Foreclosures drop again in Prince William County

It was another month of declining foreclosure numbers and increasing home sales for Prince William County.

And to date, the number of total units sold in the county has surpassed last year’s figures, according to the Prince William Association of Realtors.

Through May 31, 2,379 units were sold compared with 2,203 at the same time last year. Of those sold this year, 567 were last month — second to April in which 660 units were sold, according to statistics provided by the Realtor’s association.

One source of frustration for Realtors, though, has been the amount of time its taken to settle offers on foreclosed homes with banks, said Cindy Stackhouse, a local Realtor and president of the Prince William Realtor’s association.

On average, she said, realtors have had to write six to seven offers on properties before the bank will make a decision.

When asked about how long that can extend the buying process, Stackhouse replied: “That’s the other dilemma we’re facing. You may not even get an answer from the bank for several days or weeks.”

Of the 4,806 units on the market as of June 2, 37.8 percent or 1,841 are vacant.

RealtyTrac reported May figures last week and nationwide foreclosures grew more than 7 percent from the previous month and 48 percent from May 2007.

But from April to May, foreclosure rates dropped 7.65 percent in Virginia and 15 percent in Prince William County, according to the report.

According to year-over-year statistics from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, the number of active new listings for single-family detached units in Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park registered only slight increases in May.

However, active and new listings in those areas rose 22 percent and 10 percent, respectively, for single-family attached units.

In that category, active listings went from 1,881 in May 2007 to 2,293 and new listings increased from 609 in May 2007 to 671.

Sales for detached units jumped 89 percent from 254 in May 2007 to 481 last month, according to NVAR.

Attached units didn’t see quite the same boost, but sales still increased 73 percent with 294 in May 2008 compared with 170 at the same time last year.

Year-over-year statistics for May showed a drop in the average sales price for homes in the three municipalities declined with a 36 percent drop for attached homes and a 33 percent for detached dwellings.

Stackhouse said foreclosed houses are contributing to that decline, but that there’s been a slight trend up, with sellers getting about 88 percent of the original asking price. That’s up from 86 percent in January, she said.