Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/31/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

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

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of November was released on January 25th.

"With these numbers more analysts will be calling for a double-dip in home prices. Let’s take a moment to define a double-dip as seeing the 10- and 20-City Composites set new post-peak lows. The series are now only 4.8% and 3.3% above their April 2009 lows, suggesting that a double-dip could be confirmed before Spring. Certainly nine cities setting new lows, and with the only positive news concentrated in southern California and Washington DC, the data point to weakness in home prices," says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.

"With an annual growth rate of +3.5% in November, Washington DC was the strongest market, but still well below the +7.7% annual rate of growth seen in May 2010. The only city with a gain in November was San Diego, up a scant 0.1%. While San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco are still ahead from November 2009, their annual rates are shrinking in recent months."

"Looking at the monthly statistics, 19 of 20 MSAs and both Composites were down in November over October. Fourteen MSAs and both composites have posted at least four consecutive months of decline with November’s report. Thirteen of the MSAs and the 20-City Composite fell by 1.0% or more in November. While not always consecutive months, 13 of the MSAs and both composites have posted at least seven months of decline since the beginning of 2010. These markets saw home prices fall more than half the months reported in 2010 so far."

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/27/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/26/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/25/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/24/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Weekend Bits Bucket 1/22-1/23, 2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/20/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/19/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/18/2010

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Weekend Bits Bucket 1/15-1/17, 2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Busted?

"New minutes released today show Fed members were fully aware of the growing housing bubble in the U.S. in June of 2005."

You don't say.

May 21, 2005: "Greenspan Is Concerned About 'Froth' in Housing."

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/14/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

"The End of the Great Recession" ?

From Fredericksburg.com:

"The end of the Great Recession must be close at hand.

After about a five-year absence, a developer came before the Culpeper Planning Commission last night with plans in hand."

This is unusual:

"Some units would have detached 'accessory' units (apartments over garages), which owners of the main houses could rent."

More:

"If the proposed rezoning is approved, the new subdivision will have homes that vary in width from 24 feet to 60 feet and sell from $250,000 to about $450,000."

This area is out Route 211 to Luray - it's farm-friendly and while the road is adequate, it's rather sad to see it developed in this way. I hope it turns out to be a self-sustaining neighborhood and not just a commuter neighborhood. I'm not even sure why this will work -- there are other developments on hold much closer to Northern Virginia.

True story: six years ago, in 2005, I ran into a man who worked for a car rental place. He told me how excited he was to be so prosperous -- in just few more years, his house near this neighborhood would be worth a million dollars. They're selling for less than a third of that now, of course.

Northern Virginia December Housing Sales

Northern Virginia December housing sales were up 1% YoY, and median prices were up 4.5%. The average days on the market increased by 19% YoY to 63 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).

A few problems still persist at the new MRIS statistics site. MRIS recently updated its presentation of market statistics. There are some discrepancies in the data, e.g. their "Detailed Reports" and "Summary Reports" have slightly different numbers; also, median sales prices are missing for years 2006-2007 in Prince William County. My former chart used to combine PW County and Manassas, but MRIS no longer publishes both together, so I just include PW County.



Source: MRIS

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/12/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/11/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/10/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Weekend Bits Bucket 1/8-1/9, 2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/7/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/6/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/5/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/4/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

Northern Virginia Bits Bucket 1/3/2011

Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.

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

The S&P/Case Shiller® composite index for the month of October was released on December 28th.

"The double-dip is almost here, as six cities set new lows for the period since the 2006 peaks. There is no good news in October’s report. Home prices across the country continue to fall." says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's. "The trends we have seen over the past few months have not changed. The tax incentives are over and the national economy remained lackluster in October, the month covered by these data. Existing homes sales and housing starts have been reported for both October and November, and neither is giving any sense of optimism. On a year-over-year basis, sales are down more than 25% and the months’ supply of unsold homes is about 50% above where it was during the same months of last year. Housing starts are still hovering near 30-year lows. While delinquency rates might have seen some recent improvement, it is only on a relative basis. They are still well above their historic averages, in both the prime and sub-prime markets."

"Looking at the monthly statistics, all 20 MSAs and both Composites were down in October over September. While not always consecutive months, twelve of the MSAs and both composites have posted at least six months of decline since the beginning of 2010. In addition 15 MSAs and both composites have posted three consecutive months of decline with October’s report; a further sign that the few months of positive print earlier this spring were only a temporary boost. The seasonally adjusted data tell largely the same story."