Here is a quick market update for the end of April. 

The spring market is officially in high gear!  Let’s see what the numbers are telling us about the real estate market in our area.

Our resale inventory for the Northern Virginia Market has increased 8 consecutive weeks and we are now over 7,100 houses currently for sale.  It is the first time we have had this much inventory since the third week of November 2010.  It is important to realize that houses continue to sell when they are priced right – which means under market in some areas and price points – and show like model homes. 

The good news is distressed property inventory is down.  Distressed properties only make up 16.1% of our market – down from a high of 45.5%.  This is good for now but more distressed properties loom on the horizon.  At RE/MAX meetings this week Dave Liniger reported that Bank of America has over 700,000 loans more than 90 days late on their payments.  

Inventory of vacant properties continues to decline which means we are flushing through foreclosure properties.  Pending sales are down slightly over the last seven days but it is taking longer to negotiate contracts so we may see an uptick next week – stay tuned. 

We currently have a 2.2 month supply of homes for houses that have gone under contract the last 30 days and a 3.2 month supply of houses that settled the last 30 days. 

The market is staying strong for investors – prices remain reasonable, rental prices are up, interest rates are low and we have a 1.1 month supply of rentals – extremely low.

When armed with the right information, you can give your clients the right advice whether they are buying or selling a house.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!