Home Sales in Loudoun Up 31 Percent in January

The Loudoun Times-Mirror reported that home sales in Loudoun County were up 31 percent from January 2008. The median sale price was $288,000 versus $370,000 the year before indicating that the news isn’t all positive, but I believe it’s better to have turnover at lower prices then a frozen market. Liquidity will bring more investors into bottom fish, establish values lenders can rely on, and help people that need to move out a way to do so.

Source: Loudoun Home Sales Up 31 Percent

Map courtesy of HomeFinders.com

They’re Talking About Us in St. Louis

It’s interesting that our beloved Loudoun and Prince William County suburbs would make it into an article in the St. Louis Today. Eddie Roth, the author of ‘Mass transit and suburban home market‘, makes great points about how we’re all paying very close attention to our transportation costs now. Commuting an hour each way used to be simply a quality of life issue. Now it’s hitting us in the pocketbook and it’s affecting buying decisions more then ever.

There are two claims he made in his article that I object to; #1) that home prices in Loudoun and Prince William counties “have collapsed” while prices in “the District and inner suburbs have stayed the same or increased”. (Even if true we don’t need them blabbering it all over), and #2) is his reference to our counties as “far suburbs”. Far from St. Louis I suppose! Has he ever driven Gum Spring Road? It’s not “far” any more!

Crime Reports Now Available in Loudoun

I’m proud of our Loudoun County Sheriff’s office! Like most every government they’ve made their “bureaucracy -brained” mistakes, but the Sheriff’s office has just wowed this resident! Loudoun has become the first county in Virginia to take advantage of a great new resource that let’s the average folk (non-average folks are welcome too!) keep track of all crimes reported on a daily basis (if desired) within the immediate area surrounding their homes, or anywhere else that local law enforcement is participating for that matter.

It’s as easy to use as Mapquest so anyone with an internet connection can take advantage of this powerful tool. Here’s how it works:

1. You register on CrimeReports.com (it’s FREE thanks to us taxpayers!)
2. Enter in your address
3. Select the radius around your home that you want crime reports for (5 miles or less)
4. Select the type of crimes you want reported (not sure why you wouldn’t want them all)
5. You can even choose to identify the home addresses of convicted sex offenders
6. Hit save and that’s it!

I received my first alert this morning and I’m happy to say that there were only three crimes reported since I registered yesterday within 5 miles of the midway point on Gum Spring Road: Two thefts and one assault all reported up in the big city of South Riding.

Here’s a short blurb from Crime Report’s Website about why they brought this crime reporting tool to life:

“CrimeReports.com was created to help law enforcement agencies put crime data in the hands of those who care about it most—citizens. While crime statistics in a specific city may be available, they may not be accessible. CrimeReports.com standardizes the way law enforcement agencies communicate crime data to the public, down to the specific neighborhood or block they live on.”