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Still Not Sure About Buying a Home in Northern Virginia?

Many agents in our office, and the industry at large, have commented that they’ve noticed a slight decline in buyer activity since the end of the tax credit in April. Home values bottomed out over a year ago, there are lots of great low money down financing programs and interest rates just hit historic lows, so why are some people still unsure about buying? While I can’t answer that question I can give a few pieces of info (provided by our regional manager at Long and Foster, Boomer Foster) that show why Northern Virginia is a great place to buy a home right now.

1.    Of the 15 largest job markets in the U.S. only the DC Metro area added jobs (5800) last year
2.    Of the 15 largest U.S. job markets ours has the lowest unemployment rate at 5.9% (nationally it’s about 9.5%)
3.    Northern Virginia has experienced 9 consecutive months of increased home prices
4.    The home affordability index shows that it is a great time to buy

The first 2 stats show how strong our local economy is and that job growth continues despite a somewhat stagnant national economy. Increasing jobs means population growth which will result in increased demand and eventually rising prices. The 3rd stat shows that we are already seeing signs of the pent-up and rising demand as prices have been steadily increasing. The last piece of info talks about the home affordability index that measures how affordable buying a home is based on median income, home prices, interest rates and a few other factors. This index tells us that all these factors make right now one of the best times to buy since the index started tracking 40 years ago.

There really are a lot of factors right now that make it a fantastic time to buy a home in our area. Rates won’t stay this low for long (rates are around 4.5% right now for a 30 year fixed!) and from the looks of things home prices have already started their upwards trend. So if you’ve been thinking about buying but still want to learn more I encourage you to give us a call and speak with one of our buyer specialists. We’ll help you lay out the facts and determine if now is the right time for you to buy and guide you through the process if it is.

Jim Patrick
Tom & Cindy and Associates
Long & Foster Realtors
7027-A Manchester Blvd
Alexandria, VA 22310
Cell: (571) 244-0120
www.HelloVirginia.com

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