Brian Block -- Northern Virginia & D.C. Real Estate

It's time to get Extreme!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is here in the D.C. area.  You've seen the show before.  They knock on the door of an unsuspecting family and send them away for a week while a huge army of volunteers builds the deserving family a brand spanking new home.

Several weeks ago, my brokerage, RE/MAX Allegiance announced that we had the opportunity to participate in this build.  There's a twist on this edition.  In one week, there going to be building two projects, a new home in Hyattsville, Maryland, and a community center in Washington D.C.

In just 24 hours, we had about 200 agents, staff, and family members sign up to volunteer.  Wow!  What an outpouring of volunteer effort.  Then last week, we were told that only 40 people from our brokerage would be able to participate due to overwhelming support from the community.  So we held a lottery drawing to see who would be involved.

Watch this news clip about the Extreme Makeover going on right now in D.C. and Maryland (short commercial may play first):

Guess who's going to be working on the volunteer crew?  That's right, your friendly neighborhood RE/MAX Allegiance Broker, Brian Block!

Not satisfied with just being extreme... I'm going to be extremely extreme -- that's right, I'm working on the 3 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. shift this coming Friday morning.

Check back for updates.

You've got a million dollars or more to spend and you're looking for the perfect home in Northern Virginia.

You have several options:

• Buy a luxury penthouse condo with a million dollar view in the Rosslyn or Courthouse area of Arlington.
  
• Buy a riverfront townhouse in Old Town Alexandria.
  
• Buy an elegant mansion with enough space to lavishly entertain in McLean.

Or, if you're really ready for that dream home, that "3rd house," and some room to spread out (i.e. land), head out to Great Falls, Virginia, where over 82% of the homes on the market are priced at $1 million or more, and 63% of them are on 2 acres or more of land.

82% of homes priced at $1 million or more! With 174 Great Falls homes currently on the market, that gives you your choice of 144 properties. (As a comparison, note that in all of Fairfax County's current housing inventory, only 33% of homes are priced over $1 million).

Talk about room to spread out -- compare the population density of Great Falls (478.5 people per square mile) with that of neighboring McLean (2,104 people per square mile).

** Find a Home in Great Falls **

Contact Brian Block, Managing Broker, RE/MAX Allegiance, McLean:
Licensed in Virginia & Washington D.C. 703-626-0715.
If you are interested in purchasing or selling a property in Great Falls or elsewhere in Northern Virginia or Washington D.C., contact Brian today.

That's my RE/MAX Allegiance office in McLean, Virginia.

We're located at

6226 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, VA 22101

Stop on by and say hello. I'm the Managing Broker of the office and either myself or one of our 40 terrific agents can help you with any of your McLean, Virginia real estate needs.

SO...

What's Happening in the McLean, Virginia Real Estate Market?

Here's a snapshot of McLean Virginia home sales in the last 30 days:

MCLEAN VIRGINIA HOME SALES:

• Active homes for sale: 358 (including 50 new listings in the last 30 days). This is a 14% decrease in inventory from two months ago! Why? McLean homes are selling and are going under contract. However, there are still quite a few homes to choose from in McLean.
  
  
• Homes sold in the last 30 days: 66 -- or over 2 McLean homes per day for the last month.
  
  
• Average Sales Price: $983,197, a big increase from the average of $905,272 two months ago.
  
  
• Median Sales Price: $850,000
  
  
• Average Days on Market: 62 -- McLean homes are selling quickly. Two months ago this figure was 71 days!
  
  
• Average Sales Price/Original Listing Price: 93.17% This number is up about 1/2% from the previous figure indicating that either homes are being priced more realistically or that buyers have slightly less negotiating power.

Interesting Notes:

There are 228 homes or nearly 64% the homes on the market in McLean priced at $1 million or more.

There's an additional 133 McLean homes under contract that will be going to settlement soon.

The McLean real estate market remains hot!

** Find a Home in McLean **

Contact Brian Block, Managing Broker, RE/MAX Allegiance, McLean:
Licensed in Virginia & Washington D.C. 703-626-0715.
If you are interested in purchasing or selling a property in McLean or elsewhere in Northern Virginia or Washington D.C., contact Brian today.

As you're probably aware of by now, Uncle Sam is providing an $8000 tax credit to first-time homebuyers who purchase and close on their homes by November 30th (time is running out -- just over 100 days left).

Take a look at this entertaining RE/MAX video:

What Would You Do for $8000?  You don't have to do anything crazy... you just need to buy a house.

I can help with that.  Give me a call at 703-626-0715.

Or click here to start your home search in Northern Virginia or D.C.

What will you do with your $8000?

Here's a few suggestions:

• new furniture for your home
  
• replace carpeting with hardwood floors
  
• pay off credit card bills
  
• enjoy a vacation
  
• throw a killer housewarming party
  
• save it for your kid's college fund

Are you wondering about Northern Virginia real estate and pondering what has sold recently?

Here's some information about the most expensive home sales in Northern Virginia (Arlington County, Alexandria City, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Falls Church City) for July 2009. All information was obtained through MRIS.

Overall, there were 90 sales topping $1 million during the month of July 2009, keeping pace with the 92 $1M+ sales in June.

JULY'S MOST EXPENSIVE SALES

Single Family Detached Homes:

• 1201 Towlston Road, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on July 31st for $4,150,000.
  After a $1 million price reduction, this home sold for $825K below the asking price. This 7 bedroom home on 5 acres within 3 miles of Tysons Corner features almost 11 square feet of space and green design. It was built in 2007.
  
  
• 8104 Spring Hill Farm Drive, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on July 28th for $3,850,000.
  Built in 2008, this almost 8,000 suare foot home features three finished levels and 5 bedrooms, 5 full and 2 half bathrooms. It sold for $350K under the asking price of $4.2M.
  
  
• 917 Douglass Drive, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on July 7th for $2,590,000.
  This brick colonial home features 4 upper level bedroom suites. Built in 1996, it sits on 3/4 of an acre and has 3 fireplaces. It went for $405K under asking price.
  
  
• 10351 Elizabeth Street, Great Falls, VA 22066 -- Sold on July 31st for $2,400,000.
  With over 12,000 square feet of space, this massive 1 year old home also has a 4 car garage. On 2 acres, this house has 7 bedrooms and as many bathrooms. There's also a tennis court on this cul-de-sac lot. The home sold for $199K under the asking price.
  
  
• 1303 Kirby Road, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on July 9th for $2,225,000.
  After a price reduction of $250,000, this home then sold for another $225K under listing price. In the Langley Reserve area of McLean, this 2006 home features a master bathroom with heated floors, 5 bedrooms and 6 full bathrooms.

While luxury homes continue to sell at a good pace, you can see from above that they are going for well below the original asking prices.

CLICK TO SEARCH FOR AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Townhouses:

• 225 N. Royal Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 10th for $1,225,000.
  In a prime Old Town Alexandria location, this Victorian townhouse built in 1875 was completely renovated and the kitchen overlooks a great 4 season garden. It sold after just 15 days on the market at asking price.
  
  
• 302 S. Fayette Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 31st for $1,220,000.
  This courtyard style townhouse in Old Town Village features 2,780 square feet of space with over $150K of designer upgrades. It also has two gardens.
  

• 5706 Cricket Place, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on July 16th for $1,185,000.
  Originally built in 1978, this townhouse in Merrywood on Potomac was renovated and has a kitchen with the best appliances: Subzero, Dacor, and Kitchenaid. The bathrooms were redone with granite and marble and custom built-ins. The townhouse had nearly 4,000 square feet of space.
  
  
• 1036 N. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22201 -- Sold on July 1st for $965,000.
  Selling for just $20K under the asking price, this Bromptons at Ballston townhouse is right in the heart of N. Arlington. It has 3 bedrooms 3.5 bathrooms and a 2 car garage.
  

SEE AVAILABLE TOWNHOUSES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Condominiums:

• 1111 N. 19th Street #2302, Arlington, VA 22209 -- Sold on July 3rd for $1,005,000.
  A corner unit at Waterview Residences provides views of the Potomac River, Key Bridge, and Georgetown through the floor to ceiling windows. The condo is atop the the Hotel Palomar and room service is available -- how do you like that?
  
  
• 1200 N. Nash Street #854, Arlington, VA 22209 -- Sold on July 31st for $830,000.
  Prospect House is perenially one of the favorite luxury condos in Arlington. Why? The view. This 8th floor unit offers breathtaking views of the DC monuments and skyline from the large balcony and two story living room. The 2 bedroom condo has 1,398 square feet of space.
  
  
• 2001 N. 15th Street #1212, Arlington, VA 22201 -- Sold on July 15th for $825,000.
  This condo at the Odyssey was reduced over $300K from the original asking price. It was professionally decorated at a cost of over $100K and also has great views from the floor to ceiling windows in the 1635 square foot unit.
  
  
• 2121 Jamieson Avenue #1104-1105, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 9th for $790,000.
  1,745 square feet of space make this Carlyle Towers condo very spacious. 3 bedrroms and 2 baths plus add the 216 square foot glass enclosed balcony.
  

SEE AVAILABLE CONDOMINIUMS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Contact Brian Block, Managing Broker, REALTOR/Attorney, RE/MAX Allegiance: Licensed in Virginia & Washington D.C. 703-626-0715. If you are interested in purchasing or selling a property in Northern Virginia including Arlington County, Alexandria City, Annandale, Burke, D.C., Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Great Falls, Lorton, McLean, Springfield, Washington D.C., contact Brian today.