Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.
MRIS March sales data is out. I'll post the spreadsheet later today. Year-over-year sales were down 14%, median prices were mostly flat -- up .2%, and days on the market increased 33%.
An observation from The Atlantic's Megan McArdle, who recently bought a house in the D.C. neighborhood of Eckington:
"The housing market still isn't clearing. In my neighborhood, almost nothing is coming on the market even though we're well into spring, and half of what does appear is either utterly decrepit, or wildly overpriced, or both....I suspect that the first-time homebuyer tax credit, rather than helping matters, has simply made them worse."
11 comments:
I'd suspect the first-time buyer credit for the difference in sales volume. The interesting info is price. There was a line of thought that prices would drop appreciably (no pun) after this ran out.
VA-
I thought most of the tax credit sales closed in April through June. As for prices, they obviously did not drop from pre tax credit prices, but they did lose all of the gains from the credit if we are actually at March 2010 prices. If you look at the CS numbers prices went up ~7% from April 2010 through July 2010. CS shows prices have fallen ~2% since July 2010, but if prices actually went to March 2010 prices that would be a decent size move. My guess is that CS will only go down a little in the next couple of months, so CS will just disagree with the price movements from MRIS.
hb,
My understanding is that the FTHB credit was in full force for most of 2010. People under contract by 4/30 and closing by sept? I can't remember the specifics but I believe it was to expire earlier (June 1?) which would have driven sales in March 2010. Just a guess about volume.
"HB said...As for prices, they obviously did not drop from pre tax credit prices, but they did lose all of the gains from the credit if we are actually at March 2010 prices."
HB, it looks like it could be a little of both. Harriet's +0.2 number was for the NVAR region as a whole. However, when you break NVAR out into individual counties you see continued YOY gains in Arl, Alex, & FFX, but YOY losses in LOU, PWC & Faquier.
Thus, it does look like the loss of the credit did largely what we expected. Specifically, it negatively impacted some of the farther out, low cost areas, but didnt do much in the higher priced, close in ones.
http://franklymls.com/DC7431236
Asked $410K, Assessed 353K,
Current Price 269K, goes UC after
216 Days....
Cute place, not the best area.
but appears down some 40%.
Harriet
Stagnating Prices, Increasing Days on Market, Declining Volumes, you think that may be a double dip?
Pat,
I think for now the D.C. area is seeing weakness over last year because of the effects of the stimulus last year.
We'll know more after the spring selling season is over -- but I'm not seeing buyers rush to buy property. Buyers seem to wait for relative bargains to pounce.
There are some examples in this exurban neighborhood. There are three of the same model under contract, and seemingly vast price differences. There are two actives with wishing prices. I would be anxious as a buyer, if I thought I could have the same house for $50-$100K less.
As far as the double dip goes - I see mostly stagnation for now.
Had to remove my previous comment since I looked at my stored favorites on franklymls rather than harriet's linked homes. No wonder her search matched the area I shopped and eventually bought. D'oh.
Thanks for clearing that up Jeremy. I was wondering what FFX properties you were looking at that were close to Warrenton -- I havent been out that way in a while, but I didnt think my geography was that off!
Yeah, my list of stored properties was much larger than the results Harriet linked, so I didn't notice them. I guess a lot of the properties I tracked before still haven't sold.
Post a Comment