Funny The Way It Is…

Oh, what a funny, funny real estate market we’re in. It’s hard to give you numbers to back this up until things close and you see what I am talking about, but here’s what I am seeing on the ground these days:

1. Multiple Offers Are Still Very Much Happening

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal headline read “Home Market Takes a Tumble” – maybe elsewhere, but the article was based on Zillow numbers which evaluate average prices year-over-year. For example, here’s Arlington’s numbers. Now compare that to hard numbers pulled from our local MLS system which shows every sale each month, RBIntel.com (Real Estate Business Intelligence) is an affiliate of MRIS, our local MLS. Their numbers show March 2011 saw an increase of 8.7% in median sale price for Arlington County. You know why?

• Inventory is DOWN (a mere 24% from 2010)
• Demand is UP (low interest rates and affordability from our 2009 bottom)
• If my Masters Degree in Economics from Hopkins taught me anything….Supply goes down, Demand goes up, Prices go UP

I’ve been seeing multiple offers on many, many properties around Northern VA, not just Arlington. It’s happened to me in Alexandria, Vienna, and Falls Church. Inventory is just not there, so when something good comes on the market, it’s drawing a lot of attention and interest.

2. But, there’s always a ‘but’, some homes aren’t selling

There are nearly 300 properties in Arlington that have been on the market for at least 50 days. While logic says they’re either overpriced, in undesirable locations, in poor condition, or short sales, some are not. Some are actually great units, in great locations, and reasonably priced…but for whatever reason they’re not selling.

I wish I had an explanation for what the heck is going on in the market right now, but I can’t seem to find a pattern! So my advice these days is if you see a new property that you are interested in go see it ASAP. If you like it, write an offer. You never know what will sell fast so you might as well go for it.