D.C. and suburban Maryland saw a rise in home sales

Washington Business Journal - by Sarah Krouse Staff Reporter
D.C. and suburban Maryland saw a rise in home sales volume in September, but a decline in median sale prices, while Northern Virginia home prices and sales volume rose.
D.C. home sales were up 18.56 percent in September from a year ago, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.
The District saw 552 units sell last month, compared to 409 units in September 2008.
Though the number of units increased, the median sale price dropped 4.7 percent to $371,568.
D.C. was the only part of the region to see a rise in the number of days units spent on the market — 94 days compared to 82 days in September 2008. And every locality but D.C. and Prince George’s County saw a year-over-year rise in the ratio of average sale price to average list price.
In D.C., the average sale price was 91.78 percent of the average list price, compared to 93.78 percent a year ago. In Prince George’s County, the average sale price was 88.54 percent of the average list price, compared to 89.98 percent in 2008.
Similar to the District, Prince George’s County saw an increase in the number of total units sold — 662 in September 2009, up 21.25 percent from 2008 — though the median sale price was down nearly 20 percent from 2008 at $212,925.
Homes spent an average of 133 days on the market in Prince George’s, compared to 141 days in September 2008.
In Montgomery County, 859 units sold at a median price of $330,000. The median sale price was down 5.71 percent from 2008, but the number of units sold rose 11.85 percent from a year ago and homes spent 83 days on the market compared to 101 days in 2008.
The average sale price was 91.5 percent of the average list price in the county, a slight rise from a year ago.
Northern Virginia fared the best in September. The area, which includes the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church as well as the counties of Fairfax and Arlington, saw 1,684, or 2 percent more units sell at a median sale price of $375,000 in 2009.
The median price rose 7.68 percent from 2008 while the average days on the market dropped to 63 days from 93 days a year ago.
Homes fetched an average sale price that was 94.67 percent of the average list price, compared to 92.56 percent in 2008.
Arlington County saw 221 units sell at a median price that was 6.37 percent lower than 2008 — about $419,000.
The upside for the county was the drop in days spent on the market — 62 days in 2009 compared to 85 days in 2009 — and an average sale price that was 95.36 percent of the average list price. In 2008, the average sale price was just 93.87 percent of the average list price.
Fairfax County homes sold at a median price of $365,000, an 11.96 percent increase from September 2008. The number of units sold rose .95 percent to 1,269 and homes spent an average of 62 days on the market, compared to 96 days a year ago.
The average sale price was 94.49 percent of the list price compared to 92.1 percent in 2008.
Sellers in the City of Alexandria saw an average sale price that was 94.73 percent of the list price compared to 92.64 percent in 2008, but fewer units sold and the median price sank 3.99 percent to $384,000.
The number of units that sold in September — 152 — fell 5 percent from a year ago, but homes spent only 65 days on the market compared to 87 days in 2008.
In Loudoun County, 426 units, 5.54 percent fewer than in 2008, sold at a median sale price of $342,000. The median price in September of this year is 6.88 percent higher than it was in 2008.
Homes spent a staggering 37.11 percent less time on the market — 61 days — and the average sale price was 95.42 percent of the average list price. In 2008, the average sale price was 92.22 percent of the average list price.
Prince William also had a staggering drop in the number of days units spent on the market. Homes in the county were on the market just 51 days in September 2009, compared to 107 days a year ago.
A total of 588 units, or 37 percent fewer than in 2008, sold at a median price of $220,000.
The 11.77 percent rise in median sale price contributed to an average sale price that was 96.39 percent of the average list price. This was a significant increase, as the average sale price was just 91.24 percent of the average list price in 2008.

Friday, October 9, 2009
Freddie Mac to help banks get credit
Washington Business Journal - by Jeff Clabaugh Staff Reporter
Freddie Mac is starting a pilot program to help lenders get access to warehouse lines of credit to fund loans those lenders eventually sell to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Freddie Mac says it is currently working with Natty Mac, a Guggenheim Partners company, in the pilot program it says.
“The warehouse lending industry has nearly exited the market making it increasingly difficult for lenders to fund loans,” Freddie Mac’s new chief executive Charles Haldeman said in a statement. He calls it much needed additional liquidity for residential financing.
Under terms of the pilot program, Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) will provide participating warehouse lenders with commitments to purchase loans if the servicer fails or otherwise can’t meet its obligations


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