INSIDE
Fairfax’s unemployment rate among lowest in Va. – Story, Page 12 INSIDE: OUR SPRING REAL ESTATE GUIDE
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OAKTON’S VARSITY BOYS UNDEFEATED IN BASEBALL
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VOLUME 36 NO. 34
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
APRIL 16, 2015
A Good Start to the ‘15 Real Estate Season Across Area A February Bobble Was More Than Offset by Strong Results in January and March in Fairfax and N.Va. SCOTT McCAFFREY and DAVE FACINOLI Staff Writers
Both the raw data and anecdotal evidence from top real-estate professionals suggest that the first quarter of 2015 was healthy, and that the rest of the year could be strong – so long as there are no unforeseen surprises. “The best case is if the interest rates stay
low, the demand will remain high and it will be a very good year,” said Jack Shafran of Yeonas and Shafran Real Estate. “The worst is if the rates go up, the demand will slow and it will be an average year.” So far, so good, according to agents. “Boring is good – the best-case scenario is for the market to just keep being boring,” said Casey Samson of Samson Properties, pointing to a solid first quarter where both sales and average prices were rising at mod-
est levels from a year before. A total of 2,560 properties went to closing across Fairfax County in the January-February-March time frame, up 5.3 percent from the 2,432 sales a year before, according to figures from RealEstate Business Intelligence, an arm of the local multiple-listing service, and analyzed by the Sun Gazette. Both January and March saw year-overyear sales gains, with the 705 transactions in the first month of the year up 4.1 percent and
the 1,091 in the third month up 12.9 percent. In between, the market caught its breath – sales were off 3.2 percent to 764. The broader Northern Virginia market saw similar strength during the first quarter, with prices heading up along with total sales. Inside this week’s Sun Gazette is a 40-page pullout section devoted to the spring real estate market at the local, regional, state and national levels.
SHEPHERD’S CENTER HONORS SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM IN LOCAL COMMUNITY Leaders of the Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna on April 7 honored Gerry Hamilton, Mary Ann Hankin, Joan Hood, Julius Hankin, Carol Shapiro, Betty Somerville and Ross Johnson during a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Vienna. Shepherd’s Center volunteers gave thousands of hours of service over the past year, providing a lifeline to residents in need. Find the full story on the volunteer-appreciation event inside on Page 3 this week. PHOTO BY BRIAN TROMPETER
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