Washington Post Housing Review 2009 – Special Report Published

Recession Hit the Region in a Big Way in ’08, Driving Down Sales and Prices:
[HS Blog Q. Does this foretell a more active Spring selling season?]

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

[excerpts]…

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