About McLean's Gates of McLean

There has been a reasonable market activity at the Gates of McLean this year. Investors and homeowners are still realizing the value of the community. Lower priced units routinely have multiple offers on them. There were 18 homes sold in 2009 (in 2008 20 homes sold.) The lowest price was a 1br/1ba foreclosure at $193,000. The highest price was a renovated 3br/2ba property with granite countertops at $366,000.

The sales mix changed from 2008 to 2009. In 2009 about 40% of the sales were foreclosures or short sales. In 2008 only 25% were foreclosures (no short sales.)

The 2009 average price for a 1 bedroom unit was $212,667. The 2009 average price for a 2 bedroom unit was $309,233. The 2009 average price for a 3 bedroom unit was $356,917.

Homes on average sell for 95.2% of the original list price. They sell for 96.1% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Gates of McLean, it seems that you will be able to get a slight break in price. However, the market was strong towards the end of the year so unless you are willing to purchase one of the less desirable units, you may have to pay closer to the asking price than the statistics indicate.

Gates of McLean Sold 2009: http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?k=587050XA2RI&p=DE-99766628-291

If we look at the number of pending home sales at the Gates of Mclean as of 06/02/2009, we get a number of 5. Four of those are 1 bedroom units in the $199,000-$229,900 range. Two of them appear to be short sales.

Five homes are currently available for sale at the Gates of McLean. They are four 1-bedrooms at $214,999-$255,000 and one 3-bedroom at $390,000. 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 do some comparison on a model basis. The Danielle model (1br) and the Dalton model (2br) are two popular models that usually have at least a few sales every year. I put together a graph showing sales of those two models 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 minimum, maximum and average sales price.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price is trending downwards and is back to pre 2004 levels. One bedroom models could be purchased from the developer from the low $200's back in 2003, so many are upside down at this point. There is interest in the Gates of McLean homes for sale and reasonably priced units away from I-495 do sell quickly and with multiple offers.

The current market situation could change if there are a lot of foreclosures coming up, so looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist, I found 0 pre-foreclosure, 0 upcoming auctions and 4 bank owned properties. Most of the bank owned properties have already been listed or are already under contract/sold. So, there does not seem to be a flood of foreclosed on units coming on the market at the Gates over the next few months.

Moving on to rentals, the rents have come down a bit, especially for 1 bedroom units. With 61 units rented on the MLS last year (up from 53 in 2008) the competition for tenants have been fierce at times. There are currently 5 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,350 for a 1br/1ba to $2,000 for a 3br/2ba. As can be seen on the below graph, the average rents for one, two and three bedroom units all decreased. Due to the large amount of non-owner occupied units (likely more than 50%) there will continue to be a competitive rental market at the Gates.

For investors the GRM is still getting better for 2 bedroom units. Due to the 1 bedroom falling rents the GRM is about unchanged from last year despite falling prices. For 3 bedroom units the GRM worsened - there were few sales in 2008 so we are probably back to a more true value in 2009 when we had three sales of the model.

Gates of McLean is a great neighborhood and the prices are now often lower than what the developer sold them for back in 2003. Coupled with the low interest rates and the potential to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit this is an excellent time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing at the Gates of McLean please give us a call at 703 560-3424.

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

1 property sold in the Gates of McLean in Tysosn corner in July 2009. It was a bank owned property on the top floor of building 1580. This property was on the market for 16 days, and it had multiple offers. It was originally asking $190,971, and sold for $193,000 in CASH. The one bedroom one bathroom home was a 642 square foot Chelsea model. There was no seller subsidy to the buyer in this transaction. The price per square foot was $300.62.

July of 2009 compared very poorly in terms of number of transactions to the same month last year (July 2008). In July 2008 there were 7 home sold. Although it was only one property this past month (July 2009) we did have improvements in both areas of price per square foot and days on market average where last year they had $293.27 and 67.5 respectively.

In July 2009 there were also 7 homes that rented. They ranged from a low of a $1,200 a month for a one bedroom one bathroom to a high of $1,550 for a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom.

Right now there are 10 properties available at the Gates of McLean. 2 of those are for sale, both are one bedrooms in Garden style buildings. The other 8 properties are rentals. Here is a graphic of all of them =



data from MRIS

In May of 2009 2 homes SOLD. There was a two bedroom that sold and also a one bedroom that sold.







The two bedroom was a Dalton Model. At time of contract it had been asking $319,000. They Sold for $279,000 with no seller subsidy. This is 87% of asking price. This property was credit union owned, or what could and is also referred to as a foreclosure or bank owned property. The property was on the market for 76 days. When it listed they were asking $339,000.







The one bedroom that sold was a "normal" or "traditional" sale. The asking price was $220,000 and it sold for $220,000 with $3,000 in seller subsidy. It was a top floor Danielle model that was very well taken care of.







Here is the virtual tour so you can take a look --> http://www.homevisit.com/mlsTour?ver=1&id=37394

Last year in the same month, May 2008, there were also 2 properties SOLD. They were both two bedrooms. They sold for $365,000 (Logan Model) and $320,000 (Dalton Model).

Right now there are 4 properties on the market. Three of them seem to be traditional sales. The fourth is a short sale. See below:

In the Gates of McLean in May of 2009 5 properties were rented. Three were one bedrooms, and the other two were two bedrooms. The average one bedroom rental was $1,180/month. The average two bedroom rental was $1,675/month. Here is a visual:

Last year in May, May 2008, there were only 3 properties rented. The two bedroom (1) price was $1,695/month. While the one bedroom (2) average was $1,300/month.

Right now there are 16 properties available for rent at the Gates of McLean. There are 7 one bedrooms available, 6 two bedrooms, and 3 three bedrooms. They range in asking price from $1,225/month to $2,400/month.

There has been a reasonable market activity at the Gates of McLean this year. It seems investors and homeowners are realizing the value of the community - on the last few homes I inquired or put in offers on we have competed with multiple offers with the sales price ending up at or above asking price. There has been 7 homes sold in the first 5 months of the year. The lowest price was a 1br/1ba at $195,000. The max price was a 3br/2ba property with granite countertops at $354,750.

The average price YTD for a 1 bedroom unit is $207,500. The average price YTD for a 2 bedroom unit is $301,600. As mentioned earlier, one 3 bedroom unit sold for $354,750.

Homes on average sell for 91.1% of the original list price. They sell for 94.2% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Gates of McLean, it seems that you will be able to get a slight break in price. However, the market has picked up lately and unless you are willing to purchase one of the units up against I-495, you may have to pay closer to the asking price than the statistics indicate.

Gates of McLean Sold YTD: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=31159444269

If we look at the number of pending home sales at the Gates of Mclean as of 06/02/2009, we get a number of 3. Two of those are 1 bedroom units in the low $200's. One of those appears to be a short sale.

Four homes are currently available for sale at the Gates of McLean. They are two 1-bedrooms at $240,000 and two 2-bedrooms in the low $300's. 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'll need to do some comparison on a model basis. As there has been two sales of the Danielle model(1br) and two sales of the Dalton model (2br) I put together a graph showing those sales 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 minimum, maximum and average sales price. I left out the 3 bedroom model as the price has varied a lot on that model.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price is trending downwards and are back to pre 2004 levels. One bedroom models could be purchased from the developer from the low $200's back in 2003, so many are upside down at this point. There is interest in the Gates of McLean homes for sale and reasonably priced units away from I-495 do sell quickly and with multiple offers.

The current market situation could change if there are a lot of foreclosures coming up, so looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist, I found 0 pre-foreclosure, 3 upcoming auctions and 4 bank owned properties. Some of the bank owned properties have already been listed or are already under contract/sold. So, there does not seem to be a flood of foreclosed on units coming up over the next few months.

Moving on to rentals, the prices have remained pretty steady, especially for 2 bedroom units. 20 properties rented so far this year. There are currently 16 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,200 for a 1br/1ba to $2,400 for a 3br/2ba. As can be seen on the below graph, the rents for one bedrooms has declined while it has increased slightly for 2 bedroom units. Rents are typically a bit higher in the summer so we may see a bump in the average by the time we get to the end of the year. Due to the large amount of non-owner occupied units (likely more than 50%) there will continue to be a competitive rental market at the Gates.

For investors the GRM is getting better and better for 2 bedroom units. Due to the 1 bedroom falling rents the GRM is about unchanged from last year despite falling prices.

Gates of McLean is a great neighborhood and the prices are now often lower than what the developer sold them for back in 2003. Coupled with the low interest rates and the potential to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit this is an excellent time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing at the Gates of McLean please give me a call.

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

Just like the title of this post says, there was one SOLD property in the Gates of McLean in 2009. It was a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom property in building 1570. That is a Mid-Rise building with garage parking. This property had 1 garage parking and 1 assigned out door parking space. So a total of 2 parking spaces. This is definately a plus. The home was also very nicely appointed with upgraded flooring, cabinetry, and countertops. There was also the benefit of not facing the parking lot, as half the homes do. This home faced into the courtyard, and was even somewhat protected by some mature trees to give you a private feel.

Click here for your exclusive view of the virtual tour

So now to what you really care about, the money. The home sold for $335,900 and no subsidy. It was on the market for a total of 18 days. This is great considering that the Gates of McLean average days on market for the past year for the SOLD properties is 56 days.

There is still plenty more on the market right now at the Gates. In fact, there are 7 other properties available for sale. 4 of these are one bedrooms (asking $219,950 to $267,900), and the other 3 are two bedrooms (asking $309,000 to $329,000).

1 Sold property in April this year (2009) is keeping pace with April of last year (2008). As there was only one sold property in that same month last year. May may be a little better as there are 2 properties under contract right now.

-most data from MRIS-