Renee Thompson

Market update for the Mason Neck/Lorton (22079 zip code).

There are a lot of great homes available in the Mason Neck/Lorton area right now. Homes are also moving quickly. No matter what your price range is, there is something here for everybody. Come check it out.

Up to $250,000 - There are currently 10 Homes available. http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33857057774

@250,000-$500,000 - There are 27 Homes available.
http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33857090732

$500,000 - $1 Million - There are 44 Homes available
http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33857118001


$1Million+ - There are 7 Homes available.
http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33857149082

Homes Under Contract in this zipcode - 149 Homes

Homes that have Sold since 1 October - 35

Average Days on Market for September 2009 - 55 Days!

In September 2008, the Average Days on Market was 138 Days.

Things are moving!

Have a great day!

Renee

It's that time of year again. Time to back and get an extra hour of sleep this Sunday, November 1, 2009.

Most, but not all of the United States will fall back one hour this Sunday at 2:00 AM. The states and US terriorties that do not participate in Daylight Savings Time are Hawaii, most of Arizona, and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands-will do nothing. Up until 2006, Indiana also did not participate.

So what is Daylight Savings and why do we do it? Well, when Benjamin Franlin created Daylight Savings, it was to make more productive use of the daylight hours. The US Congress noted in 1986 that there are additional benefits such as with longer day light hours, children are able to play outside more, thus hopefully having more healthy children.

Energy savings was also a reason why Daylight savings came about, but experts are now debating if energy is really saved because when the hours are darker longer in the morning, more electricity is used in having lights on.

If you live in a location that participates in Daylight Savings, enjoy your extra hour of sleep Sunday!

Mason Neck, where is Mason Neck, VA? Not many people have actually heard of it. When traveling down the I95 corridor in Northern Virginia, you see the signs that say Woodbridge, Lorton, Springfield, Alexandria.... Well, Mason Neck is a little known treasure in Lorton, VA. It is in Fairfax County. You will see one sign on I95, but you pass by it quickly.

Mason Neck is a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River to the south of Washington, DC. It is surrounded also by Belmont Bay to the west, Gunston Cove to the east, and Pohick Bay to the northeast. The unincorporated community of Mason Neck forms the southernmost section of Fairfax County, in Northern Virginia, and comprises an area of approximately 9,000 acres (36 km²), two-thirds of which is preserved as parkland by regional, state, and national authorities.

Within the Neck, you will see a lot of wildlife, as it the home of Mason Neck State Park. http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/mas.shtml. It is very common to see plenty of deer just walking around, foxes running through the forest, rabbits hopping around, just to name of few. When living in or visiting Mason Neck, you will probably also see our National Bird, the Bald Eagle. It truly is an amazing sight! Within the state park, there are many tours, and different classes to take.

Mason Neck, VA is also the home of Gunston Hall, which is the home of George Mason (1725-1792). There are tours available of his home. George Mason is famous for the quote,"That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural Rights... among which are the Enjoyment of Life and Liberty, with the Means of acquiring and possessing Property, and pursuing and obtaining Happiness and Safety."
- George Mason. Virginia Declaration of Rights, May, 1776. http://www.gunstonhall.org/home.html

Pohick Bay is located in Mason Neck as well. It is a large water recreation facility with a grand pool for the kids. http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/pohickbay/index.php

Althought there is so much to do here, it is probably one of the quietest places to live in Northern Virginia. Almost all home lots are at least 1/2 acre, with many being much larger. Many homes are waterfront properties, or easy access to deep navigable water. A lot of homeowners own boats to go fishing or just cruise around the Potomac.

Properties hold their value well because they are very close to Washington DC, the homes are generally kept well, and they have some of the larger lots available in the Northern Virginia area. All of this AND all of the activities mentioned above very near by. Water sports, Golf, State Parks.... How can you beat it? It's like you are always on vacation.

Some of the neighborhoods in Mason Neck are Mason's Passage, Hallowing Point, Harbor View, Pumpelly Point, Gunston Manor, and Springfield Farms. If you want to live in Northern Virginia, have the convenience of living close to Washington DC but feel like you are in the Country, take a look at Mason Neck, VA. If you would like to learn more about the area, I would be happy to share any information with you, and show you any available home.

Homes Available:

http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33592234869

I hope you enjoyed this blog! See you at the Neck!

Kingstowne, VA

I lived in Kingtowne for almost 3 years, and it was one of the best experiences ever! It is a Planned Unit Development (PUD) with about 5300 homes total, 22 miles of walking/bike trails, 2 fitness centers, 2 pools, and so so much more! And although there are a lot homes in Kingstowne, they are situated in little sub divisions, and it truly feels like a community. http://www.kingstowne.org/index.html

Within Kingstowne, there is shopping Center (Kingstowne Centre) that has 2 grocery stores, a Movie Theater, A LOT of restaurants, Shopping Stores such as World Market, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, and Ross to name a few, and a WALMART and Toys R Us! See, I told you that you really don't have to ever leave.

One of my favorite things to do was to walk to the Shopping Center, pick up somethins small from the grocery store, and then walk back. I felt like I was helping the environment by not driving, and getting some exercise. It was less than a mile to the store, but it was more exercise than I was getting any other way.

When you do have to go to work, or into Washington DC, the commute is just up the road. You are about 10 miles south of Washington DC, and right down the road from Sprinfield, VA. There is easy access to I395 if you choose to drive, or if you prefer to have somebody else drive, there are plenty of buses, and 3 Metro Stations nearby (Springfield Metro , S. Van Dorn Metro and Eisenhower Metro). Springfield Metro and Van Dorn run the blue line, and Eisenhower runs the Blue and Yellow Line) www.wmata.com.

Kingstowne is a very popular place to live. The current homes available are:

As of 3 October, 2009,

Single Family Detached: 5 Homes for Sale, 2 for Rent

Single Family Listings
http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33364174737

Townhomes: 12 Homes for Sale, 9 for Rent

Townhouse Listings
http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33364183043

Condo: 2 for Sale, 0 for Rent

Condo Listings:
http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=33364196665

When in Kingstowne, take in a movie, enjoy dinner, and then have a nice stroll!

Sometimes it seems that Seller's want to price their Home for Sale a bit higher than the market really allows them to, in hopes that they will be able to negotiate down to where they wanted to be anyway, or they may get lucky and get higher than they thought. Well, that has kinda gotten us in the mess that we are in now, but that is a whole different story I'll talk about later.

When performing a report query on various zip codes here in Northern Virginia, I was pleasantly surprised that almost across the board, the Sales Prices for July 2009 are roughly 95% of the List Price. In July 2008, Sales Prices were approximatley only 90% of the List Price. This is great news, don't you think?

Sellers want to sell their house, and buyers want to buy it. Prices are more realistic to what the market actually allows. Buyers are recognizing this! Sellers understand for the most part that if they want to sell their house, they can't keep looking at the pie in the sky.