Loudoun Real Estate Blog

The real estate market continues to remain stable in Loudoun County. According to Real Estate Business Intelligence (www.rbintel.com), there were 367 homes sold during the month of September 2010 which is down slightly by 6.62% from August 2010. The average sold price in September 2010 was $407,811 which is also down by 3.11% from August 2010 but is up by 5.15% from last year at this time. The average days on market has remained relatively stable and was 56 days during September 2010 according to the statistics. One interesting note is that there were 651 new listings during the month of September as opposed to 568 in August. If that trend continues, then inventory will definitely be increasing.

Average home prices rose in August for the first time in several years in Loudoun County. According to the MRIS, in August 2009, average home sale prices in Loudoun County are up 5.9% from the same time last year. In addition, the number of homes listed for sale is down 25% from last year in some areas. Buyers have been taking advantage of the combination of low interest rates and depressed prices as well as the temporary tax credit for first-time home buyers.

It has been a busy summer in the real estate market in Loudoun County, Virginia. According to NVAR, in July, 2009 pending and sold transactions for single family detached homes has remained relatively stable while the inventory available is at the lowest point it has been all year, 1369 homes. Obviously, fewer homes on the market should been better prices for sellers. According the NVAR, the average days on market has decreased since February 2009. In July, 2009 the average days on market for single-family detached homes in Loudoun County was 73 days down from over 125 days in February. Could it be the market in Loudoun County is recovering? I would recommend that buyers take advantage quickly of the lower prices and low interest rates.

I have been doing some pricing analysis on home sales in Belmont Country Club in Ashburn, Virginia. The last three homes to sell in Belmont Country Club were bank owned or relocation company owned homes.  All three homes sold at $160-$166 per square foot above grade. I used the above grade square footage as determined by the county tax records. I figured that using the above grade square footage per the tax records would be easiest for consistency and then could add or subtract a dollar amount based on condition, finished basement, upgrades, etc. In September there were several sales of homes that sold for $180-200/sq. ft. above grade and a bank owned home that sold for $159/sq. ft. above grade. Of the homes currently available in Belmont Country Club, I know that at least two homes have offers in. Both of these homes are listed for $190-$195/sq. ft. above grade which supports our analysis. Basically, it looks like if you want to sell a home in Belmont Country Club, the price needs to be below $200/sq. ft. above grade. There are currently homes listed for sale at prices as high as $280/sq. ft. above grade. Obviously, they need to read this blog post.

The stricter lending standards, falling home vallues and tough economy is affecting everyone. However, the National Association of Realtors reported that for the 3rd quarter of this year, sales and median home prices fell across the United States expect in four states. Those four states were Nevada, California, Arizona and Virginia.  In Loudoun County, sales seem to have slowed lately though. During the entire month of October, 414 homes went under contract in Loudoun County. In November, there were only 382 homes to go under contract. It will be interesting to see how this compares to the rest of the country.  

At a recent workshop, Roger Arnold, a macro economist who does consulting for government agencies, stated that the Washington D.C. Metro Area is the most promising real estate market in the world. He gave three main points:

1. Washington has become the center of the world politically and now financially with the implosion of Wall Street, the size of the bailout and global recession.

2. The country is going through a deflationary period in the private sectors that will be offset by an increase in government.

3. The Washington DC area has a shortage of residential housing, office space and adequate transportation.

The future of the Washington D.C. area housing market may be brighter than other parts of the country.

Washington, D.C. metro area, Arlington and Alexandria recently made the top ten list in Forbes.com’s “Best Places To Buy Foreclosed Homes” published on March 19, 2008. Their goal was to identifiy markets where there were hints of stabilization and that properties in foreclosure may be a good investment. To compile the list, they took the country’s 100 largest metro areas and ranked them by annual foreclosure rate. Only cities on Forbes’ best places list, which measures criteria such as quality of life and the local economy were considered. Then they compared how real estate prices have moved since 2006 and compared the spread between median prices and foreclosure prices. The Washington, D.C. metro area and suburbs was ranked #10 with a Median home price of $366,583, Foreclosure savings of $56,858, Foreclosure rate of 1.16% and a Price change from 2006-2007 of 0.77%. To see the complete article click here.

Thats right! On April 26th Loudoun County wants you to feel free to dump that hazardous waste off and get it out of your home to be properly disposed of. The county has a fabulous program dealing with household hazardous materials which I don’t think many people know about. From March to November the county has monthly drop off locations at different areas through-out the county to make it convenient for people to dispose of anything the trash company won’t take or shouldn’t go into the county landfill.

This month’s location is at Loudoun Valley High School 340 N. Maple Avenue, Purcellville Virginia between the hours of 8:30am and 2:30pm. For more information visit the county’s website .

Not sure what is hazardous waste? Click here for a list of common household items .

Our mid-month housing market analysis for Loudoun County, Sterling VA, Ashburn VA and Leesburg VA shows signs of staying relatively flat from last month’s numbers. To generate the numbers, we combined what has already sold as well as what is currently under contract with a closing date within April 2008

Loudoun County

Overall, the county will sell roughly 172 detached homes and 156 townhomes as compared to last month a total of 171 detached and 157 townhomes. The average sales price is currently lower than last month for detached homes and higher for townhomes. Lets see if the numbers change once the end of the month is here and all the sales have been entered.

Sterling / Potomac Falls (20165) Virginia

Sterling’s numbers are currently 19 detached homes and 17 townhomes, which will be higher than the 10 detached and 15 townhomes that sold last month. Currently, the average sales price is lower than last month for both detached homes and townhomes.

Ashburn (20147) Virginia

Ashburn doesn’t look like it will be able to keep up the improving trend since the beginning of the year. Each month since January 2008 for both detached and townhouses the number of homes sold has increased. Currently, it appears 17 detached homes and 32 townhouses will sell by the end of the month which is down slightly from 19 detached and 38 townhomes. The average sales price is a bit lower for detached and higher for townhouses.

Leesburg (20176) Virginia

The Leesburg detached home run up in activity looks like it will not be sustainable. Currently a total of 18 detached homes are set to settle in April, down from a high of 28 homes in March. The townhouse market in Leesburg is up a little to 27 townhomes to sell from 21 in March. The average sales price is looking higher than last month for townhomes but lower from detached.

Open Houses might expose your home to more than potential buyers. It may expose your home to a possible burglary. A Leesburg woman was recently charged with 34 crimes related to accusations that she used her position at a moving company to attend open houses and burglarize homes. There have been several homes burglarized in Loudoun County since November 2007 many of which resulted from an Open House.  See the full story here.  I am happy to do Open Houses for my clients but do not think it is the most effective way to sell homes. My job is to find the real estate agent that has a qualified and motivated buyer or to find a qualified and motivated buyer myself. The majority of the people who attend Open Houses are considering buying or selling in the future.

Gary M. Clemens, Loudoun County’s Clerk of the Circuit Court, announced that his office is working with the clerks of circuit court from the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County and Prince William County on establishing uniform guidelines related to the refund of the Northern Virginia Transportation Grantor’s Tax paid on deeds recorded between January 1, 2008 and March 3, 2008.The 2007 Virginia General Assembly passed legislation authorizing certain fees and taxes to be imposed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) which became effective on January 1, 2008. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that these fees and taxes were unconstitutional on February 29, 2008 and the clerks of circuit court stopped collection of the taxes on March 3, 2008 as directed by the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The clerks of circuit court in Northern Virginia will be required to issue refunds to the real estate settlement agents who paid the taxes to the clerk. The settlements agents are then required to provide the refund of the taxes to the individuals who paid the taxes as part of the settlement of the a real estate transaction.

A listing of the Loudoun deed transactions where the NVTA grantor taxes were paid and eligible for a refund will be posted on the Loudoun County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s website at www.loudoun.gov/clerk to assist citizens and settlement agents. The clerk’s office will also be providing detailed guidelines for the refund process once those guidelines are aproved by all five circuit court clerks in Northern Virginia