Area fares well in stress test

Improvement in Caroline, Prince William foreclosure rates may bode well for Fredericksburg region.

Date published: 10/5/2009

Virginia and the Fredericksburg area fared well in The Associated Press’ monthly analysis of economic stress in more than 3,100 U.S. counties in August.

The AP’s monthly analysis, which was released today, looks at a county’s unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates to determine which ones are "stressed."

Caroline County was among the five U.S. counties with the most-improved foreclosure rate between July and August, the AP notes.

“We have noticed an improvement over the past couple of months,” said Mike Manns, one of the owners of Pitts & Manns Realty in Bowling Green.

Manns said part of the reason for the improvement is people are getting more realistic with their sales prices, which is taking homes off the market. Home sales in Caroline were up 44 percent in August compared with the year before.

The AP report also singled out Prince William County as being among the five U.S. counties with most improved foreclosure rates over the past year.

The fate of Prince William’s real estate market is crucial to the stability of the Fredericksburg-area housing market, Dan Fulton, president of Fairfax-based Fulton Research, noted at an August presentation to area builders. When Prince William prices level out, that helps the local area.

The AP report also named Virginia as one of the four states that showed the most improvement in their stress scores in August.

For more on this story, read Tuesday's Free Lance-Star.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
bfreehling@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 10/5/2009