I like the prospects for my local market and here is why everyone should take a look at Prince William County, Virginia.  This is the greatest buying opportunity I have ever seen.  Right now you can pick up a home for the same price it sold for back in 2000 (or earlier) even though incomes have gone up significantly since that time.  According to the Prince William Department of Economic Development the county’s median household income is $87,243.  The median county income in the year 2000 was $67,466 and in 2004 it was $75,302 according to the Census Bureau.  That is a 15% increase since 2004 while home values have gone down almost 40% in the last year in Woodbridge, Virginia according to the Metropolitan Regional Information System. 

I am active in real estate in 3 different states and consistently research many more areas.  I don’t know of a place with a better price to income ratio.  In most places you’re lucky to have prices at 3 to 4 time’s median income.  Here in Prince William County it’s about 2.3 time’s median household income.  That’s just average, savvy buyers can get much better deals than average.  

The job market is still strong in the DC area.  These are well paying stable jobs being created in the most recession resistant region of the country.  To hedge our bets wewe are all expecting a nice population boost with the thousands of jobs being sent to Ft Belvior in the next couple of years from the last BRAC.  However, that rampant growth of 2000-2005 created our greatest lagging problem, builder overproduction.  I think the greatest drag on this market is builder inventory, but builders are dumping houses at amazing prices.  People keep moving to this area and builders can't build homes at losses forever.  Eventually, very soon I believe, people will have to start paying more for new homes or builders will just stop building all together, either way, it's good for existing homes.

I’m confident that Prince William County is going to start attracting a great deal of attention as one of the most affordable places to live, with great schools and tolerable commuting options.  The Trends in VA Housing Market Report stated that sales activity in Prince William County was up approximately 150% in the 3rd quarter of 2008.  Investors here should be looking for great deals and be prepared to hold them for at least a year.  But, you’ll have a good shot at that since the rental market is stable to strong here.  Renters should take this opportunity to get into a home of their own and Homeowners can use this market to get that bigger home.