McLean

McLean VA Home Sales Stats | Hyper Local January 2010

The national home sale data that has come out recently, like the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, and local data  have been all over the place giving a confusing picture of the local real estate market. Here, I am going to look at the McLean, Virginia zip codes 22101 and 22102 real estate sales for January 2010.

Although our memories aren’t always accurate, remember that early 2009 had a cascading stock market and the country was falling into economic turmoil. It wasn’t until March 2009 that a bottom was established.

But please know that this information is reported from MRIS which is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate but should be considered pretty darn close.

Keep in mind, mortgage rates were again falling and super low (around 5%).

Home Sales Numbers for 22101 in January 2010:

• Total Units Sold in January 2010, 24 vs. 13 in 2009 (up 84.62%)
• Average Sold Price in January 2010, $1,243,281 vs. $1,1997,292  in 2009 (up 61.70%)
• In the $700,000 to $799,999 range, 2 sold with 6 active listings
• In the $800,000 to $899,999 range, 3 sold with 15 active listings
• In the $900,000 to $999,999 range, 3 sold with 7 active listings
• In the $1,000,000 to $2,499,999 range, 6 sold with 68 active listings
• In the $2,500,000 to $4,999,999 range, 0 sold with 12 active listings
• Average days on market in January 2010 was 93 vs. 175 in 2009
• The average sold price in January 2010 was 81.54% of the average list price

Keep in mind there were big snow storms that shut down Northern Virginia for more than a week. I even had to push my car up the hill on Route 123 in Tyson’s Corner near International Drive at 10:00 pm one Saturday night!

Home Sales Numbers for 22102 in January 2010

• Total Units Sold in January 2010, 15 vs. 7 in 2009 (up 114.29%)
• Average Sold Price in January 2010, $798,493 vs. $626,429 in 2009 (up 27.47%) *
• In the $700,000 to $799,999 range, 1 sold with 2 active listings
• In the $800,000 to $899,999 range, 1 sold with 5 active listings
• In the $900,000 to $999,999 range, 1 sold with 7 active listings
• In the $1,000,000 to $2,499,999 range, 7 sold with 46 active listings
• In the $2,500,000 to $4,999,999 range, 0 sold with 27 active listings
• In the $5,000,000 & Over range, 0 sold with 6 active listings
• Average days on market in January 2010 was 87 vs. 91 in 2009
• The average sold price in January 2010 was 92.36% of the average list price

**This zip code reflects some extremes in pricing as there were 5 sales under $500k and 7 sales over $1.0 million. The McLean home market includes condominiums in all price ranges.

I have set up a quick search for you of homes in 22101

or

I have set up a quick home search for you of homes in 22102

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McLean

Helping prepare a 40 year-old home to sell

A significant number of the homes in Northern Virginia were built in the 1950′s, 1960′s, and 1970′s. Yes, a lot has been built since then, but the building booms in those times constructed significantly smaller homes and much faster.The total number of homes built in the 1970′s alone outpaces the most recent boom time.

Best of all, they were pinker, yellower and bluer too.

We have all seen the color scheme and it typically raises the eyebrows of first time home buyers. In fact, most of the sellers probably intended to remodel those baths too when they bought the house years ago. But these bathrooms were built to last, and they still work so they won’t be getting a HGTV overhaul in our game plan because there won’t be a significant ROI.  So, they stay.

Home buyers will overlook the pinks, blues or yellows if the location is right

But often these homes have oak hardwood floors hiding under wall-to-wall carpet, and there have been a series of good updates (and not so good updates) that buyers will appreciate like central heating or AC systems, roofs and gutters, or window and door replacements. Deep down, most of these homes have good bones and are now in great locations.

So sellers need to start thinking like buyers, and who those buyers of their home might be? Today’s home buyers are unique and been trained by HGTV programs like House Hunters or Property Virgins. Open the Washington Post and see if those shows are on tonight and take a peek… it may be an eye opener listening to the comments of the on-camera home buyers.

The hardest concept for home sellers to grasp: It isn’t your house anymore!

A home seller’s starter checklist:

• Paint walls with a modern color with a “flat enamel” finish… it looks richer and conceals imperfections
• Trim should be ultra white for the best, cleanest contrast
• Paint your ceilings “ceiling white”… it will make those lower ceilings look higher
• Light fixtures will need replacing all over the house… think brighter!
• Some carpets may be in good condition or almost new, so have them professionally cleaned
• Expose those hardwood floors hiding under the living room floor… brighten them with a mop or refinish
• Update old kitchen appliances… the Sunday paper may have a “package” deal
• Set a date with a charity or trash removal company to get rid of some of your old stuff
• Clean everything including your windows… a local maid service may do the trick!
• Remove 50% of the clothes, coats, or supplies in your closets…
• Consider renting a storage unit or contacting a “POD” storage service
• In Northern Virginia, there are professionals to do almost any job… so hire them to do the lifting!

No home is perfect, and your goal as a home seller is to help create a series of “wow moments” when a buyer sees your home online, pulls up at the curb, and then walks in your front door.

McLean

Vienna, Virginia | My Buyer’s Agent Advice of the Week

I had a home buyer Tweet me and ask if I had any words of wisdom to pass along. The funny thing is that I love giving advice, but 140 characters weren’t going to cut it because what I do really can’t be distilled down to a sound bite. It also raised an issue that many socialists have written dissertations on… the desire for a silver bullet or quick fix.

A picture and a paragraph won’t be enough

Buying real estate in Northern Virginia is going to be a complicated task that will require some planning and very hard work:

• You need to figure out how to pay for your home (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out the best location (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out what style of home you want (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out a reasonable sales price (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to do some comparison shopping (and adjust if necessary)

Plus there really are distinct differences between living in Arlington, McLean, Vienna or Oakton, Virginia.

and now for Doug’s words of home buyer wisdom…

Right now, today, I can share some wisdom that is worth passing down and it will require you to do some serious soul searching. Did you ever read “What Color is My Parachute” when you were searching for a job or life purpose? In that book the author has his readers do some serious thinking to help them discover their individual strengths, and then organize and understand the importance of capitalizing on those strengths.

Where do you see yourself in five or ten years? Today you have opportunities to buy into a neighborhood for the long term, rather than starting with a first-timer home and then moving in five years to your “family” home. Today’s long-term mortgage interest rates are low and should be low for a while, and home prices have been knocked down too. I won’t bother you with equations, but as rates go up then your buying power goes down.

Right now, in Fairfax County, Virginia, I am not seeing builders building too many detached homes under $1,000,000. Understanding the basics of supply vs. demand proves that the supply of detached homes under $650,000 will remain unchanged (actually decrease) over the next ten years. And the population forecast is on the upswing too.

So, my buyer’s agent advice or words of a wisdom… this is the time to buy a home with the long-term in mind.

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McLean

It’s time to re-connect… my resolution for 2010

Happy New Year!

Like most of you, I recently sat down to review the last year and look ahead to 2010. And like any business person, I took a long hard look at my real estate business, the Northern Virginia real estate market as a whole, my relationships with clients, and where I saw the business in the new year. One of my primary thoughts was that I needed to re-connect with a lot of people who I haven’t spoken with in much too long a time.

Maybe you are one of them? We can meet at Starbucks, call me!

Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject of 2010…

Like 2009, we are going to face a challenging real estate market for Home Sellers and Home Buyers in Northern Virginia

• Buyers will see low interest rates
• Buyers will feel pressure from the home buyer tax-credit deadline of April 30th
• Buyers will see a small inventory of homes for sale
• Buyers will compete with other, very qualified home buyers when submitting real estate contracts
• Buyers will need an agent who prepares them to be a strong and competitive, will show them all homes for sale, and actively pursue a negotiation

• Sellers will see prices remain flat
• Sellers need to know only good properties priced well, and staged well will get an offer
• Sellers will see picky home buyers who may back out of contracts for no apparent reason
• Sellers, those who want to buy another home (move-up or down), will need to understand the April 30th tax deadline
• Sellers will need an agent who understands how today’s buyers look at homes and decide to buy

For more information about the April 30th home buyer tax credit deadline you should read my post on the subject. Timing and strategy in early 2010 are going to be the key to success.

I look forward to re-connecting with you… hey, the first cup is on me!

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