I’m Excited About 2014 and You Should Be Too!

I’m Excited About 2014 and You Should Be Too!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and Christmas season. Today I wanted to quickly go over what the real estate market will look like in 2014. As far as what happened in 2013, a couple highlights were the fact that across the county we saw a 12.5% in values, which is great news. Zillow and other real estate professionals, including myself, are thinking 2014 will bring an additional 3-6% increase in values. That may not be as hot as 2014, but we’re still going in the right direction.

In December 2012, there were 971 closings; fast forward to March 2013 and there were 1,496 closings. As the spring market approaches, we see more homes coming onto the market. In July 2013, we saw 2,496 homes that closed in Northern Virginia. If you’re going to be selling your home in 2014, give us a call and we will set up a pre-listing appointment, learn what your goals and help you achieve those goals.

Stay tuned for more valuable information so you can make informed decisions in the market. Thanks and have a great day!

Why You Should Hire a Buyer’s Agent

Why You Should Hire a Buyer’s Agent

Today I wanted to talk to you about whether or not you should hire a real estate agent when going to buy your next home. Right now, I am in Aldie where there are new construction properties being built. A good buyer’s agent will preview and study the market, know what is on a resale basis and also what is new and coming onto the market. It is my job to go through model and existing homes to show you what specials and financing builders are providing and compare the information to existing properties that is for sale. As a buyer’s agent, I will keep you informed to make the best decision on your next home purchase.

Thanks and have a great day!

How Can You Determine the Value of Your Home?

How Can You Determine the Value of Your Home?

When going to sell your home, it can be difficult to determine the value of your home. We will set up what is called a “pre-listing appointment” where we will look your home and I will also look through other homes on the market to get a sense of the features and benefits of those we will be directly competing with. When comparing prices of other homes to yours, you need to compare the price that it sold for; that’s exactly what an appraiser will do. The active homes don’t establish market value.

Have a great day!

Another House Under Contract!

Another House Under Contract!

I am happy to tell you that in 13 days, we have another house under contract! Now is a great time to sell because even in the fall, homes are flying off the market. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you are on the fence about selling; now is the perfect time!

What is Your Motivation to Sell?

What is Your Motivation to Sell?

With autumn in full swing and the holiday season rapidly approaching, many people are contemplating whether to move now or wait until spring. Unfortunately, there is not a universal answer. The seller’s needs, motivations and goals all play into their decision. For example, if the seller has family in Florida and there is nothing tying them to the current area, they are apt to list the home now.

My thought process is since inventory levels are still extremely low and interest rates are below 4%, right now is an outstanding time to sell their home. If the seller is looking to sell but has the ability to wait until spring, there is the potential to get more value out of it then. The only challenge with waiting until spring is that you may be competing with only 30-40 houses now versus 200-300 houses in the spring. With that amount of competition, you may not get the price you want. My recommendation to sellers will be based on your motivation. When we find your needs and desires, we mold that into our marketing plan, list your house and get it sold.

The Truth About Interest Rates

The Truth About Interest Rates

Hey, guys! Thanks for visiting my real estate blog!

Our preferred lender Jeffery Nielsen passed along a chart about interest rates to me. As many of you know interest rates have increased over the past couple of months. Today, I wanted to show you this graph and help put our rising rates into perspective.

This chart goes all the way back to 1983 through today. In  1983 interest rates were at 13.24 percent. In 1990 they were at 10.13 percent. In 2001 they were 6.97 percent. Finally, in the first quarter of 2013 interest rates were at 3.68 percent.

So, while we are seeing a slight increase from the beginning of this year, rates are still historically low. If you are thinking about buying a home, do it now!

If you want to get started looking for a home, give me call!

Median Sales Price Gains in the Real Estate Market

Welcome back to our video blog! We are going to be talking about July’s numbers and what has happened in last 30 days versus the past year and how it affects you!

So, there has been continued increases in sales and double digit growth in new listings for the fourth straight month. How exciting is that? That mean our market has bounced back!

The demand in our market is still strong, especially in the summer months. Inventory has continued to climb but the pace has slowed due to new listings. High demand and low supply has contributed to the median sales price increases. The year to date median price is nearly 10% higher than it was during the same period in 2012.

While the number of new contracts and sales have decreased since June, this is typical summer patterns and the decline was smaller than it was in past year. Increasing prices may encourage people to sell their home, with us!

This is exciting information!

Falls Church City is number 1.  From July 2012 to July 2013, the year over year increase is 23.5%; that’s huge!

Fairfax City’s median sale price in 2012 was $425,000; in 2013 it was $487,500. That’s a 14.7% increase.

Prince George experienced a 19.5% year over year increase!

In any event, when you are thinking about buying or selling and want a free consultation, we’d be happy to do that for you! We can find out how much your home is worth!

Northern Virginia July Housing Market Update

Thanks for watching my video! I’m sure you’ve heard a million times how crazy the market is! A recent report from Redfin, though, shows a slight slowdown in the market as inventory has increased.

Redfin ranks 22 markets across the country by the percentage of homes that went under contract in 14 days of their debut. In May, 32% of homes went under contract in two weeks. That’s a great number, but it’s a drop from April by 1.2%. That’s the largest percentage drop since December of 2012.

Inventory has also increased. It rose 4.2% from April to May and 6.4% from March to April. The increase in inventory indicates it may be contributing to the market slow down.

So what does this mean? Homebuyers who are already in the market are becoming more aggressive to buy a home. Interest rates have been increasing to right below 5%. This is still a great rate, though! I always tell people about my parents who bought their home in 1978 at an 18% interest rate! 5% is still an amazing rate!

So call me so we can get started on finding you your new home!