Homes in the region taking longer to sell

The warm spring and summer months — a time when home sales typically pick up — have provided no relief for the region’s cooling housing market.

According to data released last week by the area’s leading real estate information service, homes in the Washington area sat on the market for significantly longer this June than they did last year — a trend that started in earnest this spring.

As recently as December, the number of days a home in the District was on the market — an average of 36 — mirrored the previous year. But homes across the region are now seeing double- and triple-digit increases in the time it takes to sell. For example, it took an average of 49 days to sell a home in Northern Virginia this June — a 227 percent increase over last June’s 15-day average.

The last time homes sat on the market for such an extended period of time was in 1999 before frenzied buyers took over the Washington region. In June 1999, homes in Northern Virginia were on the market an average of 57 days. In 1998, they were on the market for 87 days. In 2000, that number dropped to 22 days.

Houses are sitting on the market longer because, although the market has slowed, prices haven’t followed suit, said Robert Israel, vice president of Gerlach Real Estate Inc., a local firm that lists properties throughout the region. The median price of a home sold in Northern Virginia in June was $500,000, the same as it was in June 2005.

“Part of it is prices haven’t moved dramatically in any direction,” he said. “We’re getting back to where the price is much more important than it was a year or two ago. Before you could put it on the market [at an overvalued price] and people would pay it. Now, when you overprice there are other good properties out there and you may get stuck.”

But while the numbers may give some sellers pause, the averages can be misleading. The majority of homes are still selling in fewer than 30 days. For example, in Montgomery County about 53 percent of the homes listed in June sold in under a month.

And with houses still selling, prices aren’t expected to drop dramatically. But sellers do need to be more realistic about what they can get for their home, said Bob Siegel, a Realtor with Gerlach.

“If a client thinks his house is worth 10 percent more than his neighbor who sold his house last week, then he’s going to be disappointed,” he said. The sellers who have trouble moving their homes “are those people that are being a little bit greedy and think they can get more money than it’s worth.”

Washington

» Average days on the market (2005): 25

» Average days on the market (2006): 49

» Percent increase: 96 percent

Alexandria

» Average days on the market (2005): 13

» Average days on the market (2006): 54

» Percent increase: 315.4 percent

Prince William County

» Average days on the market (2005): 17

» Average days on the market (2006): 61

» Percent increase: 258.8 percent

Fairfax County

» Average days on the market (2005): 16

» Average days on the market (2006): 50

» Percent increase: 212.5 percent

Arlington

» Average days on the market (2005): 14

» Average days on the market (2006): 43

» Percent increase: 207.1 percent

Montgomery County

» Average days on the market (2005): 20

» Average days on the market (2006): 44

» Percent increase: 120 percent

Prince George’s County

» Average days on the market (2005): 22

» Average days on the market (2006): 35

» Percent increase: 59.1 percent

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.

[email protected]

Related Content