Danilo Bogdanovic-Real Estate Consultant -Loudoun and Fairfax County

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled today that the Loudoun County Planning Commission must review its plans for a new high school to be located just outside the town of Purcellville. Here's an excerpt from the article on Loudoun Extra:

"The town has fought the county for years on the issue, objecting that the location of the high school differs from what was contemplated in a growth plan adopted in 1995, and that the planned school would bring unwanted traffic and infrastructure problems to an area that has already experienced fast-paced growth.

The nuanced court ruling asserts that the location of the planned school is at odds from what was in the original growth plan - a point the county had disputed. That will trigger a review by the planning commission with jurisdiction over the area. The court ruled today that commission is the county's, not the town's.

The ruling seems in some ways a setback for the town, leaving relatively few roadblocks to construction of the school."

In a related story, the Loudoun County School Board has officially named the county's newest high school, to be built in Leesburg. It's official name will be "Tuscarora High School" after an American Indian tribe. Find the full story and a map of the proposed school site over at Loudoun Extra.

For more about Loudoun County including real estate market statistics and resources, check out LoudounScene.com and LoudounForeclosures.com.

Pulte Homes has been ranked as the new home builder with the top overall customer satisfaction in the Washington, DC area including Loudoun County, VA by J.D. Power and Associates. Pulte Homes was the overall winner also ranking as the top builder when it comes to overall customer satisfaction in 11 U.S. markets and in new-home design in 6 markets.

Van Metre Homes and Winchester Homes came in 2nd and 3rd in the Washington, DC area including Loudoun County, VA.

This is of no surprise to me based on my personal experience selling several homes at Pulte's Hamlets at Red Cedar community off of Evergreen Mills Rd in Leesburg (around the corner from Brambleton). Their sales staff has never been pushy nor tried to push options. Their building supervisor and his staff have been excellent and have corrected any problems immediately and without hesitation. The pre-drywall and final home inspections have all found very few items that needed repair. And the post-sale inspections conducted by the home owners (at 3 months and 11 months after settlement) have all had very few items on them and were corrected immediately.

Pulte Homes does things right from the start, follows through with what they say and they focus heavily on putting the customer first. These are all qualities that I wish other builders would take note of and exhibit.

Pulte Homes Communities in Loudoun County

Pulte Homes - Hamlets at Red Cedar - Manor Collection (Leesburg)

Pulte Homes - Hamlets at Red Cedar - Manor Collection (Leesburg)

Pulte Homes - Hamlets at Red Cedar - Stoneridge Collection (Leesburg)

Pulte Homes - Windermere (Ashburn)

This just in...the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors today approved the acquisition of 257 acres from the Hanson Family Partnership for a regional park serving the southeastern part of the county (the Route 50 corridor and Dulles South planning area). And the Loudoun County Planning Department gave the initial go-ahead to build the Broadlands Regional Medical Center.

Acquisition of 257 acres

Part of the deal included a land exchange of a county-owned 5-acre park site located off of Old Ox Road (Route 606) to Dominion Power and the U.S Department of the Interior. The land will be used to construct two monopole transmission lines as part of the powerline approved in 2004.

The Hanson Family Partnership has agreed to sell the property for $5 million, well below market value, to establish a regional park in memory of Hal and Berni Hanson. The park will be located at 23862 Evergreen Mills Road, near Fleetwood Road, in Ashburn. Dominion Power is providing the funding for the purchase in exchange for the utility's ownership of the five-acre parcel.

Final settlement on the land and approval of the land exchange is still about a 7 to 13 months out.

For the full story, check out the article on Alert Loudoun.

Broadlands Regional Medical Center

The Loudoun County Planning Department gave the green light Friday to HCA Virginia's plans to build a full-service, 164-bed hospital in Ashburn known as the Broadlands Regional Medical Center (BRMC).

If the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors approves BRMC, HCA officials hope to break ground on the hospital in 2009 and open the facility in 2011.

Not everyone is a fan of the new hospital, especially Innova Loudoun Hospital who doesn't want a competitor only 5 miles away.

The Planning Commission will hold an off-site public hearing to review BRMC's application at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Eagle Ridge Middle School in Ashburn.

For the full story, check out the article at Living in LoCo on LoudounExtra.com.

Here's an update on development in Brambleton including quick deliveries/spec homes available from the various builders within the community:

Brambleton Development Update

• Beacon Terrace Community Pool is now open. It's Brambleton's second pool. The new pool consists of a main pool with a waterfall, spa, wading pool, club room, outdoor fireplace and grill, music zones throughout and wireless connectivity
• The Brambleton Town Center security staff has ditched their cars for eco-friendly Segways.
• The Blue Ridge Grill is anticipated to open on September 24th
• Winwood, Brambleton's first day care provider is set to open late Spring '90. Site development will begin soon at the Creighton Road location
• An update on the Fitness Club at the Brambleton Town Center is coming soon

Quick Delivery/Spec Homes

• Gulick Group - The Gulick Group builds estate style, 4-sides-brick homes in Brambleton. Some home sites have water views and the option of a 4-car garage.
  1. Currently, there are 2 immediate deliveries from their Garden Terrace Series priced at $945,900 and $1,269,500 (the Hampton and Townsend floor plans).
  2. There is also an Ashcroft home from the New American Series available for a winter delivery with views of water and parkland. This home has almost 5,000 square feet on 3 finished levels including a walk-out basement.
• Miller and Smith - This builder builds smaller, more affordable homes for those looking for high-quality, but not all the space and sticker price of an estate home.
  1. Rhapsody (home site 1273) - September Delivery, $586,770 Approx. 3,400 sq. ft.
  2. Rhapsody (home site 1274) - October Delivery, $573,078 Approx. 3,400 sq. ft.
  3. Rhapsody (home site 1306) - October Delivery, $593,660 Approx. 3,400 sq. ft.
  4. Clara Bow (home site 967) - October Delivery, $661,360 Approx. 4,200 sq. ft. (backs to trees)
  5. Clara Bow (home site 966) - November Delivery, $668,840 Approx. 4,200 sq. ft. (backs to trees)
• Stanley Martin - This builder competes with Miller and Smith at this price point.
  1. 23223 Christopher Thomas Lane - Homesite 1194 - Elden Model - $639,990. 4 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, finished lower level w/private bonus room. Move in Fall/Winter 2008.
  2. 42576 Ringneck Place - Homesite 1804 - $617,795. 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, finished lower level. Move in Fall/Winter.
  3. 42481 Spring Splendor Dr - Homesite 1801 - $584,050. 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, finished lower level. Move in Fall/Winter.
  4. 42477 Tourmaline Lane - Homesite 1833 - $569,990. 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. Move in Fall/Winter.
  5. Model Home with lease back - 42477 Ringneck Place - Homesite 1680 - $649,990. 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, over 3,300 finish SF.
• Miller and Smith Town Homes
  1. Site 1347 - September Delivery - $439,990. Grand Houdini I end unit, corner site with wooded view. Three finished levels and 2,669 finished sq. ft. Standard features include granite kitchen counter,s extra third full bath, hardwood flooring in the kitchen/breakfast/great room, oversize tile, upgrade padding, bonus electrical and home theater pre-wire and more. For a limited time, Miller and Smith is offering a "Staycation" in your new home.
• Beazer Homes Condos
  1. September deliveries available. Prices range from the low $300s, depending on the model and if it is an interior or end home.

The Brambleton Town Center is still a ways from being completed. Here's a map showing the future development of the town center and the businesses coming in (click to enlarge):

If you'd like more information about the Brambleton community, builders or available lots/homes, please don't hesitate to contact me - danilo.bogdanovic@gmail.com or 703.582.6900 (cell).

The foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale portion of the Loudoun County real estate market has been steadily improving over the last 6 months. But last month brought some of the best news we've had in a long time - demand outpaced supply!

For the first time since the market turned, there have been more distressed properties sell than new ones come on the market in a one month period. August had 326 distressed properties sell versus 306 new ones come on the market.

Here's a graph showing new listings (supply) versus solds (buyer demand) for 2008 (click to enlarge):

Notice that in January, the number of new listings was more than double the amount of solds. Since then, the number of solds has been steadily increasing. The number of solds in August was more than double those in January.

As for inventory, there was a spike in new distressed property listings last spring, but it's back down to the 300 per month level.

This is very good news for not only the foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale property market, but the Loudoun County real estate market in general. The key ingredients to a stabilization of the market is lower inventory and higher demand, which is what we're seeing across the board in Loudoun County.

Related Articles

No "Summer Slump" For Loudoun County Real Estate In 2008

Loudoun County Real Estate Market Statistics - 1st Half 2008 vs 2007

Loudoun Real Estate Inventory Levels Well Below National Average