The Washington area’s stable real estate market, consistent price increases over 14 months and low inventory make real estate experts optimistic homesellers finally will jump back in 2012.
Good news about third-quarter economic growth gave consumer confidence a boost and pushed back worries about a double-dip recession. Experts say 2012 will be a great time for buyers with low interest rates, increasing prices and pent-up demand. That will create a more favorable environment for homeowners who wish to sell and move.
“We’ve regained a lot of the ground that we lost,” said Debbie Wicker of Re/Max Allegiance in Fairfax. “We lost 30 percent to 33 percent of our value during the height of the collapse but we’ve have gained back 20 percent. For sellers, it may be a trim, but it’s not going to be the scalping it would have been a few years ago.”
Wicker recently has seen homeowners who could not afford to part with their homes looking to sell next spring because of stable market conditions. Loudoun, Fairfax and Arlington counties are good markets, Wicker said.
Foreclosures are not putting the downward pressure on prices they had before. They are priced close to the market, especially in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria, said agent Pat Kline of Avery Hess Realtors.
“Our local real estate market has been quietly stronger than anyone is noticing,” said Heather Elias of Century 21 Redwood Realtors in Ashburn, Va. “I’ve been in multiple offer situations on $800,000 homes as well as $300,000 homes. In a stable market, it’s easier for the seller to be confident and there is more room to negotiate the price up.”
With only three to four months of inventory available, and buyers poring through listings, 2012 should be a good year to sell a house and get good value on the next one.
“For sellers, the low inventory levels will give them options for this spring,” Elias said. “Prices have been steady across the area, and affordability is better with the low interest rates. Move-up buyers should see quicker days-on-market turnaround for the sale, and good affordability on the purchase side.”
In the District and Maryland, the climate is similar.
“If economy can continue to show some signs of life, sellers whose houses are in excellent condition could have a good reception in the spring,” said Michael Shapiro of Long & Foster. “What I have seen is that listings on the low end [houses that need work and are being bought by investors and builders] and homes on the high end are moving,” he said. “Those in the middle in the $500,000 to $800,000 range that are relying on first-time buyers or move-up buyers are not having to reduce prices.”
Shapiro said listings in Montgomery Country are at five-year lows.
Wicker said the “fast market” of five years ago did not make sellers or buyers happy. “Sellers didn’t feel like they were getting enough for their homes and they paid too much when they moved up,” she said. “The market beat everybody up.”
Wicker likes what she sees in the current market for sellers and expects the current trend to continue.
“It’s a better market and next year will be similar to this one,” she said. “Sellers will have the time to understand how to price their house appropriately. Buyers will have the time to make a good decision.”
