Hill Slowinski • Real Estate: Blog: March 2009

Recession Hit the Region in a Big Way in ‘08, Driving Down Sales and Prices

By Alejandro Lazo, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, March 28, 2009; F01

 [An interesting overview of the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area market at the end of 2008.  Excerpts for the close-in DC area follow...]

Home sales fell throughout the region as credit dried up and buyers fearful of an increasingly uncertain job market sat on the sidelines. No local jurisdiction except the District was spared from falling home prices, and some of the hardest hit Zip codes in the suburbs had declines of more than $100,000. ...

Region-wide, the median sales price for single-family houses and townhouses fell 8 percent, to $382,500 from $417,000, in 2007, according to a Washington Post analysis of government sales records. The median price for condominiums also fell 8 percent, to $268,000 from $289,900. The median is the point at which half the homes cost more and half cost less.   ...

District of Columbia

- The District fared the best out of all the jurisdictions in the region, according to The Post's analysis. While sales volume slid 30 percent, to 2,239 homes from 3,212 in 2007, the median home price rose 8 percent, to $520,000, from $480,000.   ...

Virginia

- In Fairfax County, the median home price fell 14 percent, to $445,000 from $520,000, and volume declined to 9,852 homes sold from 10,851. Several Zip codes had six-figure drops.

- In Alexandria, the median home price fell 5 percent, to $550,000 from $580,000, while the number of homes sold fell to 832 from 1,315. It remained the region's priciest jurisdiction.

- In Arlington, the median home price fell 7 percent, to $543,000 from $581,000, while the number of homes sold fell to 1,375 from 1,713. ...

Maryland

- Montgomery County experienced the steepest drop in home prices among the suburban Maryland jurisdictions, a sharp reversal for a county that had otherwise withstood some of the worst of the housing bust. The median home price fell 11 percent, to $440,000 from $495,000, and sales volume plummeted to 7,195 from 8,598.

- The housing market in Prince George's County continued to erode. The median home price fell 7 percent in the county, to $314,910 from $340,000, while sales volume fell to 3,831 from 7,993 in 2007.

- In Charles County, the median price fell 5 percent, to $309,990 from $325,000. There were 1,170 sales, down from 1,918.

- In St. Mary's County, the median price fell 7 percent, to $285,000 from $305,000. Sales fell to 899 from 1,080. ...

For Full Article and for link to County-By-County breakdowns, see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032604075.html

 Hill Slowinski

WC&AN Miller Realtors, A Long&Foster Company

4701 Sangamore Road,  Bethesda, Maryland  20816

Cell: 301-452-1409  Direct: 301-320-8430  Ofc: 301-229-4000

Email: hslowinski@longandfoster.com or Hill@HillSlowinski.com

Web Site: www.HillSlowinski.com

In a new report on the 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers by the National Association of REALTORS®, released March 24, key findings were that:

• Overall, 21 percent of sellers indicated that what they wanted most from their agent was help pricing their home competitively.
• Other important considerations were
  • help selling the home within a specific timeframe (20 percent),
  • help finding a buyer (20 percent), and
  • help marketing to potential buyers (20 percent).
• When the responses are examined by the level of service a seller wanted, a few interesting differences were observed.
  • Twenty-eight percent of sellers who requested a limited set of services wanted help pricing their home competitively.
  • By comparison sellers who relied on an agent primarily to list their home with a multiple listing service were most likely to want help selling their home within a specified timeframe.

Copyright National Association of REALTORS®, Reprinted with permission.

-- Hill Slowinski

WC & AN Miller Realtors, A Long & Foster Company

4701 Sangamore Road,  Bethesda, Maryland  20816

Cell: 301-452-1409  Direct: 301-320-8430  Ofc: 301-229-4000

Email: hslowinski@longandfoster.com or Hill@HillSlowinski.com

Increased Activity for Buyers and Sellers 

The local Washington, DC area housing market will shape up, the economic stimulus package will have a positive effect, and the Spring market will be much better than the Fall/Winter market just ending.  All those buyers who have been waiting patiently on the sidelines are poised to take action, and they will act. 

 Traffic on the Long & Foster websites in 2009 has increased substantially (e.g. on www.longandfoster.com alone, we went from 659,000 unique visitors in December to over 865,000 and 816,000 in January and February -- a 30% increase!).  So, buyers are looking, and sellers are competing to make their properties the best value.   

We have now seen loan limits move back upward.  FHA loans are back to last year's limit of $729,500 for most of our immediate area.  This means that a person with good credit scores could buy a home for up to $755,000 with as little as 3.5% down.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will also be raising their conforming limits to $729,750 shortly.

There is also a first-time homebuyer's credit of $8,000 until November 30 (a true credit this time).  There are very favorable, historically low interest rates (~5%) for conforming loans available.  (See chart below.)  Jumbo loans are just beginning to fall to 6.25 %.  Arms are more attractive to buyers now, too.

My Advice to Clients:  Be realistic and act reasonably.  Homes are taking longer to sell, and transactions are taking longer to complete.  Both parties are looking for value.  From 2000-2008, DC area homes have appreciated about 90% - better than most of the nation. (See graph below.)

Sellers should price for a value better than a competing home for sale, and Buyers should offer a price lenders are willing to finance.  Appreciation will take longer to regain traction.  Compare the 1989-1997 slow appreciation period in the DC market.  While we may see price exceptions, it is unproductive to follow an exception rather than a substantiated trend.

WC & AN Miller Realtors, A Long & Foster Company

4701 Sangamore Road,  Bethesda, Maryland  20816

Cell: 301-452-1409  Direct: 301-320-8430  Ofc: 301-229-4000