To download The Northern Virginia Home Sales Report for October 2016, click here.
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People Stay in Homes on Average for a Decade Now, First-Time Buyer Programs Assist Millennials, reports the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®
"The data points show losses in inventory, down 20 percent from October 2015, with 4,437 homes on the market compared to 5,572 last year at this time."
Fairfax – The returns are in for the October housing market in the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®, which includes the counties of Fairfax, Arlington, and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax and Clifton. The results show that the average and median sales prices as well as the number of sales all ticked up about 1 percent, resulting from slightly more buyer turnout.
The data points show losses in inventory, down 20 percent from October 2015, with 4,437 homes on the market compared to 5,572 last year at this time. Also, Days on Market (DOM) are down 10 percent, with homes selling on average six days faster than at this time last October.
“Now that the election ended, consumers are wondering if the new administration might help accelerate growth in real estate,” said NVAR CEO Ryan Conrad. “While there might be changes coming regarding 2017 interest rates and housing finance rules, our October numbers show a pre-election trace of confidence in sellers and buyers. A stable market, as reflected in our October data, is a net gain.”
According to Bob Adamson, NVAR’s 2016 Chair Elect and Realtor® with McEnearney Associates, “Our market challenges stem not only from the lack of new listings, but also since people are staying in their homes a lot longer. In 2000, the median stay before sale was six years,” Adamson said. ”In 2015, the median stay has risen to 10 years nationally.” Local numbers in Northern Virginia follow this trend. Adamson pointed out that for the week of October 31 to November 6, there was an overall increase in activity versus the same week in 2015. Northern Virginia had an increase of 31.4 percent in contract activity in every price category.
Moon Choi, a RE/MAX Executives Realtor® and an NVAR Board member, observed that the overall market is reasonably balanced, especially regarding listings outside the Beltway.
“Well priced homes with move-in ready condition are still going fast, but at the same time I have seen several properties stay on the market for a while,” he explained. “Current inventory is tight, and there are a good number of buyers in the market, searching for their perfect homes.”
He points to opportunities regarding mortgage products. “There are young, first-time buyers who would like to take advantage of the current low interest rates and first-time buyer programs with very little money down,” he explained.
October 2016 Regional Home Sales Compared to October 2015: Northern Virginia
The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® reports on October 2016 home sales activity for Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.
A total of 1,540 homes were sold in October 2016, an increase of 1 percent compared to October 2015 home sales of 1,524.
“Current inventory is tight, and there are a good number of buyers in the market, searching for their perfect homes.”
Active listings decreased this month compared with 2015. Listings were 20.36 percent below last year’s, with 4,435 active listings in October, compared with 5,569 homes available in October 2015. The average days on market (DOM) for homes in October 2016 was 52 days, a decrease of 10.34 percent compared to the 58 DOM for homes in October 2015.
The average home sale price remained steady compared with last October, at $547,805. This is less than 1 percent above the October 2015 average price of $543,465.
The median sold price of homes this October was $465,500, which was less than 1 percent above the October 2015 median price of $461,000.
The 1,731 new pending home sales in Northern Virginia in October marks an increase of 2.67 percent compared with 1,686 pending contracts last year in October. Total pending sales in October were up by about 7 percent, to 2,326, compared with 2,171 pending contracts in October 2015.
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