When are more houses coming on the market? (Burke, Manassas: middle-class, for sale)

[cvkevents]

My husband and I have been house hunting for a good three months. It seems like for the past few weeks that nothing new has come on the market. We are trying to buy a single family home or an end unit townhouse in the Springfield/ Burke/ Lorton/ Lake Ridge area. Everything that is semi-desirable is all under contract.

I thought Spring would bring new houses...but nothing new. Any ideas on where the housing market is heading?

Thanks!

[Margery]

Don't wait for homes to come on the market, have your agent be a little aggressive. Identify the neighborhood you would like to live in, e.g., a townhouse community. Identify the end units by driving around and taking notes. Your agent can find out the name and address of the owners, write them a letter expressing interest in buying their home and see if there is an interest in selling. I have done this for years when working with buyers, it is attractive to the owners because they do not have to pay a listing agent and have a bunch of "looky loos" who are never going to buy anything come nosing through their home. You must, however, be qualified to buy the home and not looking to "low ball" the owner. You will not be able to "steal" the home because this will not be a distress sale, it will be someone who wants to move up, not someone who has to sell. I am not trying to get your business, because I do not work in that area.

[nwlv]

The good deals on houses are going to be in 22150. I saw one I like for 180K.

[Skapov]

Originally Posted by nwlv

The good deals on houses are going to be in 22150. I saw one I like for 180K.

Btw, that's near "the mixing bowl" I believe, which is not exactly a nice place to live for a family seeking Middle-Class Suburbia with quiet neighborhoods.

To answer the OP's questions, I honestly do not believe a huge number of homes are gonna hit the market, as most sellers will simply hold off on listing until the market improves. In addition, there aren't a whole lot of foreclosures/short-sells in Burke/West Springfield/Lorton area the way there were in Manassas etc. areas. When I was looking back in Dec./Jan., I was surprised at how low the inventory was (30-40 homes at a time), and now that Spring is here the competition for those few homes will be fierce. Hence, you're finding nearly everything under contract.

[nwlv]

Unless you live across the street from the sound barrier; you would never notice it. The neighborhoods mentioned will also be utilizing the mixing bowl.

[spidercharm]

Originally Posted by cvkevents

My husband and I have been house hunting for a good three months. It seems like for the past few weeks that nothing new has come on the market. We are trying to buy a single family home or an end unit townhouse in the Springfield/ Burke/ Lorton/ Lake Ridge area. Everything that is semi-desirable is all under contract.

I thought Spring would bring new houses...but nothing new. Any ideas on where the housing market is heading?

Thanks!

There are some sellers waiting for market to improve, but smart ones are already out to sell knowing prices would significantly go down further. I just feel risk/reward for holding on RE right now is strongly against owning.

I haven't looked at Burke, but lot of other areas I look around here; homes are hitting the market faster than you think - specially townhomes. ARM/Baloons are just starting to hit hard and it will get worse in next few months before it gets better. It is unfortunate, but two of my friends with stable jobs are forced to sell now because they can't come up with the shortfall amount when they refinance.

[jmking]

Originally Posted by Skapov

Btw, that's near "the mixing bowl" I believe, which is not exactly a nice place to live for a family seeking Middle-Class Suburbia with quiet neighborhoods.

To answer the OP's questions, I honestly do not believe a huge number of homes are gonna hit the market, as most sellers will simply hold off on listing until the market improves. In addition, there aren't a whole lot of foreclosures/short-sells in Burke/West Springfield/Lorton area the way there were in Manassas etc. areas. When I was looking back in Dec./Jan., I was surprised at how low the inventory was (30-40 homes at a time), and now that Spring is here the competition for those few homes will be fierce. Hence, you're finding nearly everything under contract.

There aren't a lot of foreclosures/short-sells etc because it is a desirable place to live, even somewhat close to the bowl, why? Location. You are close to 495,95,395 just at or outside the beltway. And there are plenty of good neighborhoods just far enough away but close to the bowl where no sound of the bowl is heard such as Saratoga.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by Skapov

Btw, that's near "the mixing bowl" I believe, which is not exactly a nice place to live for a family seeking Middle-Class Suburbia with quiet neighborhoods.

22150 includes some nice homes in older neighborhoods near Lake Accotink Park. They are far enough from the Mixing Bowl that they are quite quiet and they are typical middle-class suburbia.

[springfieldva]

From what I've seen, many homes in the Burke and Springfield areas seem to be going under contract within a few days. Even the ones that are "sitting" a bit seem to be selling within a few months.

Lake Accotink Park is a nice recreation area with boat rentals, mini golf, 3-4 mile hiking trail, carousel, picnic areas, etc. Lots of people enjoy living close to it....

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by springfieldva

From what I've seen, many homes in the Burke and Springfield areas seem to be going under contract within a few days. Even the ones that are "sitting" a bit seem to be selling within a few months.

Lake Accotink Park is a nice recreation area with boat rentals, mini golf, 3-4 mile hiking trail, carousel, picnic areas, etc. Lots of people enjoy living close to it....

That is what we found. We are moving to West Springfield. We also looked at Burke. Houses that are nice and priced well went up for sale and were under contract in a day or two. We were outbid on one right after it came on the market, a second one was on the market for almost 8 months (they bought in '04 with no money down and can't/won't come down to today's market) and the one we have under contract now we went above asking the day it came on the market.
Our house went under contract in a day.