Home sales in Northern Virginia were down over the last year, including a drop of more than one-third in Prince William County, according to new data released Thursday.

In the inner suburbs, which includes Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria, sales were off 5 percent compared to last year, a smaller decline in a state that averaged a drop-off of 11 percent, said the Virginia Association of Realtors.

In Prince William County, however, sales were down nearly 35 percent, the third-largest drop in the state.

Median home prices in Prince William were also down sharply. In July 2006, the median price was $389,200, compared to $354,450 this year.

This story continues below
Advertisement

In the inner suburbs, prices were steady, going up slightly from $476,450 last July to $480,000 this year.

The decline in sales is yet another indication that the area housing market, while showing some signs of strength, is still undergoing a correction. The plunge in Prince William shows that markets outside the Beltway are going to take longer to recover.

“All Realtors are telling me, if a buyer has their choice of living in Fairfax or Prince William County, most of them will move in closer to the Beltway,” said Christine Todd, chief executive officer of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. “That unfortunately has hurt the Prince William County market now that the market has cooled.”

The home sale data comes as foreclosure rates across the country have spiked to all-time highs. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, 0.65 percent of all mortgages started the foreclosure process in the second quarter, up from 0.58 percent in the first quarter and 22 basis points higher than a year ago. This quarter’s foreclosure rate is the highest in the history of the survey, topping the previous high set last quarter.

In the District, 0.59 percent of home owners began the foreclosure process in that period, compared to 0.51 in Virginia and 0.66 in Maryland.

Delinquency rates are also up nationally, with 5.12 of home owners behind in their payments. In Washington, 2.2 percent of people are behind on payments, compared with 2.0 percent in Maryland and 1.9 in Virginia.

dfrancis@dcexaminer.com