D.C. real estate set for big spring sales season

A recent article in the Washington Examiner stated that real estate sales in the Washington, D.C., area are set for a big spring season in 2011. According to a report by Clear Capital, home prices have increased substantially in the nation's capital, while foreclosures have declined.

Clear Capital spokesman Alex Villacorta told the newspaper that home values are currently 16 percent higher in D.C. than the market's bottom seen in 2009. As the number of foreclosures decrease, home prices have begun to stabilize. In the D.C. region, foreclosures during February declined by 65 percent from 2010. Montgomery County experienced an 85 percent decrease in foreclosures during February.

"We're already seeing properties stay on the market for a much shorter period of time," Joanne Darling, president of the Prince George's County Association of Realtors, told the paper. "We went from six months [in 2010] to now 60 to 90 days - that's considerable. And as the weather gets warmer, we expect to have these moments of good activity coincide with that."

A recent survey conducted by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services supports the article's optimism, as the company's report found the majority of Americans are confident in the recovery of the real estate market.

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