WASHINGTON — Construction of new homes posted a small gain in April but applications for building permits plunged by the largest amount in 17 years, a dramatic sign that the nation’s housing industry is still in a steep slump.
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Northern Virginia bore the brunt of the real estate market slowdown locally last year, but its prices remained the highest in the region.
The median sale price for a single-family house or townhouse in Northern Virginia last year was $495,000, up less than 1 percent from 2005, according to a Washington Post analysis of government records. Condominium sales were tallied separately. The median sale price is the point at which half the properties were more expensive and half were less.
Large townhouses are typical of new development in Northern Virginia. The median sale price for a single-family home in the region last year was $495,000. (By Tracy A. Woodward — The Washington Post)
Two of the 13 jurisdictions included in The Post’s analysis registered median price drops in 2006: Arlington and Fairfax counties.
Nonetheless, Prince William County is the only jurisdiction reviewed where the median price is less than $500,000 — Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun all have median prices well above that point.
Sale prices of condominiums declined in Northern Virginia, falling about 1 percent to $305,000. Regionwide, including the District and suburban Maryland, the median sale price for condos rose 1 percent to $285,299.
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Prince William County officials yesterday proposed a 36 percent increase in the amount that developers pay the county for permission to build houses, which industry officials warned would probably drive up home prices.County officials said they need the additional money — $51,113 for each house, up from $37,719 now — to build the roads, schools, parks, libraries and police and fire stations that are needed because of growth.
Representatives of the building industry said the proposed increase in so-called developer proffers would come at a bad time because of the slowdown in the housing market. If the higher proffer rate is approved, industry officials said, the costs would be passed along to buyers of new homes.
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