Commercial Land Absorption Rates – Prince William County – October 2009

Commercial Land Real Estate Absorption Rates for Prince William County are offered as a service of Michael’s Commercial LLC. The monthly absorption rates are categorized by the following Prince William County Zoning Districts:

• B-1 (General Business District)
• B-2 (Neighborhood Business District)
• B-3 (Convenience Retail District
• O(L) (Office Low-Rise District)
• O(M) (Office Mid-Rise District)
• O(H) (Office High-Rise District)
• O(F) (Office/Flex District)
• M-1 (Heavy Industrial District)
• M-2 (Light Industrial District)
• M/T (Industrial/Transportation District)
• MIXED

Absorption Rates are established by how many properties have sold during a given period of time (e.g., 365, 180, 90 and 30 days). Absorption rates also allow tracking trends in the market for any given number of days, weeks or months. These trends can indicate whether we may be in a Sellers Market, a Neutral Market or a Buyers Market. A monthly absorption rate of 5-6 is usually considered a Neutral Market. Anything below five is regarded as a Sellers Market and anything above six a Buyers Market.

• Sellers Market                         1-4 Months Supply
• Neutral Market                        5-6 Months Supply
• Buyers Market                            7 Plus Months Supply

The following tables reflect the Monthly Absorption Rates* for respective Zoning Districts in Prince William County ending on October 31, 2009:

• Total Number of Properties on Market. The properties available on the market during the reporting period.
• Total Number of Sales. The total number of Sold properties during the given reporting period.
• Monthly Absorption Rate. The rate at which the Sold properties were absorbed in the market on a monthly basis.
• Inventory. The number of available properties as of the report date.
• Months Supply. The number of months it will take the properties to sell based on the number of properties that have sold during the reporting period.
• Chance of Selling. The rate at which the properties in the inventory will sell based on the percentage of the total properties on the market and the total number of sales.

The tables above indicate that the commercial land real estate market in Prince William County has been minimal. There are currently properties on the market, but not much activity. No properties have sold during this reporting period. There are currently 25 commercial land properties on the market and two properties Under Contract. We are currently in a Buyer’s market.

• General Business District – No activity – sixteen listings currently in the inventory and no new listings during this reporting period.
• Neighborhood Business District – No activity – one listing currently in the inventory and no new listings during this reporting period.
• Convenience Retail District – No activity – one listing currently in the inventory and no new listings during this reporting period.
• Office Low-Rise District – No activity within this reporting period.
• Office Mid-Rise District – No activity during this reporting period.
• Office High-Rise District – No activity during this reporting period.
• Office/Flex District – No activity during this reporting period.
• Heavy Industrial District – No activity – one listing currently in the inventory and no new listings during this reporting period.
• Light Industrial District – Minimal activity – four listings currently in the inventory and no new listings during this reporting period. Two properties current Under Contract.
• Industrial/Transportation District – No activity – one listing currently in the inventory and no new listings during this reporting period.
• MIXED – Minimal activity – three listings currently in the inventory and one new listing during this reporting period.

*The data presented here is compiled from information provided by the Metropolitan Regional Information System.

The Commercial Land Absorption Report is the author’s own interpretation of the Prince William County Commercial Real Estate market and makes no warranty or claim regarding the usefulness or implications of this information.

Michael Setunsky is the Broker and owner of Michael's Commercial LLC serving the Northern Virginia commercial real estate market. He has been licensed since 1985 and a Broker since 1990. As a commercial real estate and business broker, he has earned the distinction for being one of the top commercial real estate producers in the Mid-Atlantic Region. He also serves on the Mid Atlantic Real Estate Marketing Association's (MAREMA) Board of Directors, and is a Commonwealth of Virginia licensed Instructor. He teaches Pre-licensing, Post Licensing Education, Broker's and Continuing Education courses. Visit his company web site at http://michaelscommercial.com/.

©2009 Michael’s Commercial LLC, All Rights Reserved - Commercial Land Absorption Rates – Prince William County – October 2009 – October 31, 2009