The Real Estate Market is Simmering

By:  Scott Pearson, Pearson Realty

The Annandale real estate market is simmering. More inventory is moving, prices are rising (somewhat), and consumers  are displaying the confidence to buy.  The lending institutions are granting more loans than denying them, and interest rates continue to be steady around 3.9%.  This scenario is the best I’ve seen in the last five years, and bodes well for both potential buyers and sellers.

Now when I say the market is simmering, that’s a good thing.  A hot market may lead to wild fluctuations in price as seen during the recession.  For example, the median sale price of a home in Annandale has risen 39.5% between April of 2010 and May of this year.  Not too surprising when you consider the dismal state of the market in 2010 when home prices had plunged like a buckshot pigeon.

The market now reflects the value of a home inside the beltway, not the value within some hedge fund portfolio.  Serious buyers assessing the market value dealing with serious sellers and lenders are the correcting factors, one deal at a time.

Taking a slightly broader view, home prices have increased about 3% across all of Fairfax County since last year, but have slipped a bit in Alexandria.  That may change by the end of the year, but what it shows is that the market is stable and we are enjoying what we saw for most of the 1990s; a reasonable market that is simmering nicely in the summer heat.

One exception is condo sales.  The median price of a condominium in Annandale has risen over 20% in the last three years. The increase in sales come from two categories of buyers.   The first are those who lost their home due to a past foreclosure and are reentering the market at the starter home level.  The second are buyers who wish to turn their ever rising rental costs into owner’s equity.   Condo prices are not expected to continue  to escalate.  In fact, 2015 has already seen a greater stability in pricing.

So what could change the present stable marketplace?  A spike in interest rates would cause a ripple that could depress the market.  On the other hand, Landmark could finally decide to go forward with their oft-repeated town center design, or some entity could finally assemble enough property in Annandale to perform long overdue revitalization.  Then we would likely see the local market heat-up with more buyers interested in making Annandale their home.

However, what we see in the Pearson tea leaves is something far less dramatic.  We see the market remaining healthy and simmering, but far from overheated.  We see an aging population that will increase the amount of available inventory due to retirement or relocation.  And we see a buying population with steadily increasing confidence, one year at a time. 

Annandale is a great place to live and the value of homes remains strong.  New construction, like the Callaway homes on Little River, continue to attract strong interest and strong prices.  Everything is good now and we think it will get even better.

 

 

Median Sales Price of Annandale Homes

2010    $507,800

2015     $539,900

More on Annandale Real Estate

SCOTT PEARSON
Pearson Realty
6715 Little River Tpk. # 204
Annandale, VA  22003
703-256-6847
scott@pearsonrealtyllc.com
www.pearsonrealtyllc.com

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