Archive for December, 2007
Who hibernates in December?
December 11th, 2007 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Home Buying, Northern Virginia Home Selling, Reston Dirt
When we think about all of the obligations we have this time of year a few come to mind:
Holiday Parties
Baking
Shopping, Wrapping, Mailing – pretty paper and shiny ribbons
Decorating
Caroling
Attending school concerts and/or pageants of our children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends kids, etc… (or sewing a black velvet skirt for one’s daughter’s holiday concert the night before **ahem**)
Attending other holiday performances (The Nutcracker, Handel’s Messiah, etc…)
The list is exhaustive - and this is while we’re working, paying bills, doing laundry, grocery shopping, etc… none of which have anything to do with real estate!
So here’s my question – who is buying and selling their homes in December? Apparently there are a lot of people this year who are choosing to be out and about looking at homes. With interest rates at recent lows (certainly lower than they’ve been for the past 3–4 months), sellers lowering their prices to reasonable levels and the tax benefits associated with purchasing real estate, there’s an astounding number of people out there looking at homes! NOBODY seems to be hibernating in Northern Virginia!
That’s good news for sellers – and if you can still squeak in a sale before the Grantor’s Tax goes up, woo hoooooo!
I just wanted to send a message to all of you out there who consider real estate to be on your “to do” list this holiday season, you’re not alone! I just hope you can fit that new home in your stocking!
Let’s talk!
Happy Tuesday
Jennifer
| Discussion: 3 Comments »
November Figures are in for Arlington Home Sales
December 6th, 2007 Categories: Arlington Dirt, Market Stats
And the results are truly a mixed bag. For all of the media hype about what a bad market it is right now, we’re still seeing some good successes in these closer in markets. Frankly, we’re beginning to see successes overall where homes are priced appropriately and presented well, no matter where they’re located. Sometimes it is still taking some time, which is frustrating for the sellers. However, a home seller in the DC area can have hope!
Here’s how the numbers look for just the month of November, 2007 and how it compares with just last November:
November 2007 Arlington County Home Prices and Sales Figures:
What I see in this is that drastically fewer homes were sold pretty much across the board during the November 2007 period when compared with 2006; additionally, at least for just this month, average selling prices were off in the condo market, but held steady or even saw increases over last year for the single family home market.
The following table shows year over year sales data:
From this I see that from an overall perspective, we’re holding steady. I see no huge surprises or ah-ha’s… One thing I’m noticing though is the inventory is rising, which affects absorption rates – in other words, how long will it take to sell through the current inventory at the current rate of sales?
We’ve seen these numbers steadily rise since I began reporting them.
Any way you slice and dice it - it’s a terrific time to be a buyer – interest rates have softened a bit in the last week or so. Sellers WANT TO SELL and hey, wouldn’t you rather buy NOW than in a bidding war? Give me a call or drop me an email anytime you’d like to discuss real estate!
Happy Thursday and, by the way, enjoy the snow!
Jennifer
| Discussion: No Comments »
Local Blogger goes AWOL
December 5th, 2007 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Reston Dirt
ha ha – that’s how it feels, really! I’ve been missing in action over the last week or so – lots going on I suppose. It’s a tough time of year for all of us to keep focused with holiday demands, family demands, work, etc… oh and that winter cold that just won’t go away! But I’m here and ready to jump back in. So stay tuned for some great posts that I have planned for you!
Today, the DC area is getting its first snow of the year – it’s come early this year and my children are convinced that we’ll see blizzard conditions before this winter is up. Who knows, I may be blogging and referring back to this post come February under 27 inches of snow!
Anyway, here’s a picture I took of our holly tree with its first dusting of the season. Enjoy and know that I’m back in full swing.
Happy Wednesday!
Jennifer
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
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