Danilo Bogdanovic-Real Estate Consultant -Loudoun and Fairfax County

Yes, folks...you read that correctly. The Loudoun County real estate market is showing continued signs of strengthening.

And here's the proof:

1) The rate of new properties coming on the market is decreasing (supply).

• From May 1 to May 23, 2008, Loudoun County had 770 new properties/listings come on the market. That's an average of 33 new listings per day. That's down from 924 new listings during the same time last year, which came out to 40 new listings per day. That's an 18 percent decrease in the rate of new inventory from this time last year. (Remember, less supply/inventory is key to a stable and balanced market)
• The pace of new listings in May (33 per day) is down from last month (April), which saw an average of 36 new listings per day come on the market. That's an 8 percent decrease in the rate of new inventory from last month.

2) Buyers are increasing in numbers and making a move after sitting on the sidelines (demand).

• So far this month, we've had 490 properties go under contract. This is an average of 21 per day. During the same time last year, we saw 404 homes go under contract (18 per day). That's an increase of almost 17 percent in the number of homes that are selling this year versus last year.
• Also, last month (April '08) saw an increase of 38 percent in the number of homes that went under contract as compared to April 2007 ( 655 in April '08 versus 481 in April '07)

3) The percentage of total listings that are foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties has stabilized.

• For the post with details about that, click here.

That's less supply, higher demand and stabilization in the distressed property area - a winning combination.

So you see, it's actually getting better, not worse. The worse is over with prices having already come down 20 to 40+ percent from the peak in August 2005. "The sky is falling mentality" that is prevelant today should have been around last year and in 2006 when it really was falling. But it's not the case today.

For more information, statistics and resources on the Loudoun County, VA real estate market, check out LoudounStats.com and LoudounForeclosures.com.

-Danilo

The percentage of total properties for sale in Loudoun County that are foreclosures/bank-owned or short-sales is holding steady around 25 percent. We've been seeing the percentage stay around 25 for most of this year.

Though we'd all like to see that percentage go down, it's definitely good news that it's not increasing. The fact that it's not increasing is another sign that the worse is behind us.

For more information about Loudoun County foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties, check out my blog Loudoun Foreclosures.

-Danilo

The rate at which new foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale listings are entering the market in Loudoun County remains steady. Here are the numbers:

• January 2008 saw 310 new foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale listings come on the market. That's 10 new ones per day.
• February 2008 had 289 come on the market. That's 10 per day.
• March 2008 had 301 come on the market. That's 9.8 per day.
• So far this month (thru 4/22), there have been 253 new foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale listings come on the market. That's a slight increase to 11.5 per day, but not too far off the 10 per day average.

The trend so far this year seems to be about 10 or so new foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale listings on the market each day. I'll keep you posted on how April ends up and whether this trends continues or changes.

For more information about foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties in Loudoun County, Virginia, check out www.LoudounForeclosures.com.

For general Loudoun County real estate market statistics, data, information and resources, check out www.LoudounStats.com.

A few days ago, I found out that KB Homes was pulling out of their Martin's Chase community in Loudoun County. Since then, a fellow Loudoun County real estate agent, Heather Elias reports on her blog, LoCo Real Estate Musings that Equity Homes and Basheer & Edgemoore are also on the way out the door.

"...I noticed that the inventory homes for Equity Homes, a builder with communities under construction in Purcellville and Round Hill, were now listed as owned by a trustee, including the model home at the Highlands in Round Hill. I did some digging but could only come up with a news article regarding the builder pulling out of a community in Westmoreland County, saying that they had ceased business operations."

"...Basheer & Edgemoore, a luxury home builder working on a community called Park Meadows just outside of Leesburg, is now selling 3 to 9 acre lots within the community from $325,000. I'm not sure how many finished homes they have there, but they were certainly billing it as an exclusive community (only 17 home sites) when they started marketing it; I'm hoping there are some restrictions on what can be built on those lots so that the folks that have already moved in there are living in a community that reflects what they thought they were purchasing."

Though these three builders are "outta here", most seem to be sticking around. For now...

Further Resources:

Park Meadows community - Basheer & Edgemoore

Equity Homes - Loudoun County communities

For more information about the buying/selling process and real estate market in Loudoun County, Virginia, check out www.LoudounStats.com and www.LoudounForeclosures.com.

KB Homes is pulling out of it Martin's Chase community in Loudoun County, as well as the entire mid-Atlantic region due to poor market performance. KB Homes said the move will help it hold on to cash reserves and ride out the housing crash.

The builder has 5 communities in the mid-Atlantic region including Martin's Chase. The Martin's Chase community is located between Belmont Ridge Rd and Evergreen Mills Rd just down the street from Brambleton.

I called KB Homes this morning to get more information on what was going on with Martin's Chase. Here's what they told me:

• They are only selling the model homes and current inventory/spec homes. Inventory/spec homes are homes that are already under construction, but the buyer pulled out of their contract
• They will not be building any new homes from scratch
• They have closed their sales center
• All calls are being directed to their call center and their "Home Finder Center"

According to the person on the phone, whether we'll see KB Homes back in the area again is "yet to be determined".

For more information about the buying/selling process and real estate market in Loudoun County, Virginia, check out www.LoudounStats.com and www.LoudounForeclosures.com.