Fort Washington, MD

The old phrase, "Real Estate is Local", has been worn out by countless Realtors, desperate to paint as bright a picture as possible in a bleak real estate market. It's more than just a worn out catch phrase, though, and without paying attention to what's happening in the region you're looking to buy or sell in, you can find yourself extremely frustrated.

I've written 5 contracts for buyers looking in Fort Washington, MD over the last 3 weeks. All of them have been on foreclosed properties. In 4 out of the 5 contracts, we have found ourselves competing with other buyers in a multiple-bid situation. The first question that comes to buyers mind when they hear this is usually something along the lines of: "Is the real estate market really that good?"

Here's a quick breakdown on what's really happening in the Fort Washington, MD real estate market:

From the current MRIS statistics, the majority of homes for sale in Fort Washington are non-foreclosures. In fact, as of today there are only 42 homes in the 20744 zip code that are listed as bank owned (REO). 272 properties listed for sale in Fort Washington are NOT foreclosures.

Seeing considerably fewer foreclosures listed than traditional resales is an excellent thing. The bad news is that 41% of all homes that are currently under contract (98 homes out of 234 listed) are bank owned.

The fact of the matter is that people are gravitating towards buying foreclosed properties in the area. the fact that there are more REO's under contract than there are available is very telling. typically the ratio of homes under contract vs. homes available is 1:4. right now that ratio is closer to 2:1 in the area. As far as foreclosures are concerned, Fort Washington would be considered a sellers market. (It's incredible how quickly things can change!)

The other thing to look at is total sales volume. In Fort Washington, property sales volumes have been picking up as well. Although it's nowhere near the sort of monthly volume we had seen during the boom years, total sales volume has grown considerably in the last few years. This is due largely due to the incentives in PG county to buy a foreclosure (Not only the $8,000 tax credit, but also the Down Payment incentive program)

What about Prices?

The other significant factor to look at is homes sales prices. The current average sales price is $251,141. A look at the average sales price over the last year shows that sales prices have fallen only marginally over the last year. In January the average sales price was $267,883, which represents a depreciation of only 6.3%. The national average is 13.4%, but heavy job growth in the government sector has helped stabilize prices in the D.C. Metro area.

It's obvious that foreclosures are driving the Market in Fort Washington for the time being. The good news is that the market is showing signs of what is hopefully stabilization. long term consideration of future regional job growth should help to shore up the market even more. It is entirely possible that we may see home sales slow again once the tax credit and foreclosure incentive programs expire, but only time will tell how large of an impact these programs will actually have on the real estate market.

~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 - office
301-653-8116 - cell

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Across the country, markets are suffering and Fort Washington is no exception. Seller can't sell their homes in the traditionally manner because home prices have declined so much and buyers are required to put more and more money as a downpayment on homes to get decent financing through the conventional method. One of the ways I have been able to help homeowners and buyers is through lease options.

I have many properties in Fort Washington and throughout Prince Georges County that the Seller wants to sell but do not want to (or can't) do a short sale, so I suggest a lease option. Lease Options are way to buy and sell homes without immediate traditional financing. It is a great way for buyers to get into a home and have some "skin in the game" while they, either, build up their credit and/or save for a downpayment. While advantageous for the buyer, it is equally advantageous for the seller. They get a leg up on the competition buy being able to sell their home quicker and, more than likely, a better price.

Other advantages for the Seller is that it allows the Seller to actually sell the home. This is not a pure rental arrangement. More times than not, Sellers can sell their homes in a soft or down market (like we have now). The best advantage for the Seller when I do Lease options for them is that it allows them to beat their competition of people who are trying to sell their homes the traditional way.

Advantages for the buyer when buying on lease options are that they are not obliged to purchase the home at the end of the "option" period if they decide the home is not the right one for them in the long run. They have built up their credit in a manner which is suitable for purchasing a home with conventional or government financing and they can get into a home right now even if they don't qualify to get the financing.

So how does this all work? Simply put a lease option works where the buyer and seller agree to an option that gives the buyer the right to purchase the home within a set period of time. Now during the "option period", the seller is not allowed to sell the home to another purchaser but at the end of the option period the buyer must, either, buy the home or forfeit the option fee paid to the seller at the time of lease signing.

The million dollar question for us as Real Estate Agents is "How do I get paid doing this?". A very valid question and to put it simply - when the buyer and seller agree on a purchase price and the length of the term, the buyer gives the seller an "Option fee" (similar to a downpayment on a regular purchase). A portion of the option fee is yours. I usually do around 2% of the final sales prices. If an agent brought the buyer for your lease option listing (or vice versa) then that 2% is split between the two of you. Then you collect the rest at the actual time of purchase, whether it be 12 months, 24 months, whenever. Now, when I do lease options for clients, I usually charge a premium on that service. 1. I am not getting full commission right now and 2. It is actually a higher level of service than most agents are giving. So, I usually get 7-8% when the house is actually sold to the lease optionee.

This provides me with a current stream of income and more income in the future. One thing that I was taught is that you have to adapt to market conditions and life, in general. The adapt or die principal. Just ask the short necked giraffe. They said to themselves, "I'm not eating from those tall trees, are you kidding me?" Look what happened to them.

For more information on selling your home through the lease option in Fort Washington, MD in Prince Georges County, reach out to me at my blog at http://www.MoriLangshawSr.com and talk soon.