Prince William County, Virginia
Home sales and home prices fell last year in Prince William County, as they did in every county in Northern Virginia except Arlington.
County-wide, the median home price dropped 5 percent, to $390,000, from $410,000 in 2006, according to a Washington Post analysis of government sales records for single-family houses and townhouses. The analysis included the city of Manassas but not Manassas Park. Condominium sales were not included.
The volume of sales fell sharply, dropping 41 percent, to 6,627 from 11,151 the previous year.
Dwight "Ben" Brown, an associate broker with Prince William Real Estate, attributed much of the home-price decline to competition that sellers were facing from homes that had been foreclosed on by banks. The data The Post analyzed did not include foreclosures but did include short sales, or sales for less than the value of the mortgage.
"Prince William has just been inundated with bank-owned property," Brown said. "If you want to compete in that market, you have to get down and dirty. There is no market for a normal home seller."
Michael T. Minnery, an associate broker with Re/Max Allegiance in Woodbridge, said many agents in his office were selling bank-owned properties.
"They are very aggressive in pricing these homes," Minnery said. "They really lower the prices so that they can sell them quickly."
The highest volume of sales occurred in middle and eastern parts of the county, where prices are lower and homes are generally smaller. The three Zip codes with the most sales in the county were 22191 (Woodbridge), 22193 (Dale City) and 22192 (Lake Ridge), the same as in 2006. Median prices were down in all three, by 4 to 7 percent.
Triangle, Zip code 22172, a neighborhood just south of Quantico Marine Corps Base, had the county's steepest percentage decline in sales prices in 2007. The median price for the 112 homes sold there was $489,495, down from $613,670 the year before.
The town of Occoquan, Zip code 22125, had the county's only increase in median sales price. The price for homes there increased 18 percent, to $501,715. However, there were just 19 homes sold, compared with 21 the previous year.
Median prices declined in both the most and least expensive parts of the county. In Sudley, Zip code 20109, just west of Manassas, the median price dipped 15 percent, to $299,000. In Catharpin, Zip code 20143, the most expensive part of the county, the median sale price fell 17 percent, to $871,580. Only eight homes were sold in Catharpin in 2007, compared with 24 the previous year.
-- Alejandro Lazo, Washington Post Staff Writer
County-wide, the median home price dropped 5 percent, to $390,000, from $410,000 in 2006, according to a Washington Post analysis of government sales records for single-family houses and townhouses. The analysis included the city of Manassas but not Manassas Park. Condominium sales were not included.
The volume of sales fell sharply, dropping 41 percent, to 6,627 from 11,151 the previous year.
Dwight "Ben" Brown, an associate broker with Prince William Real Estate, attributed much of the home-price decline to competition that sellers were facing from homes that had been foreclosed on by banks. The data The Post analyzed did not include foreclosures but did include short sales, or sales for less than the value of the mortgage.
"Prince William has just been inundated with bank-owned property," Brown said. "If you want to compete in that market, you have to get down and dirty. There is no market for a normal home seller."
Michael T. Minnery, an associate broker with Re/Max Allegiance in Woodbridge, said many agents in his office were selling bank-owned properties.
"They are very aggressive in pricing these homes," Minnery said. "They really lower the prices so that they can sell them quickly."
The highest volume of sales occurred in middle and eastern parts of the county, where prices are lower and homes are generally smaller. The three Zip codes with the most sales in the county were 22191 (Woodbridge), 22193 (Dale City) and 22192 (Lake Ridge), the same as in 2006. Median prices were down in all three, by 4 to 7 percent.
Triangle, Zip code 22172, a neighborhood just south of Quantico Marine Corps Base, had the county's steepest percentage decline in sales prices in 2007. The median price for the 112 homes sold there was $489,495, down from $613,670 the year before.
The town of Occoquan, Zip code 22125, had the county's only increase in median sales price. The price for homes there increased 18 percent, to $501,715. However, there were just 19 homes sold, compared with 21 the previous year.
Median prices declined in both the most and least expensive parts of the county. In Sudley, Zip code 20109, just west of Manassas, the median price dipped 15 percent, to $299,000. In Catharpin, Zip code 20143, the most expensive part of the county, the median sale price fell 17 percent, to $871,580. Only eight homes were sold in Catharpin in 2007, compared with 24 the previous year.
-- Alejandro Lazo, Washington Post Staff Writer
Full-value transactions as reported by Prince William and Manassas. Manassas Park not included.
MAP: Dan Keating and Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso - The Washington Post
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
