Since record keeping began in 1963, sales of newly built homes dropped at the steepest pace throughout the country over the course of 2007. New home sales numbers totaled 774,000, which was 26% less than 2006 new home sales according to the Commerce Department. The 9.6-month supply of new home inventory for sale is a record. Since the July 2005 peak, the sales of new construction homes have plummeted 57%, and permits for construction have dropped nearly 50%. New home builders are rapidly cutting production which will help reduce the housing supply throughout the nation.

The DC Metro area is one of top hot spots for new home builders because of the high paying salaries and strong job growth. So what does this mean for home buyers? Well, for starters, the glut of new construction homes in Northern Virginia and Washington DC are breaking builders’ banks. It is a prime opportunity for savvy home buyers to scoop up good real estate at highly incentivized (apparently not a word according to spell checker) prices! Deals that were unheard of for the past 5 years (such as 6% home buyer incentives and 2 BR+den new condos in Arlington VA for $339k) are now available in highly desirable areas of Northern Virginia real estate. Many people remain pessimistic about the current DC real estate market, but the way I see it… how does the saying go- “one man’s loss is another man’s gain”… builders are hurting, so shoot ‘em while their wounded! (sorry builders). Just like foreclosures- if the seller is distressed, the buyer will be blessed (I made that one up ;).

Right now, I am informing my buyer clients that it is a great time to look for new construction homes and foreclosure homes (I’m a Northern Virginia & DC Realtor in case you didn’t know). With the builders’ incentives and highly motivated bank foreclosures, I’ve seen some pretty good deals recently that a lot of resale homes cannot compete with. Unless a seller purchased their home prior to 2003, they most likely won’t be selling their home for a profit (after selling costs) and will have less room to negotiate. That being said, if you are looking to buy a home and would like a professional to help you locate some good new home construction or foreclosure deals, give us a call at 1-888-998-ZILL (9455) or sign up for our free foreclosure list at the top of the page.

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