Joey Remondino Broker, GRI, E-Pro

When preparing to sell a home it is very important to know how long it will take to get your home sold. This can be very useful information in several different scenarios. The first is if you are building a new home and it will be ready to close and move into on a exact date. Most builders will not give you this date until a month or two before settlement.

This date will also be important if you are relocating and need to be at your new job at a specific time. Most people need to be able to sell their current home before they can close on the next. This time frame is an average of course and you should make plans in case it sells sooner or later then the average home. The price on a home will also allow the home to sell faster or slower but you should consult a knowledgeable Realtor.

These are the days on the market for homes in the month of December 1st to January 16th in Gainesville Virginia.

The average home took 82 days to sell in Gainesville and the current homes under contract are higher at 104 days. The current 402 Active listings have been on the market for an average of 171 days. This tells us the average home is taking longer to sell since the active listings have a higher number of days on the market.

These numbers should give anyone selling a residential property an idea of what time it may take to get their property Sold. Some other statistics for Gainesville are:

December 1st 2007-January 16th

Average Sold Price: $456,731

Average Price of Homes Under Contract: $461,572

Number of Homes Sold: 39

Active REO's: 45

Active Short Sales: 37

With thenumber of short sales and REO's, 20% of active listings, this will cause a further drag on the prices in Gainesvilleand cause a continued down trend in prices. This can very from neighborhood to neighborhood please contact me for neighborhood specific information. If you need to decide if a short sale is right for you refere to my article HERE or contact me.

For a Free Market Report in Your Neighborhood with no agent calling Click Here.

When preparing to sell a home it is very important to know how long it will take to get your home sold. This can be very useful information in several different scenarios. The first is if you are building a new home and it will be ready to close and move into on a exact date. Most builders will not give you this date until a month or two before settlement.

This date will also be important if you are relocating and need to be at your new job at a specific time. Most people need to be able to sell their current home before they can close on the next. This time frame is an average of course and you should make plans in case it sell sooner or latter then the average home. The price on a home will also allow the home to sell faster or slower but you should consult a knowledgeable Realtor.

These are the days on the market for homes in the month of December 1st to January 16th in Woodbridge Virginia.

The average home took 126days to sell in Woodbridge and the current homes under contract are a little more at 130 days. The current 2375 Active listings have been on the market for an average of 147 days. This tells us the average home is taking longer to sell since the active listings have a higher number of days on the market.

These numbers should give anyone selling a residential property an idea of what time it may take to get their property Sold. Some other statistics for Woodbridge are:

December 1st 2007-January 16th

Average Sold Price: $324,107

Average Price of Homes Under Contract: $284,850

Number of Homes Sold: 202

Active REO's: 502 (that is not a typo)

Active Short Sales: 458

With the large number of short sales and REO's, 40% of active listings, this will cause a further drag on the prices in Woodbridge and cause a continued down trend. This can very from neighborhood to neighborhood please contact me for neighborhood specific information. If you need to decide if a short sale is right for you refere to my article HERE or contact me.

For a Free Market Report in Your Neighborhood with no agent calling Click Here.

Those of us who live and work in Northern Virginia know how bad the traffic can get at any time during the day especially at rush hour. What does traffic have to do with tax you ask? The Virginia General Assembly agreed on a new transportation plan back in March of 2007 that will cost approximately $400 million dollars. This plan will be paid by an increase in taxes and fees that includes a dramatic increase in the grantors tax on real estate.

This grantors tax is charged at the time of the transfer of property and was $1 per $1000 and has been raised to a staggering $5 per $1000. The money is being raised regionally in Northern Virginia and will remain here for the benefit of the areas transportation needs.

The areas that are affected are: Prince William County, City of Manassas Park, City of Manassas, Loudoun County, Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria

The other taxes and fees include:

• 2 percent increase in the rental car tax
• 2 percent increase in the hotel/motel occupancy tax
• $10 increase in the vehicle safety inspection fee
• 1 percent initial vehicle registration fee (for new car purchases or those moving into the region)
• 5 percent sales tax on auto repairs
• $10 regional auto registration fee

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) have planned projects for the money that include matching funds for purchase or maintenance of Virginia Railway Express locomotives, improvements to the Fairfax County Parkway/Fair Lakes/Monument Avenue Interchange, and widening Prince William County Parkway to name a few.

The big question now is what is this going to do to the already floundering real estate market? I guess we will have to wait and see.

For this and other real estate articles go to www.blog.calljoey.com

For a free market report on your neighborhood with no calls from any agent sign up here.

Those of us who live and work in Northern Virginia know how bad the traffic can get at any time during the day especially at rush hour. What does traffic have to do with tax you ask? The Virginia General Assembly agreed on a new transportation plan back in March of 2007 that will coast approximately 400 million dollars. This plan will be paid by an increase in taxes and fees that includes a dramatic increase in the grantors tax on real estate.

This grantors tax is charged at the time of the transfer of property and was $1 per $1000 and has been raised to a staggering $5 per $1000. The money is being raised regionally in Northern Virginia and will remain here for the benefit of the areas transportation needs.

The areas that are affected are: Prince William County, City of Manassas Park, City of Manassas, Loudoun County, Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria

The other taxes and fees include:

• 2 percent increase in the rental car tax
• 2 percent increase in the hotel/motel occupancy tax
• $10 increase in the vehicle safety inspection fee
• 1 percent initial vehicle registration fee (for new car purchases or those moving into the region)
• 5 percent sales tax on auto repairs
• $10 regional auto registration fee

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) have planned projects for the money that include matching funds for purchase or maintenance of Virginia Railway Express locomotives, improvements to the Fairfax County Parkway/Fair Lakes/Monument Avenue Interchange, and widening Prince William County Parkway to name a few.

The big question now is what is this going to do to the already floundering real estate market? I guess we will have to wait and see.

For this and other real estate articles go to www.blog.calljoey.com

For a free market report on your neighborhood with no calls from any agent sign up here.

Everyone knows we are in the midst of a buyers market which gives them the position of strength in negotiations. With the prices in Prince William County in a down trend the buyers who are looking are most interested in the best price. There are other very important issues like curb appeal, staging, and the skill and knowledge of your agent but price is most important.

When I sit down with a home owner they usually are disappointed by the market price I give for their home since it is not what it was a few years ago. Usually the home owner will want to list higher then I suggest. The reason I get almost every time is, "We can negotiate down from this price" This is not the case in this market with the number of short sales and REO's in the area. If a home is priced too high the buyers will not even request to view the home because they think the sellers are not serious.

The initial price a home owner places on their property will be the difference in selling and sitting on the market with no showings. The Realtors and the sellers or prospective sellers reading this remember do not pad the listing price of a property.