real estate

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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• Vienna, VA Home Sales Stats | Hyper Local January 2010 (dougfrancis.com)

real estate

Vienna, 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 Vienna, Virginia zip codes 22180 and 22182 real estate sales for January 2010.

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 22182 in January 2010:

• Total Units Sold in January 2010, 8 vs. 11 in 2009 (down 27.27%)
• Average Sold Price in January 2010, $773,509 vs. $666,278 in 2009 (up 16.09%)
• In the $500,000 to $599,999 range, 1 sold with 15 active listings
• In the $600,000 to $699,999 range, 2 sold with 10 active listings
• In the $700,000 to $799,999 range, 3 sold with10 active listings
• In the $800,000 to $999,999 range, 1 sold with 14 active listings
• In the $1,000,000 to $2,499,999 range, 1 sold with 45 active listings
• Average days on market in January 2010 was 118 vs. 149 in 2009
• The average sold price in January 2010 was 91.18% of the average list price

January’s stats were also impacted by a historic snow storms that virtually closed everything down with 30″+.

Home sale numbers for the Town of Vienna, 22180, January 2010

• Total Units Sold in January 2010, 12 vs. 14 in 2009 (down 14.29%)
• Average Sold Price in January 2010, $676,730 vs. $450,232 in 2009 (up 50.31%)
• In the $400,000 to $449,999 range, 2 sold with 5 active listings
• In the $450,000 to $499,999 range, 0 sold with 6 active listings
• In the $500,000 to $599,999 range, 0 sold with 11 active listings
• In the $600,000 to $799,999 range, 5 sold with 5 active listings
• In the $800,000 to $999,999 range, 1 sold with 3 active listings
• In the $1,000,000 to $2,499,999 range, 2 sold of 17 active listings
• Average days on market in January 2010 was 57 vs. 81 in 2009 (down 29.63%)
• The average sold price in January 2010 was 96.01% of average list price

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• Mortgage woes lead to most home sales (lansner.freedomblogging.com)

real estate

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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real estate

Real Estate’s New Strategic Focus | April 30, 2010

Revised to include new 5405 instructions

The world of residential real estate in the U.S. is facing an expiration date of historic proportions in 2010 that buyers and sellers need to pay attention to for a variety of reasons. April 30, 2010 is the last day that buyers and sellers can “enter into a binding contract” for a real estate transaction to qualify for the two, limited time, federal tax credits for buyers of residential real estate.

Having a strategic real estate plan in early 2010 is essential for both sellers and buyers of primary residences especially before the ship has sailed… and it will. Hey, I’m just a real estate agent so ask your tax adviser what’s best for your tax situation.

Attention home Sellers, it ain’t just for first-time home Buyers this time!

Way back in November ‘09 when first-time buyers were in a frenzy to close on a home before November 30th, Congress passed The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to extend the first-time home buyer tax credit and add a new tax credit for “long-time resident” homeowners. So now the move-up home seller group or downsizing home seller needs a clear strategy for getting a contract on their existing home and then a contract on their new home. These tax credits are for principal or primary home purchases and not intended for investors or people buying second homes.

Home Sellers, if you had planned on moving-up or down this year, then you should realize that buyers this winter have a deadline or extra motivation to snatch-up your home. This is important especially since home inventories are low in many areas (supply vs. demand). And then, once you have that contract in hand,  you can put in a contract on your new home before the April 30th deadline for the “long-term resident” credit if you qualify.

If you are thinking of just waiting until the Traditional Spring Market in 2010, then you really need to think again. Waiting until May to put your home on the market is a strategic error. The motivation of the tax credit can act a little like rocket fuel to qualified buyers to enter into contracts by the April 30 deadline, and I witnessed that phenomenon in the Northern Virginia real estate market last fall as the original deadline approached. This credit is essentially up to $8,000 cash to the first-time home buyer… and that will buy a lot of home furnishings!

I forecast 45% of 2010’s real estate sales are “in escrow” during this period

Here are the important dates as posted on IRS.gov:

• Binding Contract by April 30, 2010
• Must Settle on the Purchase by June 30, 2010

First-Time Homebuyer Credit details:

• Buyer who have not owned a primary residence during the three years up to date of purchase
• No one under 18 years old
• Modified Adjusted Gross Incomes up to $125,000 for single filers (reduced credit $125,000-$145,000)
• MAGI up to $225,000 for joint filers (reduced credit $225,000 – $245,000)
• No credit on homes with a purchase price over $800,000
• Maximum Credit of $8,000 or 10% of Purchase price (smaller of the two)
• Need to file IRS Form 5405
• New instructions as of January 15th, 2010: Revised 1/10 5405 Instructions

Long-time Resident Credit details:

• Must have used the same home as a principal or primary residence for at least five consecutive years of the eight-year period on the date of purchase of a new home as a primary residence.
• Credit up to $6,500
• Modified Adjusted Gross Incomes up to $125,000 for single filers (reduced credit $125,000-$145,000)
• MAGI up to $225,000 for joint filers (reduced credit $225,000 – $245,000)
• Need to file IRS Form 5405
• New instructions as of January 15th, 2010: Revised 1/10 5405 Instructions

Members of the Armed Forces and certain Federal Employees serving outside the U.S.:

• You will have an extra year to qualify for the credit

This information is intended as strategic advice to help give readers an overview of the upcoming 2010 real estate market, and you should always consult a professional tax adviser to discuss your tax situation and if you qualify for this tax credit, and how much you are entitled to receive at your price-point.

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