November 2009 Regional Home Sales

Northern Virginia: November 2009
The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® reports on November 2009 home sales activity for Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.

A total of 1,567 homes sold in November 2009, a 42.45 percent increase above November 2008 home sales of 1,100.
 
Active listings decreased by 27.51 percent from last year, with 6,067 active listings in November, compared with 8,369 homes available in November 2008. The average days on market (DOM) for homes in November 2009 decreased by 45.05 percent to 50 days, compared with 91 days in November 2008.
 
Sales prices rose slightly compared with those realized last year. The average sales price in November increased by about one percent from November 2008, to $428,581, compared with last November’s average of $423,088.
 
The median price of homes sold in Northern Virginia rose in November to $374,000, which is an increase of 11.64 percent compared with November 2008’s median price of $335,000.

The number of pending home sales in Northern Virginia in November shows an increase of 5.21 percent at 1,534 compared to 1,458 in November 2008.

Greater Northern Virginia: November 2009
Sales activity in Greater Northern Virginia (NVAR jurisdictions plus Prince William, Loudoun and the Greater Piedmont counties) for November 2009 shows an increase from November 2008.
 
The number of Greater Northern Virginia region homes sold in November was 2,757 a 15.94 percent increase from November 2008’s total of 2,378 sales. Pending home sales showed a decrease from November 2008’s 3,016 to 2,817 in November 2009, a 6.6 percent reduction.
 
The average sales price of $367,717 in November 2009 increased by 11.87 percent over November 2008’s average sales price of $328,691.
 
Across Greater Northern Virginia, the number of listings showed a decrease from 2008 numbers, with 12,330 listings active, which is 28.53 percent less than this time last year, when 17,252 homes were available. The average DOM for a home sold in November 2009 was 52 compared with last year’s 98 DOM, a decrease of 46.79 percent.

Fed Upgrades Assessment of Economy

“The Fed's assessment of the economic landscape was more upbeat than a month ago…” according to the Wall Street Journal.

. . . “Recent data hint that the recovery is taking hold. The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 10% in November, an unexpected drop that bolstered hopes the labor market has turned the corner. Robust retail sales and rising consumer confidence, meanwhile, have raised expectations for strong economic growth in the fourth quarter.
At the same time, inflation has been tame, giving policymakers room to wait before beginning to push up interest rates. Core consumer prices were unchanged last month.” …

For the full story, read here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126098948664194127.html

Checking the Health of the Housing Recovery
Waiting for the pain in residential real estate to end?

Business Week reported that there are more signs of recovery for the U.S. housing market. Existing home sales jumped 10.1% in October. Data for that month shows that homes were bought and sold at the rate of 6.1 million per year—much better than the 4.5 million rate in the beginning of 2009.

 “Home prices remain depressed but may have hit bottom. . . .When the weather gets warmer in spring, home buyers come out of hibernation and housing prices often move higher. The spring of 2010 may be the market's best hope for a significant upswing in home values—the first in more than three years, says Michael Englund, chief economist at Action Economics.”

For the full story, go to: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/nov2009/pi20091123_519927.htm