Memorial Day typically represents a turning point in the year for most people.  According to traditional fashion etiquette, you are now allowed to wear white clothing, shorts, and linen.  I've never followed these rules to the letter, but then again I've also been known to order a glass of Cabernet or Pinot Noir with my poisson.

Memorial Day can also represent a turning point in the momentum of the real estate market.  Spring & Summer are traditionally the busiest times for real estate sales, as it's easier to market a home in the beauty of the warm seasons than in the dead of winter, people prefer to move when it's warm, and the end of the school semester frees up time for people to look for homes and concentrate on real estate.

What's the picture in Northern Virginia today, the day after Memorial Day?

(the traditional start of the Summer season, although the official 1st day of Summer according to the calendar is not until June 20th)?

INVENTORY IS UP!

Back on New Year's Day -- January 1, 2008, there were 14,816 homes on the market combining the inventories of Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Loudoun County, and Prince William County.

Today, there are an additional 2,468 homes available!

Here's a breakdown of homes for sale by jurisdiction:

ALEXANDRIA CITY                  828 homes for sale

ARLINGTON COUNTY              936 homes for sale

FAIRFAX COUNTY                7,425 homes for sale

FALLS CHURCH CITY                55 homes for sale

LOUDOUN COUNTY             3,064 homes for sale

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY    4,976 homes for sale

An important factor to examine is absorption rates or how quickly homes are selling in each area.  Taking the number of sales for the first 5 months (almost) and dividing by 5 gives us the average monthly sales figures.  Then taking the current inventory and dividing by that result provides a picture as to how many months of inventory are on the market.  Six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.  More than 6 months and it is a buyer's market, less than six months means it is a seller's market.

Here's the stats for each area:

ALEXANDRIA CITY               7.3 months supply

ARLINGTON COUNTY           6.1 months supply

FAIRFAX COUNTY                8.9 months supply

FALLS CHURCH CITY           6.7 months supply

LOUDOUN COUNTY             9.4 months supply

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY   11.1 months supply

This data is important whether you are deciding to sell your home or purchase your next home in Northern Virginia.  These numbers represent an overall picture of the region.  However, it is crucially important to have the data for each particular area of a county, and even drill down to specific neighborhoods.  Real estate is hyperlocal -- this just cannot be emphasized enough.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia, please feel free to contact me for specific information about your area of interest.

Brian Block         Northern Virginia Real Estate            703-626-0715