Yes, folks...you read that correctly. The Loudoun County real estate market is showing continued signs of strengthening.
And here's the proof:
1) The rate of new properties coming on the market is decreasing (supply).
- From May 1 to May 23, 2008, Loudoun County had 770 new properties/listings come on the market. That's an average of 33 new listings per day. That's down from 924 new listings during the same time last year, which came out to 40 new listings per day. That's an 18 percent decrease in the rate of new inventory from this time last year. (Remember, less supply/inventory is key to a stable and balanced market)
- The pace of new listings in May (33 per day) is down from last month (April), which saw an average of 36 new listings per day come on the market. That's an 8 percent decrease in the rate of new inventory from last month.
2) Buyers are increasing in numbers and making a move after sitting on the sidelines (demand).
- So far this month, we've had 490 properties go under contract. This is an average of 21 per day. During the same time last year, we saw 404 homes go under contract (18 per day). That's an increase of almost 17 percent in the number of homes that are selling this year versus last year.
- Also, last month (April '08) saw an increase of 38 percent in the number of homes that went under contract as compared to April 2007 ( 655 in April '08 versus 481 in April '07)
3) The percentage of total listings that are foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties has stabilized.
- For the post with details about that, click here.
That's less supply, higher demand and stabilization in the distressed property area - a winning combination.
So you see, it's actually getting better, not worse. The worse is over with prices having already come down 20 to 40+ percent from the peak in August 2005. "The sky is falling mentality" that is prevelant today should have been around last year and in 2006 when it really was falling. But it's not the case today.
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