About Falls Church's Pimmit Hills

The sales activity in Pimmit Hills did as well in 2010 as in 2009. In 2009 49 homes sold compared to 50 homes sold in 2010. With the activity remaining the same, what is happening to the prices? There were some expectations that the homebuyer credit would affect the prices and/or activity for the first half of the year. However it doesn't really look like it had much effect - purchasers may just have moved up their purchase a few months.

The amount of distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) have been in the 25%-35% range the last few years. In 2010 the number of distressed sales went down to 10, as opposed to 16 in 2009. That is a good thing for homeowners in the community. 2010 was also supposed to be the year of the short-sale - it doesn't look like those are taking off in Pimmit Hills though as only one short sale closed in 2010 per MRIS.

For 2010, the lowest price sale was a 3br/1ba home at $250,000. The max price was a 5br/3.5ba newer home that sold for $730,000. The average price for all homes sold was $391,208, up from $367,254 in 2009.

In 2009, homes on average sold for 96.8% of the original list price and 101.1% of the final list price.
In 2010, homes on average sold for 98% of the original list price and 99% of the final list price.

If you are looking to purchase in Pimmit Hills odds are that you will be paying very close to the asking price.

There are 8 pending home sales in Pimmit Hills as of 2/17/2011 with asking prices on those properties in the $299,900-$375,000 range. One is a foreclosure, one is a normal sale and 6 are short sales.

The average days on market in 2009 was about 60, in 2010 the average was only about 26. So, there is a high demand for homes in Pimmit Hills!

11 homes are currently available for sale in Pimmit Hills as of 2/17/2011. The lowest priced one is $350,000 and the highest is priced at $649,500. One of those 11 is a foreclosure, zero are short sales. About 1/5th of the sales in Pimmit Hills were a short-sale or a foreclosure in 2010.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. Keep in mind - some of these homes may have family room extensions in the back (most add a second bath in those cases though) or could be completely updated. So, prices will vary quite a bit. Nevertheless, 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.

Even though prices were doing well the first half of the year, the year ended on a downwards curve. Keep in mind, this could just signal that the homes sold were more teardowns than earlier years (there has been a trend of people buying teardowns in Pimmit Hills and then building themselves a new home using a build-on-your-lot companies like NDI.) As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price was down for 2010. The average price for all homes sold was $391,208, up from $367,254 in 2009.

For 2011, per the Realist foreclosure tool, I see 0 pre-foreclosure, 7 auctions and 5 bank owned properties for Pimmit Hills. Some of the bank owned ones are already listed or are already under contract/sold .

Moving on to rentals the prices have started creeping up slowly after having been pretty flat over the last few years. There are currently 2 properties listed for rent ranging from $1975 for a 3br/1ba to $4,195 for a 5br/4.5ba.

For investors the GRM has been getting better and better since 2005. As the prices still declined some, and rents have started creeping up the ratio still increased slightly this year. Investors are buying in the neighborhood - especially foreclosures and tear-downs.

Pimmit Hills is a great neighborhood in a fantastic location. Interest rates and prices are both still low. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing in Pimmit Hills please give me a call at 703 560-3424.

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

Disclaimer: The data above is not guaranteed in any way and may contain errors and omissions and is based on MRIS data only. The analysis is my opinion only - always do your own research.

The sales activity in Pimmit Hills seems to be about the same in 2010 as it was in 2009. In 2009 49 homes sold compared to 24 homes sold in the first half of 2010. With the activity remaining the same, what is happening to the prices? There has been some expectations that the homebuyer credit would affect the prices and that some appreciation would be followed by some stabilization in prices the second half of 2010.

The types of homes sold in Pimmit Hills remains stable. The amount of distressed sales (foreclosures+short sales) have been in the 25%-35% range the last three years. This was supposed to be the year of the short-sale, but it doesn't look like those are taking off in Pimmit Hills.

For the first half of the 2010, the lowest price sale was a 3br/1ba tear down at $270,000. The max price was a 5br/3.5ba newer home that sold for $730,000. The average price for all homes sold was $380,058, up from $367,254 in 2009.

In 2009, homes on average sold for 96.8% of the original list price and 101.1% of the final list price.
In 2010, homes on average sold for 101% of the original list price and 102% of the final list price.

So, if you are looking to purchase in Pimmit Hills odds are that you will be paying above asking price.

There are 8 pending home sales in Pimmit Hills as of 07/09/2010 with asking prices on those properties in the $299,500-$519,000 range. Five of those 8 are short sales and one is a foreclosures. However, 4 out of the 5 short sales have been on the market waiting to close for over 6 months (and some of those over a year pending...) About 1/3^rd of the sales in Pimmit Hills were a short-sale or a foreclosure in 2009 and this year it will probably be about the same.

The average days on market in 2009 was about 60, so far this year it is only 20. So, there is a high demand for homes in Pimmit Hills!

Ten homes are currently available for sale in Pimmit Hills. The lowest priced one is $299,000 and the highest is priced at $895,000. 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. Keep in mind - some of these homes may have family room extensions in the back (most add a second bath in those cases though) or be completely updated. So, prices will vary quite a bit. Nevertheless, 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 upwards in the second quarter. Based on the last few sales, the number of pending properties and the limited supply demand is strong and the current level will hopefully hold also after the expiration of the homebuyer credit. The number of sales of basic ramblers has not been that large, so we will need the rest of the year to determine more accurately what the trend is. But, things look good up to this point!

This could change if there are a lot of foreclosures coming up, so looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist I found 0 pre-foreclosure, 14 auctions and 5 bank owned properties. Some of the bank owned ones are already listed or are already under contract/sold (there are 4 auctions in July and a quite a few in May and June, so will likely be more foreclosures coming on the market in Pimmit Hills soon.)

Moving on to rentals the prices have remained pretty steady but have been trending downwards slightly over the last few years. There are currently 3 properties listed for rent ranging from $925 for a 1br/1ba part of a home to $3,750 for a 4br/3.5ba.

For investors the GRM was getting more and more attractive since 2005. However, due to the stagnating rents and increase in prices the ratio has been getting worse. Investors are still buying in the neighborhood - especially foreclosures and tear-downs.

Pimmit Hills is a great neighborhood in a fantastic location. Interest rates and prices have not been this low in many years. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing in Pimmit Hills please give me a call at 703 560-3424.

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

Disclaimer: The data above is not guaranteed in any way and may contain errors and omissions and is based on MRIS data only. The analysis is my opinion only - always do your own research.

Pimmit Hills is bordered by Route 7, Route 123 and the Beltway, and is convenient to McLean, Tysons Corner, Falls Church City and Vienna. Founded in 1950, it's one of the oldest communities in Fairfax County, and with over 1,600 single-family homes on 633 acres, it's also one of the largest. The neighborhood was originally built with no sidewalks or curbs, and 1,280 of the homes were built with identical floor plans. Today, many of the homes feature additions, and in recent years, some of the older homes have been torn down and replaced with larger models.

Metrobus runs throughout the community, and the West Falls Church Metro station is just a mile from the border of the neighborhood. Several county-maintained parks are located in Pimmit Hills, and the neighborhood is within walking distance to nearby grocery and retail stores and popular eating establishments.

Pimmit Hills also has a citizens' association. Membership is voluntary, and the dues paid by members ($12/individual, $20/family per year) goes toward funding community events and the Pimmit Hills Dispatch newsletter, which is delivered to every home in the community and has been published since 1952. The association also maintains a blog to help people keep up with the latest happenings in the community. There are no formal or enforcable architectural guidelines, but the association tries to maintain the look and feel of the neighborhood through "peer pressure and positive reinforcement," according to a 2005 Washington Post article by Susan Straight.

In the last year, 52 homes changed hands in Pimmit Hills, ranging from $270,000 for a 3-bedroom, 1 bath rambler built in 1954 to $730,000 for a colonial built in 2004 with 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, and one half bath.That number is up from the same period the previous year, when 42 homes were sold.

Currently, seven houses are on the market in Pimmit Hills, and ten more are under contract. Those that are being actively marketed range from a 2-bedroom, 1-bath rambler with an asking price of $315,900 to a 5-bedroom, 4.5 bath colonial for $999,900 that was built in 2009.

Pimmit Hills continues to be a popular destination for homeowners, and with the recent redevelopment in Tysons Corner, it looks like that is a trend that will continue into the foreseeable future.

There was an increase in activity in Pimmit Hills in 2009 showing that investors and homeowners still realize  the great value of the community.

Entry level homes sell quickly and lots of investors are working in the neighborhood to renovate and sell homes. There were 49 homes sold in 2010 versus 45 homes sold in 2009. 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 $367,254.

Homes on average sell for 96.8% of the original list price. They sell for 101.1% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Pimmit Hills odds are that you will be paying about  the current asking price.

Pimmit Hills Sold 2009: http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?k=587050XA2RI&p=DE-99114533-80

If we look at the number of pending home sales in Pimmit Hills as of 01/14/2010 we get a number of 10. This indicates a pretty stable activity as the average days on market is about 60. Five of those 10 are short sales and two are foreclosures. The success rate for short sales does seem to have gone up from 2008 to 2009 while the number of foreclosures have been relatively stable (see pie charts.) About 1/3^rd of the sales in Pimmit Hills were a short-sale or a foreclosure.

Three homes are currently available for sale in Pimmit Hills. The lowest priced one is $765,000. If you would like the current list of homes for sale, please email me at are@tysonsliving.com .

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 2 pre-foreclosure, 4 upcoming auctions and 6 bank owned properties. Most of the bank owned ones are already listed or are already under contract/sold.

Moving on to rentals the prices have remained pretty steady. There are currently 6 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,400 for a 3br/1ba to $3,000 for a 4br/3.5ba. As can be seen on the below graph, the rents for a typical 3br/3ba 1 level rambler has remained in the high $1,500's.

For investors the GRM is getting better and better. The rents may be stagnant but with the prices falling further this year the ratio of rents to purchase price has been getting better and better and are now almost 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 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 at 703 560-3424.

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

The Idylwood Towers Condominiums include two high-rise buildings with a sum total of 484 residential condo units and include 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom floor plans. The Idylwood Towers are located at 2300 and 2311 Pimmit Drive in Falls Church, Virginia, and are accessible by Metro via the Orange Line to the East Falls Church Metro Station.

The twenty-two acre complex includes ample parking as well as the buildings' unusually large natural grounds with extensive lawns, mature trees and landscaping. The Idylwood Towers also hosts an attractive set of amenities which serve to highlight the natural landscape and acreage. Such features include a large swimming pool, fitness centers in each building with professional quality equipment for aerobic and strength exercises, tennis courts, a basketball court, cookout areas, a children's playground, pool rooms, and rooms for community activities or private parties.

Although the Towers were completed in 1974, the exterior of the building has undergone at least one facial renovation since that time. In fact, what is actually particularly appealing about the Idylwood Towers is the buildings’ age insofar as solidity and structure. The units and building itself are concrete and brick structures that provide excellent sound insulation and fire resistance, both of which honestly pay homage to today's all too common commiserate story "they just don't make 'em like they used to". Here, the facade and age of the buildings are endearing and the community is certainly whole. No flashy stuff, just a great place to call home.