Loudoun County Housing Market Statistics – April 2009

Here’s a look at Loudoun County housing market statistics for April 2009:

Total Sales/Buyer Demand 

• April 2009 sales were up 9 percent over March 2009
• April 2009 sales were up 8 percent over April 2008

Inventory/Supply

• April 2009 had 892 new listings come on the market versus 842 in March 2009, an increase of 6 percent (The increase in listings between March 2008 and April 2008 was 9 percent)
• April 2009 had 892 new listings come on the market versus 1254 in April 2008, a decrease of  29 percent

What does this mean?

The numbers show a decent increase in buyer demand and a huge decrease in inventory. This trend has been apparent since the end of 2008 and is leading to price stabilization througout Loudoun County.

This is good news for the Loudoun housing market especially for home owners and sellers. But it can be frustrating to Loudoun home buyers because they don’t have many homes to choose from. And once they do find homes that meet their needs, they’re seeing them sell before they have a chance to look at them or they’re in multiple/competing offer situations on home(s) they’re writing offers on.

Loudoun’s housing market conditions also lead to an interesting conversation with home buyers relocating to the area from places that are still getting hit hard by the market – they’re expecting the local market to be a “Buyer’s Market” like the one they’re moving from, but that’s not the case. And our local market goes against what much of the media is still saying, much of which is outdated, behind the curve and on a national, not a local level.

How does the Loudoun County housing market compare to the rest of Northern Virginia?

The rest of Northern Virginia is in a similar situation. We’re seeing the same trend in Fairfax County and now in Prince William County. Fairfax County wasn’t quite hit as hard as Loudoun County, but Prince William County definitely had us beat and is taking longer to recover. And, overall, Northern Virginia is leading the Washington, DC area in the housing recovery.

Related Articles

Are Loudoun Home Values Where The Should Be?

Loudoun Foreclosure, Bank-Owned, Short-Sale Market Statistics – April 2009

Loudoun Housing Inventory Way Down, Market Conditions

Loudoun County's housing inventory/supply is still going down. The number of active properties for sale as of 12:30pm today is 1252. This is less than half the number of homes for sale in 2007 and about a third less than the latter part of 2008. We haven't this few homes for sale in Loudoun County since the boom market in the first half of this decade.

What does this mean?

1. Buyers have less homes to choose from
2. Multiple offers are increasingly common (not just my observation and experience, but that of  other agents in Loudoun and NoVA I've spoken with)
3. Prices are holding steady
4. Less competition for sellers with their home on the market
5. Great time for sellers to sell their property if they're in the position to do so

The interesting thing is that the "spring market", which means more housing inventory on the market, typically starts in the middle of February or beginning of March. Here we are April 10 and the inventory is less than it was in January, February or March meaning that the "spring market" has yet to materialize (if it will at all).

Note: I do not include new construction listings in the MLS because they are extremely inaccurate. But, when looking at those, they plummeted as well so it just confirms that overall inventory in Loudoun is way down.