This morning on the Today Show their real estate segment said the national sales data for 2010 shows about 30% of sales were foreclosures. All I can think when I hear that is “but that’s national – not us!” And then I end up yelling at the TV. So I decided to attempt something more productive – let’s compare that national average of 30% to our local area by city. I pulled the total number of sales per city and then the total number of foreclosures (this does NOT include short sales) for 2010. You’ll see we’re mostly FAR under the national average:
McLean, VA: 3.97%
Vienna, VA: 4.39%
Arlington, VA: 4.82%
Great Falls, VA: 5.55%
Fairfax, VA: 9.36%
Alexandria, VA: 11.83%
Falls Church, VA: 12.64%
Annandale, VA: 18.41%
These numbers would look a lot of different if I had pulled Prince William County or Loudoun County, but i’m strictly speaking Northern Virginia. You can see in our little world – things are still good. We’ve hit bottom already and are on the upswing of the market. You can expect these numbers to decrease when I pull them again at the end of 2011.
Always remember: Real estate is HYPER local. While it’s important to understand what’s going on around the world, it may not give you an accurate picture of what’s going on in your market.