City of Alexandria, Virginia
What a difference a year makes.
In 2006, home prices in the ritziest parts of historic Alexandria appreciated the most. Sales prices in Old Town and in the hilly enclaves along upper King Street rose more than 10 percent.
That run-up disappeared in 2007. The median sales price in the Old Town Zip code, 22314, which runs parallel to the Potomac River and west to Quaker Lane, fell 11 percent, to $620,000 from $695,000, and is now lower than in 2005. The median price fell 8 percent in the 22302 Zip code, bisected by upper King Street, to $690,000.
Overall, prices of single-family houses and townhouses dropped 4 percent in Alexandria in 2007, according to a Washington Post analysis of city home-sales records. The median sales price dropped to $577,500 from $599,000 a year earlier. Condominium sales, which account for about half the transactions in Alexandria, were calculated separately; the median condo price fell 2 percent, to $303,000.
Alexandria real estate agents said the market has been unpredictable. "It's so sporadic, it is hard to pin down," said Ginger Harden, an agent with the Bryan Group. She said some houses will sit on the market for a while, particularly if they are perceived as overpriced, but that in November, a couple moving out of a townhouse nearby had to pay $10,000 over the asking price to buy a renovated Cape Cod in the Braddock Heights area of Alexandria. Another couple, she said, was watching and waiting in hopes that the transaction would falter.
"There are buyers out there," she said.
She said prices have fallen in some cases because the sellers were "panic selling," particularly those who have divorces pending and who bought at the top of the market.
Median house prices rose only in the less expensive areas, where more people can afford to buy. Prices inched up in the two Zip codes directly west of Route 1: In Zip code 22305, which includes Arlandria, the median sales price was up 2 percent, to $473,000; in Zip code 22301, which includes Del Ray, the area northwest of Old Town, it was up 1 percent, to $570,000.
Prices in the Landmark area, Zip code 22304, the city's second-biggest Zip code, fell 4 percent.
Real estate agents who specialize in the Alexandria market said the slowdown is occurring because buyers are cautious, often slowing the buying process to a crawl, and because of the problems in the mortgage market, which is making it more difficult for marginal buyers to qualify for a loan.
"The buyers know they can take their time, and they do," said Julianne Waesche, an agent with McEnearney Associates in Alexandria. "A lot think prices will go down lower, and they don't want to make a mistake."
Real estate assessments have not fallen as sharply as one might suppose as the real estate slump continues. The average residential assessment will fall about 2 percent next year, Alexandria city officials reported recently. The average single-family home assessment has fallen about 1 percent, to $656,984; the average condominium assessment has fallen 4.3 percent, to $326,026.
According to Cindy Smith-Page, director of the city's department of real estate assessments, the city's values continue to be buoyed by the underlying value of the land. Modest homes near Metro stations are likely to be redeveloped more densely or converted into larger and more expensive homes in coming years, she said.
-- Kirstin Downey, Washington Post Staff Writer
In 2006, home prices in the ritziest parts of historic Alexandria appreciated the most. Sales prices in Old Town and in the hilly enclaves along upper King Street rose more than 10 percent.
That run-up disappeared in 2007. The median sales price in the Old Town Zip code, 22314, which runs parallel to the Potomac River and west to Quaker Lane, fell 11 percent, to $620,000 from $695,000, and is now lower than in 2005. The median price fell 8 percent in the 22302 Zip code, bisected by upper King Street, to $690,000.
Overall, prices of single-family houses and townhouses dropped 4 percent in Alexandria in 2007, according to a Washington Post analysis of city home-sales records. The median sales price dropped to $577,500 from $599,000 a year earlier. Condominium sales, which account for about half the transactions in Alexandria, were calculated separately; the median condo price fell 2 percent, to $303,000.
Alexandria real estate agents said the market has been unpredictable. "It's so sporadic, it is hard to pin down," said Ginger Harden, an agent with the Bryan Group. She said some houses will sit on the market for a while, particularly if they are perceived as overpriced, but that in November, a couple moving out of a townhouse nearby had to pay $10,000 over the asking price to buy a renovated Cape Cod in the Braddock Heights area of Alexandria. Another couple, she said, was watching and waiting in hopes that the transaction would falter.
"There are buyers out there," she said.
She said prices have fallen in some cases because the sellers were "panic selling," particularly those who have divorces pending and who bought at the top of the market.
Median house prices rose only in the less expensive areas, where more people can afford to buy. Prices inched up in the two Zip codes directly west of Route 1: In Zip code 22305, which includes Arlandria, the median sales price was up 2 percent, to $473,000; in Zip code 22301, which includes Del Ray, the area northwest of Old Town, it was up 1 percent, to $570,000.
Prices in the Landmark area, Zip code 22304, the city's second-biggest Zip code, fell 4 percent.
Real estate agents who specialize in the Alexandria market said the slowdown is occurring because buyers are cautious, often slowing the buying process to a crawl, and because of the problems in the mortgage market, which is making it more difficult for marginal buyers to qualify for a loan.
"The buyers know they can take their time, and they do," said Julianne Waesche, an agent with McEnearney Associates in Alexandria. "A lot think prices will go down lower, and they don't want to make a mistake."
Real estate assessments have not fallen as sharply as one might suppose as the real estate slump continues. The average residential assessment will fall about 2 percent next year, Alexandria city officials reported recently. The average single-family home assessment has fallen about 1 percent, to $656,984; the average condominium assessment has fallen 4.3 percent, to $326,026.
According to Cindy Smith-Page, director of the city's department of real estate assessments, the city's values continue to be buoyed by the underlying value of the land. Modest homes near Metro stations are likely to be redeveloped more densely or converted into larger and more expensive homes in coming years, she said.
-- Kirstin Downey, Washington Post Staff Writer
SOURCE: Full-value transactions as reported by the city
MAP: Dan Keating and Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso - The Washington Post
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
