September 2011 Evers & Co. Real Estate Report

Original Source:  The Evers & Co. Sept. 2011 Real Estate Report

The average price in our Washington, DC marketplace was up for the 17^th consecutive month, 3% higher than September 2010. The number of days a property stays on the market was up 8.7%, and the dollar volume of sales was down 3.3 % this month,- both being attributed to consumer concern to recent fluctuations in the economy.

While mortgage interest rates were at record lows for most of September and banks have money to lend, lenders are restricted in the amount of loans and the loan-to- value ratio, which in turn limits buyers’ ability to purchase. These restrictions were a reaction to the mortgage meltdown our economy experienced a few years ago and should ease up in the coming months, allowing more purchasers to enter the marketplace. Meanwhile, we expect prices to improve modestly and steadily, and that goes for the state of the close-in Metro market in general.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for three areas: Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia.