Prince William County, Virginia
Homes sales dropped dramatically last year in Prince William County, as they did throughout Northern Virginia, but median sales prices rose slightly.
Despite a 3 percent increase to $410,000, prices in the county remained the lowest in Northern Virginia, according to a Washington Post analysis of government sales records for single-family houses and townhouses. That included the city of Manassas but not Manassas Park. Condominium sales were not included.
Michael T. Minnery, president of Re/Max Allegiance in Woodbridge and president of the Prince William Association of Realtors, said that continued, albeit modest, price growth can be attributed to the better price-to-size-and-quality ratio found in most homes in the county, compared with more expensive parts of the region.
"Consumers are getting a tremendous value for everything from new houses to resale," he said. "Prince William County has a broad range of housing opportunities to offer, in every price point."
Housing demand in the county, he conceded, was down from previous years. "This August was acutely bad; sellers were offering concessions," Minnery said.
For the year, the number of transactions fell 35 percent, to 11,151 from 17,044.
Despite the cooling market, some parts of the county continued to show notable price increases.
In Triangle (22172), near the Quantico Marine Corps Base, prices were up 12 percent to $613,670, with 278 sales. The increase is modest, though, compared with the previous year's 147 percent increase.
The sharpest increase, however, was in Catharpin (20143), Prince William's priciest Zip code, where the median sales price jumped 32 percent, to $1.1 million from $800,000 in 2005, with 24 sales. Most of those were houses in new developments at prices of more than $1 million.
However, most of the sales during the year were in the middle and eastern parts of the county, where prices are lower and homes generally smaller than in western Prince William. The three Zip codes with the most sales -- 22191 (Woodbridge), 22192 (Lake Ridge) and 22193 (Dale City) -- had median sales prices ranging from $360,000 to $400,000. All three areas also had higher prices than in 2005.
In Sudley, Zip code 20109, which is just west of Manassas and the least expensive Zip code in the county, median house prices grew by 9 percent, to $350,000.
Forrest Odend'hal, an agent with Long & Foster in Manassas, sees the price growth as Prince William catching up with its costlier neighbors. "As prices in areas closer to D.C. go higher, people are more willing to move out," he said.
-- Lorin Kavanaugh-Ulku, Special to The Washington Post
Despite a 3 percent increase to $410,000, prices in the county remained the lowest in Northern Virginia, according to a Washington Post analysis of government sales records for single-family houses and townhouses. That included the city of Manassas but not Manassas Park. Condominium sales were not included.
"Consumers are getting a tremendous value for everything from new houses to resale," he said. "Prince William County has a broad range of housing opportunities to offer, in every price point."
Housing demand in the county, he conceded, was down from previous years. "This August was acutely bad; sellers were offering concessions," Minnery said.
For the year, the number of transactions fell 35 percent, to 11,151 from 17,044.
Despite the cooling market, some parts of the county continued to show notable price increases.
In Triangle (22172), near the Quantico Marine Corps Base, prices were up 12 percent to $613,670, with 278 sales. The increase is modest, though, compared with the previous year's 147 percent increase.
The sharpest increase, however, was in Catharpin (20143), Prince William's priciest Zip code, where the median sales price jumped 32 percent, to $1.1 million from $800,000 in 2005, with 24 sales. Most of those were houses in new developments at prices of more than $1 million.
However, most of the sales during the year were in the middle and eastern parts of the county, where prices are lower and homes generally smaller than in western Prince William. The three Zip codes with the most sales -- 22191 (Woodbridge), 22192 (Lake Ridge) and 22193 (Dale City) -- had median sales prices ranging from $360,000 to $400,000. All three areas also had higher prices than in 2005.
In Sudley, Zip code 20109, which is just west of Manassas and the least expensive Zip code in the county, median house prices grew by 9 percent, to $350,000.
Forrest Odend'hal, an agent with Long & Foster in Manassas, sees the price growth as Prince William catching up with its costlier neighbors. "As prices in areas closer to D.C. go higher, people are more willing to move out," he said.
-- Lorin Kavanaugh-Ulku, Special to The Washington Post
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SOURCE: Full-value transactions as reported by Prince William and Manassas
MAP: Dan Keating and Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso - The Washington Post
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
