only to show that there is not enough market activity to be statistically significant. There are only 8 on the market in Purcellville, and 3 in Round Hill, so any special situation on any one listing (short sale, foreclosure, etc) can cause a huge swing in numbers. So those numbers are just there for your viewing pleasure. (smile)
For single family homes in both towns, we have seen a drop in inventory in the last six months, similar to what has happened in Sterling, if not as dramatic. Median price for Purcellville has dropped slightly, but has stayed mostly stable in Round Hill (the weekly up and down swings there is because of the low number of homes on the market and the wide swing in home prices, but the overall median price line has remained right around $500,000). Average days on market is up slightly in Purcellville and down slightly in Round Hill.
Concerned about what this means for your home’s value? Or wondering how it might affect your home buying strategy? Just ask. Or call or text me at 571-233-5491, it’s what I’m here for.
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: days on market, inventory, median price, Purcellville, Round Hill
Sterling Single Family Homes
Sterling Condos and Townhomes
The Eastern part of Loudoun County always sets the pace for the Western part to catch up with, like a ripple when you drop a pebble in a pond; sometimes Ashburn and Leesburg begin to mirror Sterling quickly, other times it takes a bit to catch up. Right now in Sterling, we can see that after some ups and downs, median single family home prices for all zip codes in Sterling is virtually unchanged from six months ago. At the same time, average days on market is up a touch, but inventory is way down. (That leads me to believe that remaining inventory is mostly short sales, which take much longer to sell and tend to drive the days on market numbers up.
The combined condo/townhome market for Sterling is very similar. Median price has jumped up and fallen down in the last six months, but the biggest swing was only $19,000, and it is currently just slightly more that where it was in May. Meanwhile, days on market has crept upwards and inventory has continued to drop.
I’m sure with the continuation of the homebuyer tax credit for the next few months, there will continue to be demand in the market here, and the downward pressure on inventory will continue. Personally, I’m interested to see what the tax credit-driven demand will do to the spring market, and whether that will cause it to start earlier (late January, early February?) not unlike how early in the spring the market blossomed in 2004 and 2005 when sales volume was so high.
Have a question about the market in a particular zip code or neighborhood? Want to know what your house is worth? Just hit the Ask Heather button and I’m happy to get right back to you with the answers to your questions. You can also call me or text me at 571-233-5491. I’ll be eating Turkey and watching football tomorrow, but outside of that I will get back to you right away.. (smile)…
Happy Thanksgiving!
Heather
Tags: days on market, inventory, median price, Sterling
Leesburg Single Family Homes
Leesburg Condos and Townhomes
What an interesting year. Going into 2009, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Loudoun County real estate market. After the tumultuous up and down we have seen in the last five years, it’s reassuring to see stability in our market again. When you look at the year over year numbers for Leesburg, whether it’s for single family homes or the combined condo/townhome market, we don’t see a whole lot of difference between last November and this November. The only notable difference is in the inventory levels, which are down quite a bit year over year.
We’ll keep on analyzing these numbers, and see if the stability continues.
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: days on market, inventory, Leesburg, median price
Single Family Home Median Price
Condo/Townhome Median Price
Inventory
It’s easy to get caught up in the weekly fluctuations of the market, but even with those steep ups and downs in the charts, they still only represent a small swing in pricing. Overall, the median price of single family homes in LoCo is within $5,000 of where it was in February, after trending up for a bit and swinging back down again. Median price of condos/townhomes, meanwhile, is basically at the same point as in February. I would have expected to see a bigger change on the inventory charts, but we are only down about 10 percent since the start of the year. At this point everything seems very status quo; homes are continuing to sell, and prices aren’t dropping. I’m always interested to see what happens as winter rolls into spring; maybe this year we will get back into our usual cycle of gentle appreciation and a true spring market. (I can hope, right?)
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: inventory, Loudoun County, median price
The market for single family homes seems to be holding steady since June, with median price up about $50,000 since the start of the year, and inventory levels a bit lower. Nice to see some stabilization...hopefully that will continue.
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Median Price for single family homes in Sterling, VA as of Oct. 16, 2009 is $339,000 |
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Inventory for single family homes in Sterling, VA as of Oct. 16, 2009 is 211 |
Questions? Thoughts? Leave a comment!
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: inventory, median price, single family homes, Sterling
Homeowners in Ashburn, take note…if you are thinking of selling, don’t just look at the overall market in your town, look at how your particular home type stacks up. There is a pretty significant difference in what is going on in the single family home market in Ashburn compared to the condo/townhome market. Look at the difference in the charts below. (You can click on them, too, to change the length of time shown, and mouse over the charts to see exact numbers from different dates. Go on, play with them, I know you want to.)
Single Family Home Stats
For single family homes, median price seems to be slipping a little bit (which matches up with the last two years as we have transitioned from summer to fall.) If you are thinking of selling, you might want to wait until spring to see if the prices trend back upwards…however, inventory levels now are very, very low so your home is not likely to sit on the market very long if it presents well and is priced appropriately.
Meanwhile, Condos and Townhomes:
Now, if you own a condo or townhome, and you are looking to move up to a single family home, now might be a good time to do it. Median price is up a bit, and inventory is low. (Not as low as the single family home inventory, but still low from a historical perspective.) One way to make that type of a transaction work is to put a ‘home of choice’ contingency in the contract to purchase your current home, which gives you a set period of time (a couple of weeks, typically) to identify and get under contract on your new home, before the contract to purchase your home is completely locked in. Just my thoughts. Questions? Reach out to me!
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: Ashburn
Round Hill is about as far west in LoCo as you can go and still have a big enough statistical sample to look at. We are taking a peek at 90 day stats for this zip code, because there is not enough data to really look at weekly stats.
| 90-day stats for Single Family properties in ROUND HILL, VA as of September 18, 2009 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Median List Price | $476,796 | Average List Price | $565,901 |
| Total Inventory | 52 | Price per Square Foot | $138 |
| Average Home Size | 3,556 | Median Lot Size | 105,147 |
| Average # Beds | 4.11 | Average # Baths | 3.62 |
| Homes Absorbed | 3 | Newly Listed | 2 |
| Days on Market | 189 | Average Age | 41 |
Things are definitely slower in the far west corner of the county (two new listings, three homes absorbed off the market), and days on market are a bit higher than what we are seeing in eastern LoCo. The market always recovers first in the east, and then moves to the western part of Loudoun County.
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Median Price for homes in ROUND HILL, VA All ZIP Codes as of September 18, 2009 is $476,796 |
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Inventory for homes in ROUND HILL, VA All ZIP Codes as of September 18, 2009 is 52 |
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Average Days on Market for homes in ROUND HILL, VA All ZIP Codes as of September 18, 2009 is 189 |
From looking at the median price chart, it seems like prices may have bottomed out in August and are starting to rebound a little. I am not convinced that this is sticking, though, we will want to keep an eye on it and see if that lasts for more than a month. Inventory has crept up slightly from a low in May, but that is relative, as the current inventory is only about 10 more homes than then. Days on market appear to be climbing too, which is similar to what we saw in the Ashburn charts. I think we might need to look at that for other towns in LoCo to see if that is happening across the board.
Questions? Please shoot me an email at info@heatherelias.com or hit the Ask Heather button.
Cheers,
Heather
Tags: days on market, inventory, LoCo, Loudoun County, median price, Round Hill, single family homes
