The local real estate market is in better shape than my lawn!

After a raucous Spring market we are definitely seeing some seasonality to the market.  As we roll into August my lawn is brown, but the usual influencers like vacations and the influence of the school schedule are exerting an influence this year.  Inventory has remained essentially flat for the last 3 weeks but we have definitely seen a dip in the number of contracts in NOVA the last 3 weeks.  We went from 651 three weeks ago to 565 two weeks ago to 515 last week.  This translates to a 1.2 months supply of homes, which is higher than it’s been in quite a while, but still square in the middle of a sellers market.  Rentals remain tight at a .8 months supply.

There are some definite national economic head winds, but not significant enough to have a real impact on our local real estate market.  Other parts of the country cannot say the same.  There are only 7 foreclosures and 6 short sales in the entire region, foreclosures nationally are at a 25 year low, and underwater mortgages are at a 5 year low.

We’ll have to see if unemployment continues to deteriorate (up to 4.3%) and the stock market continues to dive, and of course, we’ll continue to keep an eye on the Fed and their rate cut policy.  Oh, and there is an election.  So there are some markers to pay attention to and comment on, which I will continue to do.

Please call if you have any questions about the market, or anything tangentially related to real estate.

It’s a good life.

Chris