Once the snow melted the market heated up pretty quickly. March built on February's numbers and while inventory grew a little in March sales surged keeping active listings below '09 levels. As of March 31st there were 56 town homes available up 10% from 51 in February but down 51% from January 09's 109 active listings. A far cry from the 315 active listings in March of 08. The single family sector saw similar numbers with 54 active listings as of March 31st , up 50% from 36 in February but down 61% from March of last years 87 active listings and well below the 146 of March of 08. Town home sales bumped up 62% with 115 sales from February�s total of 71 but stayed consistent compared to 110 sales in March of '09 but still well above 56 in March of '08. There was a notable jump in the single-family sector with 53 sales, up 89% from February's 28 and a 39% improvement over the 38 sales in March of '09. Sales more than doubled March of '08's 24 sales. This is outstanding news but not entirely unexpected and right in line with what we have discussed in or most recent Out on a Limb. The town home market has been improving steadily now for 19 months with inventory steadily dropping and sales well above 06-08 levels. Many segments of the town home market have seen 12-15% appreciation over the bottom of the market a year ago. The real good news is that this has finally moved into the single-family sector in the past 4-6 weeks. I attribute this to owner occupied town home sellers finally being able to move up and buy a larger home. This has been missing from our market for a number of years and finally we have seen an impact. With each passing day and small bits of good economic news consumer confidence has risen as well giving relocation buyers the desire to own as opposed to renting. There has been pent up demand to buy a larger home and it is finally starting be released. Interest rates have risen only slightly, which is a surprise to me but a good one. I had expected a more substantial jump once the Fed pulled out of the mortgage backed securities business but that has not happened . . . yet. I still think it will at some point but clearly I called it wrong thinking we would see a more substantial jump in rates by now. The stimulus plan ends in April and I feel that will have some effect on the town home market but I do not think that will be as significant as some do and certainly not have the impact that a rise in interest rates will.  

Short sales are still not systemized with every bank but they are with many of them. Unless some one that actually knows how to do them properly handles them they can be a nightmare and even then with certain banks they are extremely difficult. 

Real Estate Taxes 

While writing this I had a gentlemen stop by my office asking about his current real estate assessment. Once again the county is playing games with land values and house values and this is causing confusion. Bottom line though is that the county needs to generate "X" number of dollars in real estate tax revenues. They have 3 numbers they can play with to do so, land values, improvement values and the tax rate. It is always unpopular to raise the tax rate and actual house values are easier to track because of neighborhood comps. So switching land and improvement values around further confuses the issue and the homeowner. At the end of the day though folks do not let that cause you any stress. Simply look at the total value that you are assessed and then look at your local neighborhood comps. If the comps are higher then there is no argument but if they are lower then we can argue with the county. If you need us to send you comps we are happy to do so just let us know. While I hate paying the taxes I am tired of seeing my assessment go down!!  

We had 64 townhomes come on the market during the month of June with an average list price of $305,708 compared with 45 listed in May with an average list price of $289,279.
For single-family homes we had 34 come on the market in June at an average list price of $561,966. In May, 34 listed with average list price of $523,111. Last year for June there were 33 single family homes listed at an average list price of $475,796
and 68 townhomes were listed at average list price of $273,064. 

This year in June we had 56 townhomes sell at an average list price of $263,251 compared with last year when we sold 98 at average list price of $275,860. For single-family homes 36 sold this May with an average list price of $517,433 compared to last year when 32 sold with an average list price of $507,479.
Our current absorption rate for single-family homes is 2 months (meaning at the current sales pace, it would take 2 months the same as last year at this time - for all of the current inventory to sell) Keep in mind that this speaks to current inventory and does not take into account additional inventory that will be coming on over the coming months. For townhomes the current absorption rate is 1 month, last year at this time was less than one month.
 

Whether you are a buyer or seller, making decisions on how to proceed in this market can be daunting. It is more important than ever to be working with an agent who has the experience and knows how to guide you through the dangers and pitfalls of the coming months. Marketing, staging and pricing are key considerations for every seller.
After 25 years of selling real estate in Centreville you can be confident that we have the experience to help you win in any kind of market. If you are thinking of moving now or in the future give us a call today and see why our buyers and sellers have a "Distinct Advantage."
 

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