At the end of 2009, the jurisdictions on the Virginia side of the Potomac River clearly were leading the region’s real estate market. While homes still sell more quickly in Virginia than in Maryland, the Free State has come a long way this year.
Today’s charts compare Maryland jurisdictions with those in Virginia using data from October. While homes in Virginia spend less time on the market than those in Maryland, the gap has closed significantly.
It now takes longer to sell a home in Virginia than it did a year ago, while Maryland sellers have shorter waits.
Charles County gets the “most improved” award. Sales there are up 18 percent this year, more than any other jurisdiction. Time on the market has dropped from 138 days last year to 116 this year.
One reason Charles is doing well is home prices. Buyers apparently remain very price-conscious. The most affordable homes in the Washington region are found in Charles and Prince George’s counties, which also have enjoyed the largest sales increases in the region this year.
But the increase in sales is too recent to have had a positive effect on home prices as we’ve seen in Virginia. Median sales prices in October were down 10 percent in Prince George’s compared with last year and Charles was down 12 percent, but prices are up in many other Maryland counties.
Over in Virginia, prices are rising all over. Prince William County remains the most affordable and most competitive part of the entire market. Even though sales have fallen significantly there, buyers are still competing with one another for homes, which causes homes in Prince William to sell relatively quickly.
That buyer competition also pushes up prices. Home prices are up 18 percent in Prince William County this year, which is remarkable considering that they fell 39 percent in 2008.
If buyers continue to shop Charles and Prince George’s for the affordable homes on the market there, we eventually should see prices recover there as they have elsewhere.
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