A review of the current Montgomery County market statistics confirms what most people already know: it's still a buyer's market. Inventory is up almost 15%, and median price is down to $410,000, about 8.5% from May 2007. Number of sales is down 33% from 2007, and days on market is up 24% from a year ago.

Does this mean buyers should wait? Maybe. As always, it depends on your personal circumstances. However, with the passage of time comes the uncertainty in the lending market. Just in the past year, we've seen the elimination of 100%, 95%, and even 90% financing in many cases, meaning much larger down payments for buyers. We've seen higher interest rates, stricter credit requirements, and fewer loan options. Though FHA has become a viable option thanks to higher limits in our area, the loan limit of $729K remains temporary through the end of 2008.

Click here to continue reading the post and view the graphs

North Arlington Condo Market Update Zip Code 22201 and 22203 (includes Ballston, Virginia Square, Clarendon)

All Stats Shown As 1 BR Units / 2BR Units

ACTIVE LISTINGS as of Jun 25

Average List Price $335,979 / $520,929

Number of Active Listings 53 / 79

Average Property DOM(P) – Actives 70 / 98

SOLD LISTINGS FOR PREVIOUS MONTH

Average Sold Price (does not include seller subsidies) $333,247/ $454,222

Number of Sold Listings 19 / 23

Average Property DOM(P) - Solds 56 / 54

* Statistics exclude retirement communities

Contact Katie Wethman, CPA, MBA, REALTOR® at (703) 847-3336 or via email to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in the Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, or Falls Church City areas. Copyright © 2008 by Katie Wethman, All Rights Reserved.

Visit my website to find out more about my services or search the MLS for Arlington and Washington, DC, properties and read more on my blog.

Source: MRIS data as of 06/25/2008. All data deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

North Arlington Condo Market Update

Zip Code 22201 and 22203 (includes Ballston, Virginia Square, Clarendon)

Click here to see the previous North Arlington Condo Market Update

Contact Katie Wethman, CPA, MBA, REALTOR® at (703) 847-3336 or via email to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in the Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, or Falls Church City areas.

Copyright © 2008 by Katie Wethman, All Rights Reserved.

Visit my website to find out more about my services or search the MLS for Arlington and Washington, DC, properties and read more on my blog.

Source: MRIS data as of 04/23/2008. All data deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

It’s critical that buyers protect themselves with appropriate financing contingencies (and make sure that the protections you want are negated by those pesky bank addenda – read post here.) Buyers take on enough risks in buying a foreclosure—don’t expose yourself to unnecessary interest rate risk as well. Let’s take an example. You make an offer on April 1 (no, there’s no hidden message there just because I’m using April Fool’s Day as my example) when rates are at 5.875%. The bank takes four weeks to get back to you, at which time rates have jumped to 6.25%, or even worse, the 10% down program you were planning to use is no longer available and now you need 15%, which you may not have. Sure, you can still back out of the contract (the upside of having to sign off on the bank addenda mentioned earlier), but obviously the situation is far from ideal. Let’s take a riskier situation: the contract is ratified and the buyer has signed off on the bank addenda. The buyer locks into a rate for 30 days, and settlement is scheduled for day 27. But the week before settlement the bank has a problem with the deed, and needs to delay settlement for a few days/weeks. So much for that rate lock—now your financing is floating with the market, and you take on all that interest rate risk.

Read more: Foreclosure Risks: Unpredictable Transaction Timing

Read more: Foreclosure Risks: Bank Addenda

Read more: Foreclosure Risks: Property Condition and Inspections

Contact Katie Wethman, CPA, MBA, REALTOR® at (703) 847-3336 or via email to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in the Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, or Falls Church City. I specialize in first time buyers.

Copyright © 2008 by Katie Wethman, All Rights Reserved.

Visit my website to find out more about my services or search the MLS for Arlington and Washington, DC, properties and read more on my blog.

One of the most common scenarios in a bank owned (or REO) sale is that the property is “as is.” But most people don’t understand exactly what this means, or how to protect themselves from buying a home that may need tens of thousands in repairs.

Let’s back up a moment, and put “as is” in the context of a “regular” (i.e., non-REO) sale. “As Is” is a commonly misused term. We first must understand the home inspection process and one particular paragraph in the regional sales contract – the Property Condition paragraph, also known as paragraph 7 (because it’s literally paragraph #7 in the contract…sometimes we agents aren’t all that creative.) Paragraph 7 indicates that the systems of the house, including plumbing, electrical, and appliances, must be in “normal working order.” Unless the parties agree to strike through this paragraph, that means the seller must ensure all of those systems work at the time of settlement.

Beyond that, buyers may wish to also get a home inspection (highly recommended). If the home inspector notes items related to plumbing, electrical, or appliances that are not in “normal working order” then the homeowner must fix these—they’ve already agreed to based on paragraph 7. Any OTHER items the home inspector may find—e.g., foundation problems, roof problems, window/door problems, etc.—are negotiable.

Read the rest of the post describing what "as is" in a foreclosure transaction really means here.

Contact Katie Wethman, CPA, MBA, REALTOR® at (703) 847-3336 or via email to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in the Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, or Falls Church City. I specialize in first time buyers.

Copyright © 2008 by Katie Wethman, All Rights Reserved.

Visit my website to find out more about my services or search the MLS for Arlington and Washington, DC, properties and read more on my blog.

In a typical transaction, you make an offer, the seller takes a day or so to review it and either a) accept, b) counter, or c) reject. If you’re concerned that a seller might be “sitting on the offer” to wait for a better one, or even “shopping it around” by calling all the agents who have previously visited the property to see if they can scrounge up a competing offer, then you might consider including an expiration or exploding clause. These clauses state that the offer will expire by x time and date if not responded to in writing. It’s a great way to protect a buyer and maximize your chances of a quick turnaround.

However, with a bank owned property, the bank takes as long as they darn well please. Might be a day, might be a month, might be several months. They don’t really care about your expiration clause. Well, maybe not that they don’t care, it’s just that they’re a big corporate entity, and your offer is likely to be sitting in a pile of paperwork that needs to get done asap, but the individual sitting in a cube somewhere really doesn’t have the right incentives to make sure he gets to your offer today, or tomorrow, or the next day.

In the meantime, you’d be wise to keep looking at properties to see if there’s anything better that catches your eye. As a buyer you have the right to withdraw your offer anytime before the bank gets back to you. In reality, the bank’s response will NEVER be an “accept.” Rather, it will ALWAYS include that pesky Bank Addendum that you will have to read (please, I beg of you, read) and sign before your contract becomes official.

Once you’re ratified, is it time to give notice on your lease and call the movers? Read the rest of the post here to find out.

Read more on the differences between short sales, foreclosures, and REO properties.

North Arlington Condo Market Update

Zip Code 22201 and 22203 (includes Ballston, Virginia Square, Clarendon)

Click here to see the previous North Arlington Condo Market Update

Contact Katie Wethman, CPA, MBA, REALTOR® at (703) 847-3336 or via email to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in the Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, or Falls Church City. I specialize in first time buyers.

Copyright © 2008 by Katie Wethman, All Rights Reserved.

Visit my website to find out more about my services or search the MLS for Arlington and Washington, DC, properties and read more on my blog.

Source: MRIS data as of 03/19/2008. All data deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

I get a lot of questions on foreclosures. How could I not? Some neighborhoods are flooded with them (though some are not...see the graph in my post on Beyond Auctions.) Buyers want to know if they’re a good deal, what the risks are, and how they can get in on one.

I’ve decided to write a series of posts on the risks specific to buying foreclosures—trust me that there are too many risks to put into one post! Some risks can be mitigated, some can be eliminated, but most remain; that’s part of the trade off you make in deciding to buy a foreclosed property.

First, a quick overview on the process. (For a review of how a home moves from short sale to auction to REO, read the post “I want to buy a foreclosure.”) Once a home is foreclosed upon, also known as Real Estate Owned or bank-owned, it is usually listed in the MLS with a listing agent, similar to any other home for sale. It will usually be noted right in the comments that this is a “bank owned property” or “special addenda required.” What is this special addenda?

Contact Katie Wethman, CPA, MBA, REALTOR® at (703) 847-3336 or via email to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in the Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, or Falls Church City. I specialize in first time buyers.

Copyright © 2008 by Katie Wethman, All Rights Reserved.

Visit my website to find out more about my services or search the MLS for Arlington and Washington, DC, properties and read more on my blog.