The Latest Loudoun County Housing Inventory Statistics

The number of homes for sale in Loudoun County (and the entire DC metro area) is definitely either down or trending down. Let’s look at the following charts showing inventory levels of single family homes and town homes in the Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg and South Riding/Chantilly areas:

(Note: These are new interactive flash charts - feel free to play around with them, move the slider around, etc., and let me know what you think)

Sterling

Ashburn

Leesburg

South Riding/Chantilly

South Riding, 20152 Housing Market Update

Here’s a look at what’s going on with the South Riding/20152 zip code housing market…

South Riding/20152 Zip Code Median Price

The median price for single family and town homes in South Riding/20152 zip code is showing a slight uptick after having dropped over 70 percent over the last 2.5 years. We’ll need to see some more evidence of median prices going sideways or up to call it a trend.

Condo are in the same boat as single family and town homes. After having dropped over 60 percent over the last 2.5 years, they showing slight signs of stabilizing. We’ll have to wait and see what median prices do this summer and fall before coming to a more firm conclusion.

South Riding/20152 Inventory

Inventory of single family and town homes spiked like crazy in the 2nd quarter of 2007 and South Riding/20152 zip code has been working it off ever since. Inventory of single family and town homes is down over 40 percent from July 2007 and down almost 20 percent from this time last year.

Condo inventory spiked way up, then went pretty much sideways for a year and is now down almost 40 percent from this time last year. It’s gone up slightly over the past two months, but appears to be going sideways at the moment.

South Riding/20152 Housing Market Overview

The South Riding and 20152 zip code housing market is a bit more volatile than other markets in Loudoun County because it’ has less total properties within its’ boundaries with everything from condos to large McMansions. The lower price points are selling faster and at a higher rate.

Much like the rest of Loudoun County and Northern Virginia in general, if the property is priced well, it will sell in less than 30 days. If it’s not priced correctly, it’ll just sit on the market collecting dust.

Inventory Down, Buyer Demand Strong In South Riding, 20152

The real estate market conditions in South Riding and the 20152 zip code in Loudoun County are definitely showing signs of improvement. In fact, the statistics show some of the most improvement so far this year out of all the zip codes in Eastern Loudoun County.

Here are the statistics for South Riding and the 20152 zip code:

• The number of new listings that came on the market in 2008 (1/1-6/9) was 325 versus 430 during the same period 2007. That’s a decrease of 24 percent.
• The number of homes that sold in 2008 (1/1-6/9) was the same (235) as during the same period in 2007.

As you can see, buyer demand has remained consistent while inventory has dropped significantly. This is a great sign for the South Riding and 20152 zip code real estate market.

Related Posts

20148 Beats 20147 In Ashburn Real Estate Market Conditions Bout

Leesburg Real Estate Market Match-Up: 20175 vs 20176

Loudoun County Real Estate Inventory Down, Buyer Demand Up

Loudoun County Buyer Demand Up 19 Percent In May

The Median Home in Loudoun County

The median list price of a home that went under contract in July of 2007 was $435,000.  Here are the pictures of those six homes and some statistics of those homes. 

4 Bedroom/2.5 Bath/1 Car Garage on .12 acres in South Riding

Approximately 2100 square feet on upper two levels, unfinished basement, built in 2002

4 Bedroom /3.5 Bath/2 Car Garage end unit in Ashburn

Approximately 2700 square feet on 3 finished levels, built in 2003

3 Bedroom/2 Full, 2 Half Baths/2 Car End Unit in Sterling

Approximately 2550 square feet on 3 finished levels, built in 1997

3 Bedroom/2 Full, 2 Half Baths/2 Car Interior Unit in Leesburg

Approximately 2900 square feet on 3 finished levels, built in 2004

3 Bedroom/3.5 Bath/2 Car Interior Unit in Sterling

Approximately 2550 square feet on 3 levels, built in 1997

3 Bedroom/2.5 Bath/2 Car Garage End Unit in South Riding

Approximately 2100 square feet on 3 levels, built in 2000

Photos courtesy of MRIS

Resources (other than real estate) For Loudoun County, Virginia

For those of you living in Loudoun County and selling or buying within, you probably already know what Loudoun County has to offer. But if you’re relocating to the area, you may not. And being that the numbers, stats and data this blog routinely covers are not the only deciding factor when it comes to moving to Loudoun County, here is a list of additional resources to help you with your decision or give you new ideas on things to do or places to check out on the weekends.

• Official visitor web site for Loudoun County, Virginia - covers everything from shopping and dining to wine festivals and fairs, even a wedding guide. The guides are available in hard copy or pdf files.
• Loudoun County, Virginia - Wikipedia - includes a history and background of Loudoun County and is loaded with links to other resources.
• Loudoun County Public Schools - Kindergarten through 12th. Includes school boundaries, stats, etc.
• Dulles South Online - online portal for news, information and listings for Loudoun County Dulles Region (Dulles South) businesses, organizations and residents, focusing mainly on economic, public policy and community development topics and issues.
• Loudoun County Government Site - Covers everything from transportation and taxes to utilites and art/cultural events.
• Loudoun County Communities/Home Owners Associations - links to all the communities/HOAs in Loudoun (on the Loudoun County government site).
• W&OD Trail - a trail going from Arlington, VA to Purcellville, VA used for biking, walking, roller blading, etc. The setting for numerous charity events during the spring, summer and fall.
• Loudoun County Public Library - available to all residents of Loudoun County. Used by local businesses and residents for various seminars throughout the year.
• For a map of Loudoun County and surrounding areas, check out MSN Live’s mapping feature. Just input a particular city within Loudoun County (i.e. Ashburn, Virginia) at the top of the page and zoom in or out from there. Definitely check out the Bird’s Eye View feature (located immediately to the right of the zoom feature on the left side of the map) to get a clear view down to even the car in driveway of a house.

Hope that this is of use to those of you contemplating moving to the area or those who are already here, but haven’t had the time to really check out what’s going on in the county. And if there is something that you are looking for, but can’t find through the sources listed above, please let us know and we’ll find it for you.

Loudoun County Real Estate - The Word On The Street

You read the data, you see the graphs and you hear and watch the media comment on the local real estate market in Loudoun County. But what are the active sellers, buyers and real estate professionals saying?

The comments being made by Buyers:

1. "There’s not much to choose from!"
2. "Why are the last three we saw so overpriced?"
3. "I want move-in-condition, but there aren’t many that are."
4. "This property sold in 4 days, but so many have been on the market for 4, 6 or even 12 months."
5. "We can totally beat up every seller out there because _____________ (add in a comment based on an incorrect comment by the media or someone not in real estate)."

Translation/explanation:

1. The inventory is at the lowest point since the peak in the summer of 2005 so there’s not much to choose from.
2. Over 75 percent of the properties currently on the market are overpriced.
3. Sellers may still think that just putting their home on the market will be enough, which is incorrect. Buyers are more knowledgeable and pickier than ever.
4. The properties that are of the best value are the first to sell. With so many homes overpriced and showing poorly, buyers are acting quickly when they come across a "diamond in the rough".
5. The media is typically 6 to 9 or months behind the curve.  What was true last summer or fall is no longer the case. Yes, you can still get great deals and negotiate, but the market is more balanced than it has been in two years.

The comments being made by Sellers:

1. "My home is worth more than my neighbor’s one because ____________ (add in an emotional based comment)."
2. "I can’t get a straight answer from my listing agent on what I should do to sell my house."
3. "The comps from summer and fall of 2006 and the tax assessment clearly show that my home is worth ________ (add in a price higher than today’s market value)."
4. "How come I’m not getting any buyers through?"
5. "How come I’m getting traffic, but no offers?"
6. "I’m glad that I priced the home where I did so that is sold in 30 days!"

Translation/explanation:

1. Sellers are trying to make logical and factual decisions based on emotion. Yes, it’s emotional to sell your "home". But in the end, it’s still a product.
2. Some listing agents are either uninformed, scared to say the truth for fear of insulting the sellers or losing the listing or like to keep the sign in the ground in order to generate more buyer leads. The listing agent’s relationship with their sellers should be based on honesty. It’s better for everyone if the agent were to tell their client what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
3. Comps older than 3 months are worthless in a changing market. And 2006 tax assessments are not indicative of today’s market values because they are from the beginning of 2006 when property values were 10 to 15 percent higher than today.
4. The most common reason that there haven’t been any buyers through a home is that the property is overpriced. Being off even $15,000 in price may lead to not a have even one buyer through. Other reasons may be that the listing doesn’t have any pictures on the MLS or other sites and/or the information is incorrect and is therefore being overlooked by buyers.
5. Your asking price is close to the market value, but not quite where it should be. Good news is that you’re almost there, but you’d better act quickly before your neighbor comes on and undercuts you and your market value becomes even less.
6. The home was priced correctly and therefore sold! With the first 60 days on the market being the most critical, pricing your home correctly is key. Once 60 days go by, buyers will begin to view your home negatively ("Something must be wrong with the property otherwise it would have sold already").

The comments being made by Agents/Brokers:

1. "There are only 5 properties that fit my buyer’s needs that are of great value in all of Ashburn."
2. "An undervalued property that shows well that fits my buyer’s needs?! Quick, let me call my client immediately because it won’t last long!"
3. "I need to just tell the sellers that I can get the price they’re looking for because I need the listing and the sign in the ground for the advertising and seller and buyer leads."
4. "I can’t sell your home for that much because the market value is __________ (add is a lower amount). So you don’t want to use me as your listing agent because of that? Ok. Good luck!"
5. "I can’t get my clients to adjust the price to market value even after the same model in better condition down the street just sold for $20K less!"

Translation/explanation:

1. Great deals are few and far between. Finding the best valued properties is not an easy task these days.
2. With buyers all looking for the best deal, chances are that you’re not the only agent or buyer that ran across this great deal. Buyers and sellers are even seeing multiple offers (I personally know of 4 instances in the last 2 months that had between 2 and 8 competing offers). The early bird catches the worm!
3. I call this "Buying A Listing". The agent/broker is lying to the seller, putting their own interests before those of their client and is hurting all consumers as well as fellow agents/brokers. It does absolutely no one any good especially the seller. I personally think that this practice should be punishable by a heavy fine to the agent and their supervising broker, suspension of the agent’s license and possible license revokation.
4. This is what an agent/broker should say rather than "Buying A Listing". No matter how good of a salesperson you are, you can’t sell something worth $500K for $600K. Consumers are armed with more tools and information than ever before. It’s easy for consumers to see that a property is overpriced even from just searching Realtor.com, Homesdatabase.com or any MLS Listing Search/IDX feed.
5. If, from the start, you had devised and agreed on a clear game plan that also addresses the issue of your neighbor undercutting your price, you would have no problem taking the proper course of action. If you didn’t do this, get all your comps and data together and clearly explain the market conditions and how they will effect your clients - you owe it to them and yourself. If they still don’t get it, you may have not been clear and/or had enough data. If you did everything you could and they still don’t get it, you may want to cut your losses and move on. Yes, I mean fire your client. It may sound ludicrous especially with the market being extremely slow for most agents, but don’t ever forget the 80/20 rule.

To sum it up:

Buyers  -  Don’t get discouraged. Though they’re few and far between, there are great deals out there. Just make sure that you and/or your agent is finding these deals for you and act swiftly once you find them.

Sellers  -  Price your home correctly and choose an experienced and honest (if not painfully blunt) local agent/broker to sell your property. If you don’t, you will just sit on the market and watch your market value diminish while your competition sells. 

Agents/Brokers  -  Do your homework, know what the hyper-local market conditions are, be honest and upfront from the start regardless of your fear of rejection and refuse to take a listing that you know will not sell at the pie-in-the-sky price the seller wants.