This Week In Vienna-Oakton Real Estate: How Low Can You Go?

On Aug. 12, mortgage rates hit the all-time low ever recorded. This means if you are thinking of buying a home – whether for the first time or whether you’re moving up or down – now is a great opportunity to maximize your buying power. (And if you’re not moving and you already own a home, you may want to look at refinancing.) Reports of 30 year fixed rates near 4 percent are popping up all over.

If you have been in the real estate market for a while - then you probably have your own version of  “When I Bought My First House, My Interest Rate Was ____ percent." Fill in the blank - and I’d bet money that the number you say is higher than rates are now.

Personally, we bought our first home in 1983. We were tickled to get a 9.5 percent, 30 year fixed-rate loan. Three years later, when we built the home we still live in today, rates were at 13 percent for a one year ADJUSTABLE rate mortgage. Yikes! Imagine the buying power we would have gained if rates were as low as they are today.

Feel free to comment below and let us know what your first mortgage loan was set at.

(I know some of you are wondering whether prices will drop further and if you should wait for that - and we’ll address that subject in detail on our blog soon. But the short answer is that even a slight increase in mortgage rates can offset a significant drop in home prices).

Now, let’s get right to the meat of the matter and look at this week’s stats.

What has happened over the past few weeks in Vienna & Oakton real estate? Here are the highlights:

• Inventory in Vienna rose 6 percent over the past week, while inventory in Oakton dropped ever so slightly.
• Vienna’s contract rate dropped significantly. We have averaged about 18 contracts per week this year and last week Vienna only saw nine homes go under contract. This is not unusual however, since this is “prime time” for many folks to go on vacation. 
• In Oakton, nine homes went under contract this week - a little more than the average of six per week so far this year.
• Homes are still selling fairly quickly. Thirty-three percent of the homes that went under contract this past week sold in 10 days or less. And the average days on market for all of the homes that went under contract was 57 days. Note that the overall average was slightly skewed by one home that finally sold after 342 days on the market!
• Vienna’s housing supply (based on the past 30 days contract rate) is only at 2.8 months, putting Vienna into the category of a Sellers Market. Oakton, at 3.7 months, remains in a “balanced market”.

For our detail-oriented readers, here are last week’s stats:

 Last week in Vienna Real Estate (22180, 22181, 22182):

• Number of Contracts: 9
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 102 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 31 days
• Inventory: 238 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 2.9 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.8 months

Here are last week’s stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

• Number of Contracts: 9
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 95 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 22
• Inventory: 86 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 3.4 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 3.7 months

To read more, visit The Belt Team for in-depth facts and figures.