Home sales in the Washington area are expected to jump this spring as the number of pending sales in February has increased significantly compared with last year, with the District and Northern Virginia leading the way. Homes under contract in the region, which includes suburban Maryland, the District and Northern Virginia, are up by 33 percent to more than 4,000, compared with a little more than 3,000 a year ago, according to a new report by Mid-Atlantic real estate tracker Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.
MRIS spokesman John L. Heithaus said pending sales are the “premier indicator of market health and direction,” and the jump was a “really good sign” as the weather warms and more buyers are expected to enter the market for the spring selling season.
“This time last year we had a very heavy federal subsidy on homebuyers that forced a lot of activity out of the woodwork,” he said, referring to the homebuyers tax credit. “For a year later, to be so much greater than that, it’s a reason for cautious optimism.”
| Head start on spring | |||
| Pending sales are indicator of market ahead: | |||
| Region | Pending Home Sales | Diff. from Feb. 2010 | Median sale price |
| Washington region | 4,044 | +33% | $300,000 |
| Montgomery County | 643 | +40% | $300,000 |
| Prince George’s County | 953 | +61% | $160,000 |
| Loudoun County | 453 | +15% | $360,000 |
| Prince William County | 650 | +35% | $228,925 |
| Fairfax County | 1,231 | +28% | $358,704 |
| Arlington County | 202 | +10% | $441,500 |
| Alexandria | 171 | +16% | $388,500 |
| District of Columbia | 554 | +26% | $360,150 |
| Source: MRIS RealEstate Business Intelligence | |||
Fairfax County’s pending sales account for nearly one-third of the region’s contracts. The Northern Virginia region is showing the highest median prices, which are 3 to 4 percent higher than in February 2010, according to the data.
Prince George’s County is having the biggest bounceback in sales activity, with pending contracts up more than 60 percent from a year ago. But its home values are still among the lowest in the region with the median sales price at $160,000 in February.
Heithaus added the pricier homes have been moving again, another good sign for sellers. The District’s home sales have seen the biggest price increase for the year — up 9 percent compared with the first two months of 2010, according to MRIS.
“Properties over $1.5 million are moving pretty briskly now around here,” said Donna Evers, a real estate agent and head of Evers & Co. in Georgetown. “The banks are starting to [accept] these loans again.”
Evers said because the activity this year is not incentivized, she believes the market will remain strong. Last fall, home sales dipped as the homebuyers tax credit expired.
“We’re going to be looking at a better year than last year … and a better overall dollar volume of sales,” she said.
