What’s happening in the Vienna & Oakton real estate markets this week? Are sales up or down? Are we in a “Buyers Market” or “Sellers Market”? How many homes are for sale?   

Here are the highlights:

• Inventory in Vienna and Oakton continues to rise slowly - up 2% from last week in each area. Vienna has 246 homes on the market and Oakton has 94.

• The contract rate in Vienna (14 homes went under contract last week) picked up somewhat over the two prior weeks (where we saw only 9 and 6 contracts respectively). Contracts in Oakton remain steady. Throughout 2011, Oakton has averaged 5.9 homes per week going under contract. This past week, 6 homes went under contract. Vienna has averaged about 16.9 homes a week going under contract. This week we saw 14.

• 25% of the homes that went under contract this past week sold in 10 days or less. One home that sold was on the market for well over a year (578 days days). Overall, the average days on market for homes that went under contract was 77 days. While average days on market for homes still active was 100-103 days.

• Both Vienna and Oakton remain in or are close to being in a “Balanced Market." Vienna has a 6 month housing supply (as opposed to the 2011 average of 3 months). While Oakton has a 5.2 month supply of homes (as opposed to the 2011 average of 3.5 months).

• While Sellers almost always feel like it takes too long to sell a home & that their home is worth more than what the market says -and Buyers almost always wish they had more time to decide, more inventory and lower prices - the reality is that a Balanced Market is probably the healthiest of all situations - at least as far as our economy is concerned. The combination of low interest rates and low unemployment in our area have produced what for now seems to be a very healthy market. And that is good for everyone. Just as in life, where the older you get, the more you realize that “boring can be good” - so it is with real estate, “balance may be boring, but boring can be good.”

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, you may want to read:

• What Happens When Your Appraisal Comes In Low?
• Information Sellers Need To Know About Updates & Staging
• Pros & Cons of Online Sites To Estimate A Home’s Value
• How Do You Know The “Best” Time To Buy Or Sell?

For our detail-oriented readers, here are last week’s stats:

Last week in Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

• Number of Contracts: 14
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 103 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 82 days
• Inventory: 246 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.2 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 6.0 months

Here are last week’s stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

• Number of Contracts: 6
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 100 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 65
• Inventory: 94 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.9 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 5.2 months

P.S. The Belt Team is a Community Blogger for Vienna Patch, Oakton Patch and WUSA9.com. This week Editor Erica Hendry and Vienna Patch celebrated their 1 year Anniversary. This is a GREAT local publication and we are happy to have them in our community! We feel very strongly that local news coverage is vital as a complement to what is covered in the national news. Our industry is a perfect example of that and why we have a local blog to cover real estate in the Northern VA area. Our market does not always mirror what is happening in the national news. So - Happy Anniversary Erica!