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Cheers,
Heather

If you are curious about how much your home (or a home you might want to buy) is worth, just fill out this form and I’ll email you a report with clickable links to comparable homes that are for sale or recently sold. Don’t worry, I won’t spam you…I hate spam just as much as you. =)

~ Heather

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Well, I’ve been really apprehensive of what our real estate market would look like in Loudoun County after the first time homebuyer tax credit expired. (which happened last Friday, so you can go ahead and exhale now)

Look at what our inventory levels did in the last couple of weeks…a lot of homes on the market all of a sudden. And apparently there wasn’t quite enough buyer demand to soak up all those homes. Of course, we’ll have to watch closely in the next few weeks to see if demand will pick up and these houses will go under contract. Otherwise days on market will increase and things will definitely have slowed down.

Cheers,
Heather

I thought it might be helpful to look at how the current market climate has affected median price in different towns across the county. The first chart shows single family home data, and the second shows the combined condo/townhome market.

Everything seemed pretty stable right up until the beginning of March, huh? I’m guessing that the last rush of contracts for folks taking advantage of the first time homebuyer tax credit is what has caused such dramatic change in pricing and inventory. Anyone that wants to use that credit has to be under contract by the end of April, so I expect that we will see prices flatten out again after that. I’m very curious to see if our sales volume will continue at a steady pace, or if it will be very quiet for a bit after that.

If you have any questions about how this may affect you or your home’s value, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Cheers,
Heather

One of the statistics I rarely look at is price per square foot, because it is typically the most stable in the short term. Going into the spring market, I thought it would be helpful to look at where the median price per square foot is for different towns in Loudoun County.  Remember that ‘condo’ really means ‘condo and townhomes.’

For the whole county, you can see the slide downward as the median price dropped across the county from 2007 through 2009. From the beginning of 2009 to now, it’s stabilized to within $5 a square foot, looking at single family homes or condos/townhomes.

Sterling is trending slightly below the Loudoun average for condos and townhomes, but in line with the rest of the county for single family homes. There is definitely a bigger disparity between home types here than on a county-wide level.

In Ashburn, there is no discernable difference in price per square foot between home types. Expect to spend around $160 a square foot, no matter what you are purchasing. Therefore, condos and townhomes are more expensive in Ashburn than in Sterling when you are looking at cost per square foot.

Leesburg is like Ashburn, because right now the cost per square foot is the same across all home types; however it’s about $10 less per square foot than in Ashburn. So you can afford a bit more home for your money, but your commute time is slightly longer as you head East.

In Hamilton, you can basically disregard the stats for condos and townhomes, as there are so few that it makes it statistically irrelevant. Single family homes are averaging about the same as Leesburg, but have not seen the huge rise and fall that the rest of the county saw between 2007 and 2009.

Single family homes in Purcellville are trending as high as the county average for dollars per square foot, refuting the theory of saving money by living further out. (Although in actuality, with the low number of homes on the market right now, it could be that what is available in Purcellville right now is in better shape, or newer, than what is on the market in the Eastern part of the county. Sometimes statistics don’t make sense to me, and this is one of those times.)

As expected, Round Hill is the least expensive as the most outlying town in the county, with the single family home price per square foot coming in about $20 a square foot less than the county average, and condos/townhomes about $25 a square foot less.

If you would like to see statistics specific to your neighborhood, or the neighborhoods you are interested in, just hit the Ask Heather button and let me know what you are looking for.

Cheers,

Heather

Breaking down median price statistics by zip code in Sterling shows us that depending on where in Sterling you live, your median price trends can be very different from your neighbors across town. Look at this:

Single Family Homes

Look at the dramatic difference between the 20164 zip code and the others! That zip encompasses Sterling Park and Sugarland Run, two neighborhoods that were arguably the hardest hit in Loudoun for foreclosures and short sales. We are finally seeing some price recuperation there, with median price rising there as it dropped in the other two zip codes.

Condos and Townhomes

For the condo/townhome market, we see similar patterns in all three zip codes, with prices dropping slightly and then appearing to stabilize over the winter. If you look at the median price and not the pattern, though, you will see that a townhome or condo in 20164 is worth significantly less than in the rest of Sterling.

If you want information specific to your neighborhood, just ask me and I’m happy to provide it. Or you can sign up to get a bi-weekly (spam free) market report that is tailored to your neighborhood and home type.

Cheers,

Heather

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

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

Median Price for single family homes in Sterling, VA as of Oct. 16, 2009 is $339,000

Inventory for single family homes in Sterling, VA as of Oct. 16, 2009 is 211

Questions? Thoughts? Leave a comment!

Cheers,

Heather

Take a peek at the charts below, which give you a snapshot of both the single family home market and the condo/townhome market in Sterling, Ashburn, and Leesburg. One of the main things that jumps out at me is how the “Homes Absorbed” compare to the “Newly Listed”~~since in all cases those numbers are very close, it shows us that houses are pretty much selling as fast as they are hitting the market. Our inventory level isn’t increasing as the summer months wane, as it usually does.

You can also get a feel for what is selling the fastest by looking at the days on market.  Not surprisingly, the condos and townhomes, which are lower price points for the most part, are selling more quickly than the single family homes.  (In Sterling, the days on market are similar for single family homes and condo/townhomes, but there are a slew of older single family homes in the same price bracket as the condo/townhomes.)

If you’d like a free statistical report on your zip code and home type emailed to you,  fill out the Subscribe Now form at the top of this page!

Cheers,
Heather