Home sales in the Washington suburbs climbed in September as prices dropped, according to recent data from the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems. Leading the way was Prince William County, where sales jumped from 248 in September 2007 to 1,116 last month. The average sales price dropped nearly 40 percent, from $361,369 to $219,675 last month.
Home sales and prices in D.C., however, remained stagnant compared with surrounding suburbs. The average sales price slipped 4.29 percent, from about $540,000 to $520,000, and there was one fewer house sale in September from a year earlier.
Though the data show prices dropping for single-family homes, condominiums and co-ops, not everyone is feeling the effects of the stagnant housing market.
Jo-Ann Chase, a real estate agent based in Ashburn, said she has not been feeling the effects of the declining economy either in Arlington, her target sales area, or Brambleton, an Ashburn community where she lives. “In my community, I haven’t seen any foreclosure signs,” she said. “We’re hanging in there, and the economy here is pretty good — nothing like other places in the rest of the country. I know that there have been areas that have been struggling, but right here, I haven’t seen [that].”
Chase — who has been in real estate for 20 years — said she hoped the volatility of the housing market would dissipate after the November elections. “As far as we’re concerned, as soon as we have the election, [the market will] start settling down,” she said.
Loudoun County saw a 30 percent drop in home prices, and Fairfax County prices declined 27 percent.
Maryland counties saw a modest decline in home sales and increase in home prices. Both Montgomery’s and Prince George’s home prices dropped by an average of about 10 percent.
