Housing Prices in Oakton, DC Area Increasing

Housing prices continue their overall upward trend in the DC metro region, according to the latest Case-Schiller Housing Index numbers released this week.

In the D.C. metro area, the seasonally adjusted price index (which measures the average sale price for single-family homes) for January 2013 was 190.56—that's up from 179.78 in January 2012, continuing an overall upward trend.

The numbers are calculated based on the repeat sale of existing single-family homes, where the baseline of 100 is the average price as of January 2000.

Here in Oakton and the surrounding area, there are more than 50 residential properties for sale now with prices ranging from $200,000 to $3.8 million. (That $3.8 million home is actually outside of Oakton proper but it has an Oakton mailing address. See the listing here.)

Home prices have risen significantly in the D.C. metro area since 2000. The high point in the D.C. metro area was in May 2006, when the index hit 251.19. The bottoming out of the index in our area after the real estate boom was in April 2009, when the index declined to 169.73.

Is another housing bubble in Northern Virginia’s future? George Mason University’s Lisa Sturtevant asked that question and concluded: “A critical difference between the current market and the overheated market of the middle of last decade is the nature of the mortgage market. Stricter underwriting standards have limited the pool of potential homebuyers to those who are most qualified and most likely to be able to pay loans back.”

The median price of residential properties throughout Fairfax County between October and December 2012 for most ZIP codes ranged from $264,000 to more than $1 million, according to real estate site Trulia.com. (You can look up your ZIP code here.)

Looking for a home? Check out Patch's real estate section here for homes for sale in Oakton and the surrounding area, mortgage information and more. 

Are you happy with the current value of your home? Comment below!