Two years ago, when I was kicked out of my old apartment when it almost went condo, I moved to my current apartment in Centreville, Virginia. Since then I've been tracking the prices on a local McMansion community in the area, the homes of which were valued in the $850,000-$950,000 range at the time. As recently as a few months ago, they were valued by Zillow in the $650,000-$750,000 range and Zillow shows two recent sales (before the Lehman Brothers collapse) in that price range.
So, now I am shocked to see this. A house in the neighborhood, which is a good representation of the norm—in fact, it may be slightly on the large size—is now valued by Zillow at $667,500. But that's not all. It is listed for sale at $549,900! (It is being sold "AS-IS". A bank-owned home, perhaps?)
Zillow says it was worth $968,000 at its peak in 2005. That means this former almost-million-dollar home has fallen by roughly $400,000 in three years.
Also, this townhouse in the same general area sold for $514,855 four years ago. It is now listed for sale at $333,000.
The Prince William County housing implosion is slowly moving inward toward D.C.
May you live in interesting times.
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