Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/30/2010

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

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

"'Home prices crept forward in July. Ten of the 20 cities saw year-over-year gains and only one – Las Vegas – made a new bottom, as the impact of the first time home buyer program continued to fade away,' says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. 'The year-overyear growth rates for 16 of the cities and both Composites weakened in July compared to June. While we could still see some residual support from the homebuyers’ tax credit, which covers purchases closing through September 30th, anyone looking for home price to return to the lofty 2005-2006 might be disappointed. Judging from the recent behavior of the housing market, stable prices seem more likely'.

'In the monthly data, 12 of the 20 MSAs and the two Composites were up in July over June; but the monthly rates also seem to be weakening. The next few months may give us an idea of the true strength of the housing market, as the temporary economic stimuli will have ended. Housing starts, sales and inventory data reported for August do not show signs of a robust market, and foreclosures continue.'"

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/28/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/27/2010

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Current Available Inventory

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 September 20, 2010. I included September 20th to show the jump from the beginning of this month.

Here's the link to the whole spreadsheet.

Northern Virginia Weekend Bits Bucket 9/25-9/26, 2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/24/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/23/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/22/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/21/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/20/2010

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Northern Virginia Weekend Bits Bucket 9/18-9/19, 2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/17/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/16/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/15/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/14/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/13/2010

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Northern Virginia Weekend Bits Bucket 9/11-9/12, 2010

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Northern Virginia August Housing Sales

Here are Northern Virginia's August sales. Sales are down by an average of 16% YOY in all the major counties -- Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William. Arlington was the outlier with a slight sales increase of 1.4%. Inventory is up slightly over last year.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/10/2010

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August sales are out today - I'll be posting them.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/9/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/8/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/7/2010

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Reducing Mortgage Balances

Ya think it'll work?

"The Obama administration on Tuesday will launch its most ambitious effort at reducing mortgage balances for homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth. Officials say between 500,000 and 1.5 million so-called underwater loans could be modified through the program . . . Under the new "short refinance" program, banks and other creditors that write down mortgages to less than the value of the property can essentially hand off the reduced loan to the government."

P.S. I thought this video was a funny representation of the economy. Something about the short-lived enthusiasm of the "green shoots" made me think of the analogy.

Northern Virginia Weekend Bits Bucket 9/4-9/5, 2010

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The obligatory Sunday Post article on local market chasers. I think the stimulus-induced buying brought them back out of the woodwork. It's a slow news week.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/3/2010

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Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 9/1/2010

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