The old phrase, "Real Estate is Local", has been worn out by countless Realtors, desperate to paint as bright a picture as possible in a bleak real estate market. It's more than just a worn out catch phrase, though, and without paying attention to what's happening in the region you're looking to buy or sell in, you can find yourself extremely frustrated.
I've written 5 contracts for buyers looking in Fort Washington, MD over the last 3 weeks. All of them have been on foreclosed properties. In 4 out of the 5 contracts, we have found ourselves competing with other buyers in a multiple-bid situation. The first question that comes to buyers mind when they hear this is usually something along the lines of: "Is the real estate market really that good?"
Here's a quick breakdown on what's really happening in the Fort Washington, MD real estate market:
From the current MRIS statistics, the majority of homes for sale in Fort Washington are non-foreclosures. In fact, as of today there are only 42 homes in the 20744 zip code that are listed as bank owned (REO). 272 properties listed for sale in Fort Washington are NOT foreclosures.
Seeing considerably fewer foreclosures listed than traditional resales is an excellent thing. The bad news is that 41% of all homes that are currently under contract (98 homes out of 234 listed) are bank owned.
The fact of the matter is that people are gravitating towards buying foreclosed properties in the area. the fact that there are more REO's under contract than there are available is very telling. typically the ratio of homes under contract vs. homes available is 1:4. right now that ratio is closer to 2:1 in the area. As far as foreclosures are concerned, Fort Washington would be considered a sellers market. (It's incredible how quickly things can change!)
The other thing to look at is total sales volume. In Fort Washington, property sales volumes have been picking up as well. Although it's nowhere near the sort of monthly volume we had seen during the boom years, total sales volume has grown considerably in the last few years. This is due largely due to the incentives in PG county to buy a foreclosure (Not only the $8,000 tax credit, but also the Down Payment incentive program)
What about Prices?
The other significant factor to look at is homes sales prices. The current average sales price is $251,141. A look at the average sales price over the last year shows that sales prices have fallen only marginally over the last year. In January the average sales price was $267,883, which represents a depreciation of only 6.3%. The national average is 13.4%, but heavy job growth in the government sector has helped stabilize prices in the D.C. Metro area.
It's obvious that foreclosures are driving the Market in Fort Washington for the time being. The good news is that the market is showing signs of what is hopefully stabilization. long term consideration of future regional job growth should help to shore up the market even more. It is entirely possible that we may see home sales slow again once the tax credit and foreclosure incentive programs expire, but only time will tell how large of an impact these programs will actually have on the real estate market.
~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 - office
301-653-8116 - cell
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