Northern Virginia Contracts Up 15% Over Strong February

NOVA Market Report states in March, for every 10 homes on the market, 3.9 were under contract which is an increase of 15% over February contracts. Contracts are an early indicator of market activity and 39% is very strong. In February, northern Virginia posted a 33% increase in homes under contract, over January, so any increase in March is impressive. Manassas and Sterling remain the top two markets for the third month in a row. Both markets have as many homes under contract as they do available. 20 out of 24 markets posted a higher percentage of homes under contract than February 2009.

The strongest sub markets remain in the starter home category where short sales and foreclosures abound. It is not unusual for well priced properties to attract 7-15 contracts in the first week. Winning bids can be tens of thousands of dollars more than list price. Investors are big participants in this market where rental income exceeds mortgage payments. Herndon has twice as many homes under contract (75), as available (35), between the prices of $200,000 and $300,000. That was the #1 market of the 100 submarkets tracked. In December 2008, 1 (out of 100) submarket had more homes under contract than active. By March 09, there were 17.


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