Real Estate Shows a Bit Of Progress

Real estate agents said the Prince William market is heating up more quickly than others because it took a bigger hit.

"The housing market is looking much more affordable in Prince William than in other places," said Stephen Fuller, an economist at George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis. "Prices got way too far away from reality across the region. Prince William is adjusting more substantially and will be a much better housing market in the long run because there is a better balance between value and price."

The cost is what brought Joe Munsell from Springfield to Bristow. A renter for the past four years, Munsell said he was attracted to the value, the family-friendly neighborhood and Prince William's crackdown on illegal immigration, which he said is making the area safer.

"Two years ago, I could have never afforded what we bought," said Munsell, who is moving into a four-bedroom $400,000 house with his wife and two children. "But prices came down quickly. The timing was perfect. We found an excellent home and decided to strike when the iron was hot."

The MRIS data show the average recent sale price of a Manassas house is $195,500, 40 percent lower than last year. In Prince William, it's $299,600 -- a 26 percent drop. The average cost of a house in Fairfax and Loudoun is still more than $400,000.

"There was a significant price change, much more than in other jurisdictions," Fuller said of the Prince William area. "And, I'd like to think that economics work. As prices go down, sales go up."

Investors are also finding deals, real estate professionals said. Although most clients are new homeowners, a few consider this a good time to buy investment property.

"As a small-time investor, you can't go wrong, especially now," said Lou Coletta, who just invested in his second Prince William property. "I like Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun, but the property in Loudoun has not gone down as much as here. Prince William was hit the hardest, and prices have taken a tremendous drop."

Keith M. Elliott Jr., with Re/Max Olympic Realty in Haymarket, said that though houses are cheap, buyers need to be cautious because foreclosed properties come as-is.

"The state of some of these homes was disgusting," said first-time home buyer Sue Lozano, who looked in the Prince William area before settling on a house in Chantilly. "People just didn't care what state they left them in."

Garvey, on the other hand, said he was happy to get a house that needed a little fixing up. It gave him a chance, he said, to make it his own.

"With foreclosures, you have to be willing to work and make it what you want it to be," he said. "I wanted my house to have a little bit of that fix-up flair. I wanted it to have enough projects that I could do myself, but nothing too overwhelming."