Northern Virginia Home Sales And Home Prices Are Up (edit/delete)

Home sales across Northern Virginia in May were up nearly 11 percent from a year before, while the average and median sales prices also rose and the inventory of properties on the market continued to decline.

 

A total of 2,714 properties in the region changed hands last month, up 10.9 percent from the 2,448 transactions reported in April 2011, according to figures reported May 10 by RealEstate Business Intelligence, an arm of the local multiple-listing service.

 

Figures represent the broader Northern Virginia market, including Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Fauquier counties and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas and Manassas Park.

 

The data suggest that the local real estate market received a boost from a mild winter, which got prospective home purchasers out earlier than usual in their quest to beat the crowd.

 

The increase in sales was accompanied by a modest spike in average prices, which rose from $417,654 a year ago to $437,293 this April, an increase of 4.7 percent.

 

The increase was evident in all three segments of the market:

 

* The average price of single-family homes sold last month was $534,904, up 2.6 percent.

 

* The average price of attached homes, such as townhouses and rowhouses, was up 5.7 percent to $328,744.

 

* The average price of condominiums was up 10.1 percent to $282,162.

 

The median price of all properties that sold across Northern Virginia during the month was $384,250, up 6.7 percent from the $360,000 recorded a year before. The median is the point at which half of homes sell for more, half for less, and is seen by some a more accurate gauge of the state of the market.

 

Of homes that sold in April, the average time between listing and ratified sales contract was a very brisk 54 days, down from an average of 63 days for homes that sold a year before.

 

Homes that sold last month garnered an average 97.2 percent of original listing price, up from 96.3 percent for homes that sold a year before.

 

Conventional mortgages were the means of financing transactions in 1,377 cases, followed by FHA-backed loans (567), cash (379) and VA-backed loans (341).

 

At the end of the month, there were 6,826 properties for sale across the region, down 18.9 percent from the 8,412 of a year before.

 

Total sales volume for April was $1.19 million, an increase of 16.1 percent from the $1.02 million reported a year before.

 

Figures represent most, but not all, sales during the period. All figures are preliminary, and are subject to revision.

 

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