Sun Gazette Fairfax October 9, 2014

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INSIDE

Fairfax jobless rate ticks up but remains relatively low – Page 17

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PHOTOGRAPHERS HIGHLIGHTED IN GREAT FALLS STUDIOS TOUR

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LOCAL VOLLEYBALL TEAMS ARE UNDEFEATED

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Commentary Letters Public-Safety Schools/Military Classified Crossword Local history

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SunGazette

VOLUME 36 NO. 7

G R E AT FA L L S • M c L E A N • O A K T O N • T Y S O N S • V I E N N A

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OCTOBER 9, 2014

Once Again, N.Va. Real Estate Seems on an Aimless Path

WORKING TO KEEP FIREFIGHTERS SAFE

A year ago, the local real estate market seemed on the verge of a breakthrough, with sales and prices both rising – suggesting that Northern Virginia finally had put the recession of 2008-11 in the rear-view mirror. But the watchword over the past year has been “anemic” – prices are still up (although high-priced new construction has something to do with that) – but sales are softer than in 2013 and inventory of homes for sale is up. That’s good news for prospective purchasers, who can take their time and not be rushed, but not such good news for those wishing to sell their homes quickly for top dollar. Where is the market headed? That’s one crystal-ball projection few can make, although the autumn and winter seasons traditionally are slower than the spring and summer ones.

INSIDE This week’s Sun Gazette includes a pullout special section focused on the current state of the local, regional and national real estate markets. Enjoy! One major question: What happens to mortgage-interest rates? In recent months, they have remained low, which gives purchasers more buying power and helps to keep prices up. Find the Sun Gazette’s Fall Real Estate Guide inside. It offers page after page of news and data about the local, regional, state and national realestate scene.

Constitutional Amendment Voided

Suprising Court (In)action Opens Door to Va. Same-Sex Marriages Steven Onufrey of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department helps other firefighters exit a building as part of a training exercise conducted last week at the county’s Fire & Rescue Academy. The Dräger Group, which produces safety equipment for firefighters and other emergency personnel, sponsored the event to provide firefighters from across the region information on new technology that can be used to improve survival chances during a “flashover,” an event that can turn a routine fire into a deadly conflagration in seconds. In such instances, temperatures near the ceiling reach 1,000 degrees. PHOTO BY DEB KOLT

– or others like it – for review seemed to surprise both sides in the debate over marriage equality. The decision, followed up by an order of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court, resulted in local Circuit Court clerks across Virginia issuing marriage licenses to those who previously had been blocked from receiving them. Find updates as they unfold at www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax.

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Same-sex marriage became legal in Fairfax County and across Virginia Monday not with a sweeping proclamation by the U.S. Supreme Court, but with justices’ more prosaic decision to deny an appeal of the Circuit Court ruling that earlier had overturned the commonwealth’s 2006 constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The decision not to accept the case


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