Are Andresen - Northern Virginia Real Estate

There has been a high level of activity in Woodburn Village this year. Unfortunately, a majority of the sales are foreclosures and short sales. In the few regular re-sales that did take place the prices and appraisals were heavily influenced by the distressed sales. 19 homes sold to date this year. 3 were regular re-sales, 11 were bank sales and 5 were short sales.

Homes on average sell for 95.4% of the original list price. They sell for 97.4% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Woodburn odds are that you will be paying close to the current asking price.

Woodburn Village Sold YTD: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=32375742559

If we look at the number of pending home sales in Woodburn Village as of 08/10/2009 we get a number of 10. They range in asking price from $125,000 to $220,000. 7 of these are short sales that may or may not close - the success rate for short sales seem to have gone up a bit lately though.

Four homes are currently available for sale in Woodburn Village. They range from a 2 bedroom short sale at $125,000 to a three bedroom short sale listed at $210,000. If you would like the current list of homes for sale, please email me.

To get a better understanding of the overall price development in the neighborhood I have put together a small graph with the various models separated out. This makes it much easier to see what the trend is as the mix of homes sold continuously changes skewing the min, max and average sales price.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price is trending downwards and are back to 2003 levels. Based on the last few sales, the number of pending properties and the limited supply I do not see the prices currently going much lower. Rather, if the current market conditions persists towards the end of the year, the price should trend upwards (average for the year will still be down quite significantly.) This could change if there are a lot of foreclosures coming up and would also depend upon whether appraisals will keep coming back low.

Looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist I found 2 pre-foreclosure, 4 upcoming auctions and 6 bank owned properties. Most of the bank owned ones may already have been listed or already be under contract/sold.

Moving on to rentals the prices have gone down a bit on average. There are currently 4 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,095 for a 1br/1ba to $1,500 for a 2br/1.5ba. As can be seen on the below graph, the rents for most of the units went down a bit this year. Rents are pretty seasonal so the average for the year could change by the time we get towards 2010.

For investors the GRM is getting better and better. The rents may be stagnant but with the price fall the first few months this year the ratio of rents to purchase price are now back to 2002 levels.

Woodburn Village is a great neighborhood and the prices have not been this low in many years. Coupled with the low interest rates and the potential to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit this is an excellent time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing in Woodburn Village please give me a call.

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

It seems investors and homeowners are finally realizing the value of Idylwood Towers this year. There has been 6 homes sold in the first 5 months of 2009. The lowest price was a 1br/1ba at $190,000. The maximum price was an updated 3br/2ba property at $315,000.

The average price YTD for a 1 bedroom unit is $190,000. The average price YTD for a 2 bedroom unit is $206,250. As mentioned earlier, a 3 bedroom unit sold for $315,000.

Homes on average sell for 89.8% of the original list price. They sell for 96.7% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Idylwood Towers it is important that you work with a Realtor that knows the buildings and can help you determine if the asking price is reasonable.

Idylwood Towers Sold YTD: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=31189727011

If we look at the number of pending home sales at Idylwood Towers as of 06/03/2009, we get a number of 4. Two of those are 1 bedroom units and two are 2 bedroom units. One of those appears to be a short sale.

Three homes are currently available for sale in Idylwood Towers. They are all 1-bedrooms ranging in price from $165,000 to $225,000. If you would like the current list of homes for sale, please email me.

To get a better understanding of the overall price curve in the neighborhood we can take a look at the sales history of the various models. As there has been few sales of the 1 and 3 bedroom units, the price trend is probably most accurate for the 2 bedroom units.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price is still trending downwards and are back to pre 2004 levels. The three bedroom model seems to keep its value well but will need more sales to see what the long-term difference is in price between that and e.g. the 2 bedrooms. There is interest in units for sale in Idylwood Towers and reasonably priced units do sell quickly.

The current market situation could change if there are a lot of foreclosures coming up, so looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist, I found 1 pre-foreclosure, 0 upcoming auctions and 0 bank owned properties. Some bank owned properties have already been listed and sold over the last few years. So, there does not seem to be a flood of foreclosed on units coming up over the next few months.

Moving on to rentals, the prices have come down a bit from last year. 4 properties rented so far this year. There are currently 6 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,200 for a junior 1br/1ba to $1,850 for a 3br/2ba. As can be seen on the below graph, the rents have declined for all the models (remains to be seen for the Jr 1br.) Rents are typically a bit higher in the summer so we may see a bump in the average by the time we get to the end of the year.

For investors the GRM is flattening out. Even though prices have kept falling the rents have also fallen.

Idylwood Towers is a great place to call home and the prices are now lower than what they have been for a long time. Coupled with the low interest rates and the potential to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit this is an excellent time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing in Idylwood Towers please give me a call.

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

There has been a reasonable market activity at the Gates of McLean this year. It seems investors and homeowners are realizing the value of the community - on the last few homes I inquired or put in offers on we have competed with multiple offers with the sales price ending up at or above asking price. There has been 7 homes sold in the first 5 months of the year. The lowest price was a 1br/1ba at $195,000. The max price was a 3br/2ba property with granite countertops at $354,750.

The average price YTD for a 1 bedroom unit is $207,500. The average price YTD for a 2 bedroom unit is $301,600. As mentioned earlier, one 3 bedroom unit sold for $354,750.

Homes on average sell for 91.1% of the original list price. They sell for 94.2% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Gates of McLean, it seems that you will be able to get a slight break in price. However, the market has picked up lately and unless you are willing to purchase one of the units up against I-495, you may have to pay closer to the asking price than the statistics indicate.

Gates of McLean Sold YTD: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=31159444269

If we look at the number of pending home sales at the Gates of Mclean as of 06/02/2009, we get a number of 3. Two of those are 1 bedroom units in the low $200's. One of those appears to be a short sale.

Four homes are currently available for sale at the Gates of McLean. They are two 1-bedrooms at $240,000 and two 2-bedrooms in the low $300's. If you would like the current list of homes for sale, please email me.

To get a better understanding of the overall price curve in the neighborhood we'll need to do some comparison on a model basis. As there has been two sales of the Danielle model(1br) and two sales of the Dalton model (2br) I put together a graph showing those sales in the neighborhood over the last couple of years. It makes it much easier to see what the trend is as the mix of homes sold continuously changes skewing the minimum, maximum and average sales price. I left out the 3 bedroom model as the price has varied a lot on that model.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price is trending downwards and are back to pre 2004 levels. One bedroom models could be purchased from the developer from the low $200's back in 2003, so many are upside down at this point. There is interest in the Gates of McLean homes for sale and reasonably priced units away from I-495 do sell quickly and with multiple offers.

The current market situation could change if there are a lot of foreclosures coming up, so looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist, I found 0 pre-foreclosure, 3 upcoming auctions and 4 bank owned properties. Some of the bank owned properties have already been listed or are already under contract/sold. So, there does not seem to be a flood of foreclosed on units coming up over the next few months.

Moving on to rentals, the prices have remained pretty steady, especially for 2 bedroom units. 20 properties rented so far this year. There are currently 16 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,200 for a 1br/1ba to $2,400 for a 3br/2ba. As can be seen on the below graph, the rents for one bedrooms has declined while it has increased slightly for 2 bedroom units. Rents are typically a bit higher in the summer so we may see a bump in the average by the time we get to the end of the year. Due to the large amount of non-owner occupied units (likely more than 50%) there will continue to be a competitive rental market at the Gates.

For investors the GRM is getting better and better for 2 bedroom units. Due to the 1 bedroom falling rents the GRM is about unchanged from last year despite falling prices.

Gates of McLean is a great neighborhood and the prices are now often lower than what the developer sold them for back in 2003. Coupled with the low interest rates and the potential to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit this is an excellent time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing at the Gates of McLean please give me a call.

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

There has been reasonable activity in Pimmit Hills this year. It seems like investors and homeowners are realizing the value of the community. The last few offers I made on Pimmit Hills homes competed with multiple offers from other competing agents with the sales price ending up at or above asking price. There have been 16 homes sold in the first 5 months of the year. The lowest price was a 3br/1ba rambler at $279,900. The max price was a 5br/4.5ba new construction foreclosure at $720,000. The average price for all homes sold was $374,646.

Homes on average sell for 94% of the original list price. They sell for 99.3% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Pimmit Hills odds are that you will be paying close to the current asking price.

Pimmit Hills Sold YTD: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=31152557099

If we look at the number of pending home sales in Pimmit Hills as of 06/02/2009 we get a number of 22. This indicates quite a jump in the activity as the average closing time is in the 45 day range. 10 of these are short sales though, so the majority of these may not be closing. On the other hand the success rate for short sales seem to have gone up a bit lately.

Eleven homes are currently available for sale in Pimmit Hills. Of these only three are listed below $400,000. If you would like the current list of homes for sale, please email me.

To get a better understanding of the overall price curve in the neighborhood we need to compare apples to apples. I have therefore tracked sales of 3br/1ba 1 level ramblers in the neighborhood over the last couple of years. It makes it much easier to see what the trend is as the mix of homes sold continuously changes skewing the min, max and average sales price.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price is trending downwards and are back to 2003 levels. Based on the last few sales, the number of pending properties and the limited supply I do not see the prices currently going much below $300,000. Rather, if the current market conditions persist, the price should trend upwards. This could change if there are a lot of foreclosures coming up, so looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist I found 1 pre-foreclosure, 3 upcoming auctions and 6 bank owned properties. Most of the bank owned ones have already been listed or are already under contract/sold.

Moving on to rentals the prices have remained pretty steady. There are currently 7 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,700 for a 4br/1ba to $5,500 for a 6br/8ba(...). As can be seen on the below graph, the rents for a typical 3br/3ba 1 level rambler has remained at about $1,550. Rents are pretty seasonal so the average for the year should get back to normal when we get some good summer months in to bump the average a bit.

For investors the GRM is getting better and better. The rents may be stagnant but with the price fall the first few months this year the ratio of rents to purchase price has been getting better and better and are now back to 2002 levels.

Pimmit Hills is a great neighborhood and the prices have not been this low in many years. Coupled with the low interest rates and the potential to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit this is an excellent time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing in Pimmit Hills please give me a call.

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

Based on some websites I have run into lately, there seems to be some misunderstandings in regards to the $8,000 homebuyer credit.

The confusion may have been fuelled by Mrs. Barbara Corcoran on NBC's Weekend Today last Sunday. On the program she stated to Jenna Wolfe that the $8000 could be used as part of the down payment of a qualifying purchaser.

While creativity is all well and good, this is incorrect. You have to have closed on the home and be the new owner (or have moved into a home you are building) BEFORE you can claim the credit (see section 3 below.)

Don't mean to rehash the rules again here - plenty of places doing that already like http://www.tracyrealestateblog.com/2009/02/first-time-buyers-get-8000-tax-credit.html

But, a couple of clarifications:

1) There is NO MINIMUM DOWNPAYMENT required. In earlier versions of the bill (that was not enacted), there were provisions that a minimum of 5% down payment is required. The bill that was passed in the end did not have such a requirement. So, no problem using FHA and get the credit (after closing...)

2) It is a TAX CREDIT, not a deduction. If you don't pay any taxes and purchase a home, you can get up to $8,000 back in the form of a check. If you closed on the home before January 1, 2009 you may still qualify for the earlier $7,500 tax deferral. However, as it implies, that money has to be paid back over time.

3) The possibility of a sizable check from the United States Treasury has made some get a bit, ehm, "creative". So, they apparently have filed their taxes, taken the deduction AND received their money BEFORE they purchase the home - even using it as a down payment. NO NO NO - YOU CANNOT DO THAT!!!! Please look at the IRS form and read the very clear instructions. From the 5405 form:

Enter the date you acquired the home. This is the date you purchased it (or the date you first occupied it if you constructed your main home).

(Yes, there are special rules that may allow you to purchase a home this year and get the deduction on your 2008 tax return...)

5) You will have to keep your home at least 3 years.

6) If you make too much money you will not qualify (if you make above $75,000 per individual/$150,000 per couple, your credit will be reduced and quickly goes to $0 as you move up the pay scale.)

There are lots of other rules and exceptions. Contact me for more details.