Market Update - March 2006

Wow! The real estate market took a quick turn back in late July to early August and everyone experienced a much more even market during the fall of 2005 and early winter of 2006. The "HOT" Seller's market of the past few years has become more of a normal-even market. Multiple offers and escalation clauses are few and far between.

Did the "Bubble Burst?" Not hardly, I think the market was so vibrant for such a long stretch that even a good market and reasonable appreciation have felt like a bit of a crash for real estate agents and homeowners alike. That negative attitude and pessimism can actually feed on itself and become self-fulfilling prophecy. Homes that are priced to sell ... are still selling in relatively short periods of time. Many, many properties are seeing less than 30 DOM (Days on the Market). Properties priced unreasonably high ... they are sitting ... as they should be.

Thankfully, spring 2006 is almost here and an influx of the annual spring buyers as well as the buying period during school summer vacation are fast approaching. I'm very optimistic that a strong market is on the return, although not quite at the levels we witnessed in recent memory.

What happens in other markets regionally and nationally ... is a far cry from the DC Metro area and especially the thriving economy in Northern Virginia. We have new jobs being created, low unemployment ... and a solid real estate market.

John Thompson
Samson Realty