Gates of Mclean 2010 Sales and Rental Analysis

The sales activity in 2010 at the Gates of McLean was great and prices were up on average for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. With the new metro getting closer to completion and the new noise barriers the community is getting more and more attractive. There were 18 homes sold in 2009 - in 2010 24 units sold (11 in the last half of the year.) The lowest price was a 1br/1ba foreclosure at $193,000. The highest price was a renovated 3br/2ba property with granite countertops at $368,000.

The sales mix changed from 2009 to the first half of 2010. In 2009 about 40% of the sales were foreclosures or short sales. In 2010 about 33% were - will 2011 continue the trend?

The 2009, the average sales prices were:
1 bedroom unit = $212,667
2 bedroom unit = $309,233
3 bedroom unit = $356,917

In 2010, the average sales prices were:
1 bedroom unit = $216,800
2 bedroom unit = $335.156
3 bedroom unit = $359,333

So, on average for the first half of this year prices are up quite a bit for 2 bedroom units and pretty much remained flat for 1 and 3 bedroom units.

Homes this year on average sell for 98.00% of the original and 99% of the list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Gates of McLean, you can expect to pay asking price. In 2009 units sold at about 96% of the asking price so sellers have gotten better at pricing their units this year (or demand has increased.)

There are 2 pending home sales at the Gates of Mclean as of 2/14/2011. It is a 1 bedroom unit at $219,900 and a 2 bedroom foreclosure at $278,100,

Regarding foreclosures and short sales: I looked in the Realist system and found 1 pre-foreclosure, 1 auctions and 0 bank owned properties. Some of the bank owned properties may already be listed or may already be sold. Based on those numbers it seems there may be a couple more foreclosures coming on the market over the next few months.

If you have negative equity in your home and you are considering a short-sale or a foreclosure (or you just don't know what to do), please give us a call. We have successfully closed short sales at the Gates of McLean and will be happy to talk to you.

Four homes are currently available for sale at the Gates of McLean. One is a 1-bedroom unit at $229900 and three are 2-bedroom units listed at $317,000-$349,000.

To get a better understanding of the overall price curve in the neighborhood we will first look at some specific models. The Danielle model (1br) and the Christine model (3br) are two popular models that usually have at least a few sales every year. I put together a graph showing sales of those two models below.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price trended downwards until the 2008-2009 timeframe. Since then the prices have stabilized and started to increase slowly again.

The average price regardless of model also indicate the same thing:

Apart from a tightening of appraisals, the high investor ratio at the Gates of Mclean keeps making things difficult for purchasers. Due to the ratio being high, finding a lender to finance a purchase often proves challenging with many demanding a 20% or higher down payment. Requiring that amount of down payment eliminates a lot of first time purchasers that would normally use FHA loans(3.5% down payment.) As a result, the investor ratio may remain high for some time.

Moving on to rentals, the rents seems to back to an upwards trend after a small slump in 2009. With 53 units rented on the MLS tin 2010 (versus 61 total in 2009) the competition for tenants may have been a bit less. There are currently 6 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,350 for a 1br/1ba to $1,925 for a 1br/2ba.

For investors the GRM is a bit up and down but is getting more attractive to investors due to rents going up more rapidly than the slight price increases for 2010 (except 2 bedrooms.)

Gates of McLean is a great neighborhood and the prices are still often lower than what the developer sold them for back in 2003. With the metro coming soon, the Gates of McLean is just getting better and better! If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing at the Gates of McLean please give us a call at 703 560-3424.

Are Andresen
Broker, Soldsense Realty LLC
"Your sixth sense in real estate"

Disclaimer: The data above is not guaranteed in any way and may contain errors and omissions and is based on MRIS data only. The analysis is my opinion only - always do your own research.