NVAR: February 2011 Market Statistics
Low Mortgage Rates Still Prevail;
Foreclosure Notices Filed On A Downward Slide
Mortgage rates are still a bargain. "Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have averaged at or below 5 percent in every week but one this year, contributing to record home affordability," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft.
In Northern Virginia, average and median sales prices are higher than they were in the first quarter of 2010. RealtyTrac cites that the number of foreclosure notices filed in February decreased a whopping 27 percent compared with a year earlier, which is the largest drop on record. The same report found that notices dropped 14 percent month over month, a trend that, if it sticks, is good news.
Service Members Get A Mortgage Break
Bank of America Corporation said it would start reducing loan balances for military borrowers who are struggling to pay their mortgages as they leave active duty, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Bank of America to Reduce Principal for Some Military Borrowers.”
The Charlotte bank said it is providing military home owners who owe more than their houses are worth with a "waterfall of solutions." Also among the initiatives are further reductions in interest rates. Designed to help military members who are having challenges making their monthly mortgage payments, these programs will go into effect on April 1.
Last Quarter Housing Stats Reflect Favorably On DC Metro Region
Home prices in major U.S. cities tracked by a private trade group have fallen to their lowest levels since the housing bubble burst, according to AP real estate reporter Derek Kravits. In his story found in USA Today, entitled “Home prices hit new lows in many metro areas: Washington D.C. sees a gain,” he cites the Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller home price index as having fallen in December from November about 1 percent on average for the 20-city index. The only market to see a gain was Washington, D.C.
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are calculated monthly using a three-month moving average and published with a two-month lag.
Daily Real Estate News reports:
Wealthy Buyers Re-emerge in Real Estate
The Washington, D.C. region and other major metro areas have seen an increase in the sale of luxury homes this past year. After four consecutive years of declines in million-dollar homes, Daily Real Estate News reports, sales of high-end real estate are up.
"In Washington, D.C., million-dollar home sales grew by 20 percent, as government workers continued to help the high-end real estate market there. Washington, D.C., has recently been ranked as one of the highest paid cities, as well as best educated place in the country."
February 2011 Regional Home Sales
Northern Virginia: February 2011
The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® reports on February 2011 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 1,017 homes sold in February 2011, a 5.48 percent decrease below February 2010 home sales of 1,076.
Active listings decreased by about 4 percent from last year, with 3,495 active listings in February, compared with 3,645 homes available in February 2010. The average days on market (DOM) for homes in February 2011 increased by about 43 percent to 77 days, compared with 54 days in February 2010.
Sales prices rose compared with those realized last year. The average sales price in February increased by about 6 percent from February 2010, to $441,826, compared with last February’s average of $415,369.
The median price of homes sold in Northern Virginia also rose in February to $374,900, which is an increase of about 4 percent compared with February 2010’s median price of $360,000.
The number of new pending home sales in Northern Virginia in February showed an increase of about 24 percent at 1,640 compared to 1,326 new contracts pending in February 2010. There were 1,326existing contracts pending, bringing the total number of pending contracts in February 2011 to 2,966, compared with a total of 3,504 total pending contracts in February 2010, a 15 percent difference.
Greater Northern Virginia: February 2011
Sales activity in Greater Northern Virginia (NVAR jurisdictions plus Prince William, Loudoun and the Greater Piedmont counties) for February 2011 also shows a decrease from February 2010, although average sales prices are higher.
The number of Greater Northern Virginia region homes sold in February was 1,777 an 8 percent decrease from February 2010’s total of 1,931 sales. Pending home sales increased, from 2,422 in February 2010 to 3,000 in February 2011, an uptick of around 24 percent.
The average sales price of $384,952 in February 2011 increased by about7.5 percent over February 2010’s average sales price of $358,036.
Across Greater Northern Virginia, the number of listings has remained constant, with 7,276 listings active, which is less than 1 percent fewer than this time last year, when 7,322 homes were available. The average DOM for a home sold in February 2011 was 77 compared with last year’s 53 DOM, an increase of about 45 percent.
Courtesy of NVAR~
Buying or Selling a Home in Northern Virginia? Contact Kim Darwaza of RE/MAX Allegiance for all of your Real Estate needs at 703-856-2254 or kim@kimdarwaza.com. To search the MLS please visit http://www.kimdarwaza.com.