Loudoun County Real Estate Statistics and News

Loudoun County Residents Urged to Get Involved in Government

If you ever thought about getting involved in the local Loudoun County Government, here is your chance.

There are currently 33 opportunities for people to serve on the county and regional advisory boards, commissions and committees in Loudoun County.  Here is a link to the full list of the committees, commissions and advisory boards. 

And here is the link to the full descriptions of those committees, commissions and advisory boards.

For information about specific vacancies, contact Rosey Rai, County Administration, 703-771-5034, or by e-mail at Rosey.Rai@loudoun.gov.

Real Estate and Triathlons Go Together in Loudoun County

I usually don' t use my blog for blatant promotion of my services as a real estate agent but I want to encourage triathletes or wannabe triathletes to considering using me to buy or sell their home.  As a REALTOR who is also a triathlete I want to extend an offer to anyone who uses me as their agent to buy or sell a house in 2008 and participates in any of these four local triathlons in the coming months.  I will give you a Gift Certificate worth $1000 to buy triathlon gear at your settlement. 

I am aware of how expensive triathlons can be because of all the gear that is necessary.  Hopefully this will help get you gear you need or upgrade from what you currently have.  It is not enough to buy a top of the line triathlon bike but it can get you a nice wetsuit, bike shoes, helmet, glasses, race suit or anything else you have your eye on.   Drop me a line and I will give you the details if you are interested in taking me up on the offer. 

Here are the four triathlons that will be held in August and September.  Two brand new races will be held right here in Loudoun County.

The 1st Annual Broadlands Triathlon sponsored by Infinitive will be held on Saturday, Auguest 2nd.  It starts at the Broadlands Southern Walk Pool.  If you haven't signed up yet there is still time.  Registration closes on July 31st.

The South Riding Triathlon will take place in South Riding, of course, on September 7th.  The deadline to register for that race in August 4th.   This is also the first year for the South Riding Triathlon.

The Reston Triathlon 2008 is also being held on September 7th.  It has been around for 25+ years and is widely popular.  If you want to race in the Reston Triathlon you have to be very quick.  Registration opened on February 13th and sold out (600 entries) that same day.  It sells out every year so your best bet is to plan ahead and get a notice when registration opens for the 2009 edition.

The Nations Triathlon is being held on September 14th in DC.  It has also sold out but not as quickly as the Reston Tri.  It has been around 3 or 4 years and is getting better each year.  In past years the swim was cancelled due to unhealthy water but last year the levels of bacteria were low enough to allow the swim to take place.

I will be participating in the Broadlands Triathlon and the South Riding Triathlon this year.  I participated in the Reston Triathlon in 2006 and will be doing the Nations Triathlon next year for the first time.  If you see me, say hello.

NBC4 News Story on Sterling Virginia

I just saw this news item on NBC4.com and thought it was important for the readers of Loudoun Stats.  It talks about the current conditions in some parts of Sterling.

Random Loudoun County Real Estate Statistics

Here are a couple of statistics I discovered while analyzing the current marketplace in Loudoun County:

The average price of a home sold this year (2008) is $105,000 less than the same time period last year (2007).

There have been 255 more homes sold this year versus last year.

43% of homes sold in July in Sterling zip code 20164 have sold for more than list price (18 of 42).

An average of 17.667 homes have sold in the last 60 days in Loudoun County.

Current supply in Loudoun County is 124 days, just over 4 months.

Average list price of a home in Loudoun County when it goes under contract (last 90 days):  $380,389

Average list price of current active listings in Loudoun County (not under contract):  $538,269

Dulles Area Association of REALTORS Unveils New Website

During the past six months, the Technology Committee of the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS has been working on a new website design that incorporates RE 2.0.  Ben Lizik of DAAR has been busy programming the site and the staff has been instumental in getting all the information on the old site converted to the new site.

We wanted a clean design that appealled to members of the association as well as the general public.  A built-in content management system will allow updates to the site to occur as they happen.  Visitors are able to provide feedback on the site and are encouraged to do so.  We hope that the site will be a valuable resource for real estate news and information in the Dulles Corridor which includes all or part of Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties. 

Additions to the website will be added in the coming months that will add to the website's 2.0 functionality and reach.

We would love to know what you think of the new site and encourage any feedback.

Loudoun County News that Affects Real Estate

Loudoun County Schools:  http://www.nbc4.com/education/16829572/detail.html?rss=dc&psp=news

Loudoun County Politics: http://www.nbc4.com/politics/16768480/detail.html?rss=dc&psp=news

First Time Home Buyers  :http://realdiablog.typepad.com/loudounstats/2008/07/loudoun-county.html

Loudoun County Sports:  http://locomusings.com/2008/07/10/ashburn-sports-complex-plans-sent-to-committee-for-further-study/

Virginia Taxes:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/07/AR2008070702381.html?nav=rss_metro

Loudoun Stats as Seen by Wordle.net

Submit Your Photo of Loudoun County to the Washington Post

The Washington Post has an online publication that is completely focused on Loudoun County.  It is called LoudounExtra.  They have a lot more up to date stories than the paper edition that only comes out on certain days.  And soon they will be adding a section that will allow you to submit your own photos. 

As a real estate agent that lives and works in Loudoun County this will give me a perfect opportunity to show people from outside the area a more personal side of Loudoun County that is much better than just google maps and pictures of houses. 

I encourage you to submit your photos and the locations of the photos so that maybe a map of these photos will be included in the site.

2nd Quarter Real Estate Statistics for Loudoun County

The second quarter of 2008 is over and it was a very interesting quarter.  Several trends emerged that were unexpected and others that were expected have not materialized.  What we are seeing is several trends converging and opportunities will present themselves in the next several months.

FORECLOSURES

The doom and gloom stories about how foreclosures were going to inundate the market this year have not happened.  In some areas there have been more foreclosures than other areas but the trend was already established in the last half of 2007 .  The total number of foreclosures has not increased at all in the last three months.  What has increased is the number of buyers of foreclosures and the percentage of foreclosure sales to the total sales.  Prices have come down enough to get value buyers off the fence and make purchases.

PERFECT STORM

By my calculations and observations, a perfect storm is brewing for home buyers.  The inventory levels have continued to go down in the county throughout the quarter.  The net loss of 327 listings to the active inventory compares to a net gain last year of 524.  With inventory levels now at 2250 or so, this is a huge turnaround for Loudoun County.

The second part of the storm is the decrease in prices.  The average list price of a house sold in the second quarter of 2008 was $390,475.  This is a decrease of 22% from the average list price of houses sold in the second quarter of 2007.  And compared to the first quarter of 2008 prices were down 4% but sales were up 60%. 

This scenario of decreasing inventory and decreasing prices will only last so long.  Eventually prices will go up.  I predict that people will look back at the second half of 2008 and say it was one of the best times to buy real estate in Loudoun County.

Barring anything catastrophic happening to our county (and no, high gas prices is not catastrophic), the indicators point to this time as a market bottom in Loudoun County real estate.

Loudoun County Financing Programs for First Time Homebuyers

This is copied verbatim from an email I received because all of the information about the Loudoun County Financing Programs is important.  Contacting me or the County if you have any other questions.

Loudoun County offers first trust and down payment/closing costs financing programs to assist low to moderate income first-time homebuyers.  The first trust loan programs are available through the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) and are known as SPARC loans, which stands for Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communities.  Loans are available only through VHDA-approved lenders and offer interest rate discounts from a VHDA 30-year fixed loan product.