Housing shows positive signs in Prince William
All indicators seem to point to a rebounding housing market in Prince William County.
Condominium, town house and single family home sales were all up in October compared to October 2008, according to statistics gathered by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.
In October, the average condominium in Prince William showed a 6 percent increase and sold for an average of $166,739, compared to the average sale price of $157,806 in October 2008.
Town house prices showed a 13 percent increase, with the average unit selling at $175,578 in October, compared to an average sales price of $155,233 in October 2008.
Showing a 6 percent increase, sales prices for single family homes were in line with condominium sales in 2009, according to the association Web site, at nvar.com.
The average single family home sold for $267,208 in October compared to an average of $283,853 last year, the Web site reported.
Additionally, residential units have been on the market for shorter periods.
The average condominium spent 124 days on the market in 2008 compared to 39 days in 2009.
Town houses languished on the market for 111 days last year, but only sat on the market for 38 days this year.
Single family homes stayed on the market this year for an average of 53 days. Last year, the average stay was 119 days.
Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.
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Reader Reactions
Thanks, phdee
RonCharest:
A very good analysis of PWC housing market in your Sept. 17 post.
LOL very good!!!!
“who rarely disagrees with you’re outrageous comments”
Oh, and ‘you’re’ should be ‘your’ - but I’ll remain ‘moot’ on this one.
“Thank you ron, quite a complement. No, I have to concede, in taking on you and your tandem partner who rarely disagrees with you’re outrageous comments, pwanon quite nicely put’s both of you in your respective places.“
May I ask how I was brought into this?
Yes i do own a home and i am not paying an inflated high price for it, but thanks anyway for your concern. Can’t wait for the next set of mortgage loan resets and to see who is foreclosed on and who has to bail, kind of funny if you ask me. If you get in over your head then you deserve to drown.
Liberaliesd,
It doesn’t sound like you know anything about real estate. Have you ever even owned a home?
If you pay 300-400000 for a home that is worth much less then you really are an idiot. Ron, homeowners who lied about their incomes, people who own or rent homes and are not allowed too, house flippers, etc. Housing situation is improving in our county but not in Fairfax, D.C and Maryland.
cjcanu01,
I agree that there is a slight upward tick in home prices from last year. But, they are nowhere near what they were three years ago. For those of us who purchased homes within the last five years and now owe more on the note than the house is appraised at, seeing an increase this slight is meaningless.
As a refinancer, you should be aware that there is most likely a second wave of residential foreclosures building up from people holding interest-only loans soon coming due. There’s other mortgage holders who lost their jobs, or took pay cuts, and now can’t afford the mortgage they actually qualified for several years ago. These people can’t sell their houses and get out from payments because their have negative equity.
As far as “illegal immigrants”; I recognize that the issue of people packed 10+ to a single family home was an out-of-control problem a few years ago. The house my wife and I purchased last year as income property had been converted into such a flophouse by the previous owner, who then lost it in foreclosure. Half houses on that street were also empty last year, for the same reason. But the reasons this occurred are complex, and include:
- An insane rate of appreciation in home prices, driven by pure speculation, which was every bit the fault of realtors and lending institutions as it was the buyers.
- State laws which prevent “illegal immigrants” from legally renting apartments or houses, combined with a strong local demand for cheap (read: “illegal immigrant”) labor.
Since “illegal immigrants” cannot own real property in this state (which, as a refinancer, you should know) the homes being bought up on speculation and converted into flop houses was the doing of American Citizens and legal residents, not the illegal ones.
Cory Stewart ran for re-election by demonizing our Hispanic community. He didn’t need to do that. Some things are more important.
I also point out that the local Washington, D.C. economy is nowhere close to resembling the economy in the rest of this country. We’re living in a bubble economy fueled by federal government employment (military, government employees, contractors) that does not exist outside this immediate area. I have friends and family in at least a dozen places around the country, and I can tell you that things are pretty bad.
“superhero who regularly puts Ray Williams and I “in our place;“ then you’re crazier than Pwanon is.“
And ‘I’ should be ‘me’...see people who live in glass houses etc…
When someone, like you, have no better come back and are quite defeated, they resort to correcting spelling and grammar. Bad form ron…but quite predictable….
As for being crazy, maybe crazy like fox, since putting you in your place seems relatively easy….
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