Northern Virginia's May Housing Sales

Northern Virginia's May 2012 housing sales were up 22% YoY, and median prices were up 6.6% to $399,000. The average days on the market decreased 23% to 43 days.

(The above statistics include Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Prince William County).

S&P/Case-Shiller® March Home-Price Index

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of March was released today.

"'While there has been improvement in some regions, housing prices have not turned,' says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. 'This month’s report saw all three composites and five cities hit new lows. However, with last month’s report nine cities hit new lows. Further, about half as many cities, seven, experienced falling prices this month compared to 16 last time.'

'...The regions showed mixed results for March. Twelve of the cities saw average home prices rise in March over February, seven saw prices fall and one – Las Vegas – was flat. The Composites were largely unchanged with the 10-City down only 0.1% and the 20-City unchanged. After close to six consecutive months of price declines across most cities, this is relatively good news. We just need to see it happen in more of the cities and for many months in a row. Since we are entering a seasonal buying period, it becomes very important to look at both monthly and annual rates of change in home prices in order to understand the broader trend going forward.'"

Northern Virginia Housing Inventory Update

Here's a housing inventory update -- the statistics are from Virginia MLS. It begins in March 2005 and ends on May 16, 2012. Available May inventory down from last year. These inventory numbers do not account for the sales rate, so they are quite rough, but they do have a connection to price movements in our area.

Here's the link to the whole spreadsheet.

Northern Virginia's April Housing Sales

Northern Virginia's April 2012 housing sales were up 11% YoY, and median prices were up 6.7% to $384,250. The average days on the market decreased 14% to 54 days.

(The above statistics include Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Prince William County).

S&P/Case-Shiller® February Home-Price Index

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of February was released on April 24th.

"'While there might be pieces of good news in this report, such as some improvement in many annual rates of return, February 2012 data confirm that, broadly-speaking, home prices continued to decline in the early months of the year,' says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. 'Nine MSAs -- Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Seattle and Tampa -- and both Composites hit new post-crisis lows. Atlanta continued its downward spiral, posting its lowest annual rate of decline in the 20-year history of the index at -17.3%. The 10-City Composite declined 3.6% and the 20-City was down 3.5% compared to February 2011.'"

Northern Virginia's March Housing Sales

Northern Virginia's March 2012 housing sales were down .9% YoY, and median prices were up 10.4% to $365,000. The average days on the market was flat at 69 days.

(The above statistics include Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Prince William County).

S&P/Case-Shiller® January Home-Price Index

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of January was released today.

"'"Despite some positive economic signs, home prices continued to drop. The 10- and 20- City Composites and eight cities – Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Seattle and Tampa – made new lows,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. 'Detroit and Phoenix, two cities that have suffered massive price declines, plus Denver, saw increasing prices versus January 2011. The 10-City Composite was down 3.9% and the 20-City was down 3.8% compared to January 2011.'

'...Atlanta continues to stand out in terms of recent relative weakness. It was down 2.1% over the month, and has fallen by a cumulative 19.7% over the last six months. It also posted the worst annual return, down 14.8%. Seven of the cities were down by 1.0% or more over the month. With the new lows, both Composites are now 34.4% off their relative 2006 peaks.'"

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 3/20/2012

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Northern Virginia's February Housing Sales

Northern Virginia's February 2012 housing sales were up 3% YoY, and median prices were up 2.6% to $384,500. The average days on the market decreased 2.6% to 75 days.

(The above statistics include Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Prince William County).

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 3/1/2012

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Happy March!

Northern Virginia Inventory Update

Here's an inventory update -- the statistics are from Virginia MLS. It begins in March 2005 and ends on February 1, 2012. Available February inventory is the lowest in six years.

Here's the link to the whole spreadsheet.

"Housing Affordability" Update

Here's an updated affordability chart for the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) has data going back to 1991.

HOI is a measure of the percentage of homes sold in a given area that are affordable to families earning that area's median income.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 2/15/2012

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Northern Virginia's January Housing Sales

Northern Virginia's January 2012 housing sales were up .6% YoY, and median prices were up 9.4% to $344,750. The average days on the market increased 4% to 77 days.

(The above statistics include Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Prince William County).

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 2/1/2012

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S&P/Case-Shiller® November Home-Price Index

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of November was released today.

The Reuters headline is that prices dropped unexpectedly.

"'Despite continued low interest rates and better real GDP growth in the fourth quarter, home prices continue to fall. Weakness was seen as 19 of 20 cities saw average home prices decline in November over October,' says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. 'The only positive for the month was Phoenix, one of the hardest hit in recent years. Annual rates were little better as 18 cities and both Composites were negative. Nationally, home prices are lower than a year ago. The 10-City Composite was down 3.6% and the 20-City was down 3.7% compared to November 2010. The trend is down and there are few, if any, signs in the numbers that a turning point is close at hand.'"

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/25/2012

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/20/2012

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/16/2012

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/10/2012

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Northern Virginia Inventory Update

Here's an inventory update -- the statistics are from Virginia MLS. It begins in March 2005 and ends on November 1, 2011. Available inventory on January 3 was 5,333 available properties, a decrease of 300 properties from two days ago.

Here's the link to the whole spreadsheet.

S&P/Case-Shiller® October Home-Price Index

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of October was released on December 27th.

"'There was weakness in the monthly statistics, as 19 of the cities posted price declines in October over September,' says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. 'Eleven of the cities and both composites fell by 1.0% or more during the month. And even though some of the annual rates are improving, 18 cities and both Composites are still negative. Nationally, home prices are still below where they were a year ago. The 10-City Composite is down 3.0% and the 20-City is down 3.4% compared to October 2010.'

'In the October data, the only good news is some improvement in the annual rates of change in home prices, with 14 of 20 cities and both Composites seeing their annual rates of change improve. The crisis low for the 10-City Composite was back in April 2009; whereas it was a more recent March 2011 for the 20-City Composite. The 10-City Composite is about 2.4% above its relative low, and the 20-City Composite is about 1.9%.'"

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 12/16/2011

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"The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged six former top executives of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) with securities fraud, alleging they knew and approved of misleading statements claiming the companies had minimal holdings of higher-risk mortgage loans, including subprime loans."

Northern Virginia's November Housing Sales

Northern Virginia's November 2011 housing sales were down 16% YoY, and median prices were up 2.1% to $357,500. The average days on the market increased by 10% to 65 days.

(The above statistics include Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Prince William County).

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 12/10/2011

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 12/6/2011

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S&P/Case-Shiller® September Home-Price Index

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of September was released yesterday.

"'Home prices drifted lower in September and the third quarter,' says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. 'The National Index was down 3.9% versus the third quarter of 2010 and up only 0.1% from the previous quarter. Three cities posted new index lows in September 2011 -- Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Seventeen of the 20 cities and both Composites were down for the month. Over the last year home prices in most cities drifted lower. The plunging collapse of prices seen in 2007-2009 seems to be behind us. Any chance for a sustained recovery will probably need a stronger economy.'

'Detroit and Washington DC posted positive annual rates of change and also saw an improvement in these rates compared to August. Only New York, Portland and Washington DC posted positive monthly returns versus August. It is a bit disturbing that we saw three cities post new crisis lows. For the prior three or four months, only Las Vegas was weakening each month. Now Atlanta and Phoenix have fallen to new lows too. On a monthly basis, Atlanta actually posted a record low rate of -5.9% in September over August. The markets are fairly thin, and the relative lack of closed transactions might be exacerbating the downside. The relative good news is that 14 cities saw improvements in their annual rates of change, versus the six that weakened.'"

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 11/28/2011

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 11/23/2011

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I saw this listing today. I assume this is for people who feel insecure without a garage under them at any point.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 11/22/2011

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China Property Dip Sparks Bank Fears.

Northern Virginia Inventory Update

Here's an inventory update -- the statistics are from Virginia MLS. It's a little quirky -- I read it from right to left. It begins in March 2005 and ends on November 1, 2011. Available inventory on November 21st was 7,069, a significant decrease from the beginning of the month.

Here's the link to the whole spreadsheet.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 11/15/2011

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Northern Virginia's October Housing Sales

Northern Virginia's October 2011 housing sales were down 13.4% YoY, and median prices were up 2.6% to $347,750. The average days on the market increased by 18% to 66 days.

(The above statistics include Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and Prince William County).

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 11/4/2011

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 11/1/2011

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 10/31/2011

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 10/28/2011

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I appreciated Peter Schiff standing up to the "there is no crisis" punditry who were literally laughing out loud at him in 2004 and 2005 on news shows.

Another "bubble" up for discussion is the college loan bubble, which Peter Schiff talks about with his own opinions, starting at 3:04.



Here's a link to the opening of a TIME Magazine article entitled "I Owe U," which pictures a young man with $67,000 in student debt, but he has a B.A. in "Special Studies" to show for it. It's one thing to give up your house and move on, but student loan debts are like taxes - inescapable. Should we call those who loaned this student the money "irresponsible lenders?"

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 10/27/2011

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S&P/Case-Shiller® August Home-Price Index

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of August was released yesterday.

"'There was some weakness in the monthly statistics, as 10 of the cities post price declines in August over July,' says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. 'And even though the annual rates are largely improving, 18 MSAs and both Composites are still negative. Nationally, home prices are still below where they were a year ago. The 10-City Composite is down 3.5% and the 20-City is down 3.8% compared to August 2010.'

'In the August data, the good news is continued improvement in the annual rates of change in home prices. In spring and summer’s seasonally strong period for housing demand, we cautioned that monthly increases in prices had to be paired with improvement in annual rates before anyone could declare that the market might be stabilizing. With 16 of 20 cities and both Composites seeing their annual rates of change improve in August, we see a modest glimmer of hope with these data. As of August 2011, the crisis low for the 10-City Composite was back in April 2009; whereas it was a more recent March 2011 for the 20-City Composite. Both are about 3.9% above their relative lows.'

'...As seen in our past few monthly reports, there were large revisions across some of the MSAs. In particular, Washington DC was the most affected in August. Additional sale pairs data for May - July 2011 in the Washington DC MSA were received this month and resulted in the revisions.'"

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 10/25/2011

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