Realty Insider Blog

The market activity at Idylwood Towers has been up this year. While there were 12 homes sold during 2009 - the first half of 2010 saw 12 homes sold. The lowest price was a 1br/1ba at $175,000. The highest price was an updated 3br/3ba property at $310,000.

As can be seen on the graph above, the percentage of foreclosures peaked in 2009 and is down this year.

In 2009 the average sales price for a 1 bedroom unit was $177,550. The average price for a 2 bedroom unit was $213,600. As mentioned earlier, a single 3 bedroom unit sold for $315,000.

The first half of 2010, the average sales price for a 1 bedroom unit was $188,500. The average price for a 2 bedroom unit was $238,143. A single 3br/3ba unit sold for $310,000.

Homes on average sell for 93.7% of the original list price. They sell for 97.4% of the final list price. If you are looking to purchase in Idylwood Towers it is important that you work with a Realtor that is familiar with the buildings and can help you determine if the asking price is reasonable.

As of 7/12/2010 the number of pending home sales at Idylwood Towers is 1. It is a 1 bedroom short sale unit listed at $199,555.

Five homes are currently available for sale in Idylwood Towers. They range in price from a junior 1-bedroom at $164,900 to a 3-bedroom listed at $339,000. 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 can take a look at the sales history of the various models. As there has been few sales of the 3 bedroom units, the price trend is probably most accurate for the 1 and 2 bedroom units.

The average sales price went up some in the first quarter of the year but seems so have given up most of that gain in Q2. We will need some more sales to see what the overall trend will be this year. The homebuyer credit expired at the end of April but it is too early to know if that is the main reason for the decline. Overall for the year, the prices appear to still be up though - especially for 2 bedroom units.

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, 7 upcoming or recent auctions and 0 bank owned properties. Some of these bank sales may have been listed as short-sales currently but the majority of them may come on the market over the next months.

Moving on to rentals, the prices have come down a little bit from last year. 13 properties rented so far this year, compared to 27 properties rented in 2009. There are currently 6 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,300 for a junior 1br/1ba to $1,500 for a regular 1br/1ba. As can be seen on the below graph, the rents have been declining since 2006-2007 for most models  (2br units seem to have gone up.)

For investors the GRM has flattened out due to pretty flat prices and falling rents. The 1 and 2 bedroom has an Identical GRM for Q2 in 2010 (the blue dot is hidden between the red 2 bedroom one.)

Idylwood Towers is a great place to call home and the prices are still low. Coupled with the low interest rates this is a great time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing in Idylwood Towers, please give me a call.

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.

There has been a good level of activity in Woodburn Village this year. Unfortunately, a majority of the sales are still foreclosures and short sales. For the regular re-sales that took place, the prices and appraisals were heavily influenced by the distressed sales. 17 homes sold the first half this year as compared to 39 the whole of 2009.  Six were regular re-sales, 3 were bank sales and 8 were short sales. As can be seen in the sales mix charts - the number of foreclosures are down and short sales are up again. In the first half of this year, the overall percentage of distressed sales is down a little from the high in 2009.

Homes on average sell for 93.4% of the original list price. They sell for 101% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Woodburn odds are that you will be paying close to the asking price.

If we look at the number of pending home sales in Woodburn Village as of 02/11/2010 we get a number of 8. They range in asking price from $124,900 to $189,000. Four of these are short sales, two are foreclosures and two are regular resales.

Three homes are currently available for sale in Woodburn Village. They range from a two bedroom foreclosure sale at $129,900 to a two bedroom short sale listed at $149,900. If you would like the current list of homes for sale, please email me.

To get a better understanding of the overall price development in the neighborhood, please see below graph.

 

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales prices seem to have bottomed out and have started trending upwards. What effect the homebuyer credit has had on prices is too early to know for sure. However, it does seem that there still is quite a bit of distressed inventory that has to be sold so I don't expect prices to rise significantly in the near future.

Looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist I found 0 pre-foreclosure, 14 recent or upcoming auctions and 6 bank owned properties. Some of the bank owned ones or auctions may already have been listed and/or already be under contract or sold.

Moving on to rentals the rental prices seem to have leveled of. There are currently 5 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,150 for a 1br/1ba to $1,500 for another 1br/1ba.

For investors the GRM has stayed pretty much the same since 2008.

 

Woodburn Village is a great neighborhood and the prices have not been this low in many years. Coupled with the low interest rates this is an excellent time to buy. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing in Woodburn Village please give me a call.

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 at the Fountains at Mclean has great in the first half of 2010. There were 18 homes sold the first half this year versus 23 homes sold in all of in 2009. The lowest price were two 1br/1ba units that sold for $202,000. The highest price was a 2br/2ba property at $337,000.

The sales mix has changed this year. In 2009 about 35% of the sales were foreclosures or short sales. Up to this point in 2010, only 6% of the sales were foreclosures or short sales. More specifically, no foreclosures and one short sale the first half of this year.

The 2009 average price for a 1 bedroom unit was $210,042. The 2009 average price for a 2 bedroom unit was $309,150.

In the first half of 2010 the average price for a 1 bedroom unit was $216,979 and for a 2 bedroom unit it was $309,000. So, prices were up a little bit on average but would be safer to say they have stabilized as we will need more data to see the trend clearer.

Homes on average sell for 96.0% of the original list price. They sell on average for 97.0% of the final list price. So, if you are looking to purchase at the Fountains of Mclean, you may be able to get a slight break in price.

There are 4 pending home sales at the Fountains at Mclean as of 07/11/2010. All are 1 bedroom units with asking prices in the $210,000-$245,000 range. One of them appears to be a short sale.

Seven homes are currently available for sale at the Fountains at Mclean (three 1-bedrooms at $220,500-228,888 and four 2-bedrooms at $329,900-$349,000.) 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 do some comparison on a model basis. Below is a graph showing the price trends for all the models over the last few years. I also put in a graph for one and two bedroom units in general. I broke up the first half into quarters to try to see if there is a trend emerging for the year.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price seems to be trending upwards slowly from a low in 2008-2009. Some would say the reason for this is the homebuyer credit. As it expired April 30th, we should start to see whether that is the case towards the end of the year.

A growing concern at the Fountains is that the investor ratio has been increasing (number of non-owner occupants.) Lenders are hesitant  to give loans in developments where this rate is too high (generally 50%.)  It seems to now have reached a level where purchasers often need a 20% down payment to qualify for a mortgage. FHA loans seems to be unavailable in the community at this time as well.

The current stable prices would likely change if there were a lot of foreclosures coming up. So, looking at the upcoming foreclosures on Realist, I found 0 pre-foreclosure, 6 recent or upcoming auctions and 1 bank owned property. Few, if any, of those will have been listed yet - so over the next months I would expect there to be multiple foreclosures coming on the market. We may still end up with a lower number of foreclosures than in 2009 though.

Moving on to rentals, rents seem to have remained pretty steady. With 37 units rented on the MLS last year and 18 the first half this year, the competition for tenants should be the same as last year. There are currently 10 properties listed for lease, ranging from $1,200 for a 1br/1ba to $1,995 for a 2br/2ba.

For investors the GRM is getting slightly worse for 1 bedroom units and inconclusive for 2 bedroom units(seems to be pretty steady from last year though.) With some slow appreciation in price and slow depreciation in rents the rent to price ratio should be getting worse as well.

The Fountains at Mclean is a great neighborhood with reasonable prices that would make a wonderful home. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing, please give us 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 2010 at the Gates of McLean is on track to be better than in 2009. With the metro and new noise barriers being constructed the community is just getting more and more attractive. There were 18 homes sold in 2009 - in the first half of this year 13 units sold - likely at least partially due to the homebuyer credit. The lowest price was a 1br/1ba foreclosure at $193,000. The highest price was a renovated 3br/2ba property with granite countertops at $368,000.

The sales mix changed from 2009 to the first half of 2010. In 2009 about 40% of the sales were foreclosures or short sales. This year about 30% are - we will have to wait until the end of the year to see what the final mix will be.

 The 2009, the average sales prices were:
1 bedroom unit = $212,667
2 bedroom unit = $309,233
3 bedroom unit = $356,917

In 2010 YTD, the average sales prices were:
1 bedroom unit = $213,871
2 bedroom unit = $333.750
3 bedroom unit = $356,500

So, one average for the first half of this year, prices are up over last year by quite a bit for 2 bedroom units and pretty much remained flat for 1 and 3 bedroom units. As the homebuyer credit expired 4/30/2010, I broke up the first half into two quarters to see if anything happened to the market after the expiration on the credit.

The second quarter prices and activity is likely still influenced by the homebuyer credit as closings typically take 30-60 days. Regardless, keep reading and look at the graphs further down and you'll see something interesting...

Homes this year on average sell for 100.00% of the original and list price. So, if you are looking to purchase in Gates of McLean, you will often pay asking price or above. In 2009 units sold at about 96% of the asking price so sellers have gotten better at pricing their units this year (or demand has increased.)

There are 3 pending home sales at the Gates of Mclean as of 7/10/2010. Two are 1 bedroom units in the $195,000-$229,900 range. Two of them appear to be short sales.

Regarding foreclosures and short sales: I looked in the Realist system and found 0 pre-foreclosure, 5 auctions and 3 bank owned properties. Some of the bank owned properties may already be listed or may already be sold. However, based on those numbers it seems to be more foreclosures coming on the market over the next few months.

If you have negative equity in your home and you are considering a short-sale or a foreclosure (or you just don't know what to do), please give us a call. We are working on our second short sale at the Gates of McLean and will be happy to talk to you.

Two homes are currently available for sale at the Gates of McLean. One is a 1-bedroom unit at $259,900 and one is a 3-bedroom unit at $379,000.

To get a better understanding of the overall price curve in the neighborhood we will first look at some specific models. The Danielle model (1br) and the Christine model (3br) 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 below.

As can be seen from the above graph, the average sales price trended downward until the 2008-2009 timeframe. Since then the prices have stabilized but the overall trend is inconclusive based on the above graph. 

If we look at the average price regardless of model the current market seems to make a bit more sense:

After hitting a bottom in 2008/2009 prices went up until the end of the first quarter of 2010. In the second quarter they lost some of the gains they had made. Prices are still above the earlier lows though - and the market activity is great with units selling quickly (albeit at lower prices.)

Apart from a tightening of appraisals, the high investor ratio at the Gates of Mclean keeps making things difficult for purchasers. Due to the ratio being high, finding a lender to finance a purchase often proves challenging with many demanding a 20% or higher down payment. Requiring  that amount of down payment eliminates a lot of first time (and repeat) purchasers that would normally use FHA loans(3.5% down payment.)

The dataset for the above graphs is still small - so the actual trend won't be clear for some time yet.

Moving on to rentals, the rents remained pretty stable and may be climbing slightly. With 20 units rented on the MLS the first six months this year (61 rented total in 2009) the competition for tenants may have been a bit less and could be contributing to the slight uptick in rents. There are currently 8 properties listed for rent ranging from $1,275 for a 1br/1ba to $2,000 for a 3br/2ba.

For investors the GRM is a bit up and down but is again getting more attractive to investors due to slightly higher rents and price decrease in Q2. 

Gates of McLean is a great neighborhood and the prices are still often lower than what the developer sold them for back in 2003. With the metro coming soon, the Gates of McLean is just getting better and better! 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"

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 better and better 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.