Realty Insider Blog

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 is $212,667. The 2009 average price for a 2 bedroom unit is $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"

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"