March 31, 2008

Recent Sales - Silver Spring

If you were too distracted by the spring blossoms to notice the Washington Post’s real estate section this weekend then be sure to check out the very detailed maps and zip code information they showed for home value trands in each area of the DC region.

The Post compared prices in 2006 and 2007, and confirmed once again that this market is very different from one spot to the next. Silver Spring as a whole was up slightly over that time period.But, since any price trend review has to take a snapshot of a moment in time, the trend for the last few months might not be the same as for the year-to-year ending in December. I will look at the March-March trend for Silver Spring next week.

Also, I recommend two good articles on Saturday and Sunday on the process of pricing a house. They are informative for both buyers and sellers even if they don’t cite many of the online resources available to people to do some of their own research!

There are currently 250 single family homes for sale in Silver Spring, with an average of more than 90 days on the market. We are still seeing price reductions every week. Here are some recent sales and median sold prices by zip code. By the way, the blossoms our out in full force in Silver Spring too, so take a drive and enjoy.

March 29, 2008

Loudoun County: Spotlight on…Lakes at Red Rocks

In the process of searching WashingtonPost.com for a recommended article about the pricing process (thanks, Mom!), I came across this article about Lakes at Red Rock. I live just down the street from this development and have often wondered about it, but had not yet gotten around to doing the research. This article does a fantastic job of describing the small, active community and I thought I’d share it with you. There is also a second, smaller article with information pertaining to boundaries, amenities, schools and proximity to area attractions. If you’re looking for a tight knit, planned community that emphasizes the outdoors and open spaces, this could be just the place for you. Enjoy!

Image: The covered bridge of Lakes at Red Rocks

March 28, 2008

Loudoun County: Open Houses, Sun. 3/30

The weather looks like it’s going to hold up pretty well, so be sure to check out these lovely Loudoun properties, all of which are open this Sunday from 1 to 4. Up until now, the open house pickings have been pretty slim, but my open house search revealed that there is a fairly wide variety this week. Below are just a few examples.

Even if you’re not in the market for a million-dollar home, get a glimpse of how the other half lives in this beautiful property in the Village of Waxpool. Situated on half an acre (which is fenced), it features 6 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, home theatre, a gourmet kitchen, sunroom, deck, patio, pool, waterfall, spa, and a 3-car garage. It also takes the trophy for “Most Expensive Open House” this weekend. It’s listed at $1,200,000.

If you’re more budget-minded, the least expensive open house might pique your interest. Located in Ashburn Village, this brick front townhome has 3 bedrooms (including a luxury master suite), 2.5 baths, and an updated kitchen with silestone counters. It’s listed at $312,000. 

Last but not least is my Steal of the Week, a single family in Brambleton listed at $524,900. It’s got 3 finished levels, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, hardwood floors on most of the main level, an upgraded gourmet kitchen, and a 2-story family room with a fireplace. The fully finished basement includes a wet bar, a full bath, and a den and rec room with surround sound speakers. It also has several outdoor spaces to enjoy: a wraparound porch in front and a deck in the rear w/ screened-in porch. The property faces open space, and the garage is attached (Brambleton features some houses with garages that aren’t).  

Happy hunting!

March 27, 2008

Takoma Park Past Sales

Takoma Park has over 80 single family homes for sale at the moment. February’s closed contracts were slower by half compared to the same month last year (in terms of units sold), according to the MRIS. But January was not so bad. Perhaps things have started picking up again with more options on the market. We’ll see when the March stats come out.    

In the meantime, below is a list of sales in the 20912 zip code are over the last three months. I got it from MLS data listed on Redfin. Taking out the properties that listed “zero” as the sale price (I guess because they were transfers), I calculated the median sold price to be $435,000. The median square footage was 1,238 — but if Takoma Park is anything like the District of Columbia, the square footage listed in the property records can be, let me say, not quite reliable!

ADDRESS                       SQFT          SOLD         PRICE     YR BUILT
     
7537 CARROLL AVE      1676      1/25/2008     $807,500    1920
7315 FLOWER AVE        1176      1/18/2008     $725,000     1925
525 ALBANY AVE           1620      1/15/2008     $695,000    1923
7112 SYCAMORE AVE   1299        2/6/2008     $650,000    1921
7403 BUFFALO AVE       943        2/5/2008     $589,000    1981
12 VALLEY VIEW AVE  1346    12/31/2007      $529,900    1933
8101 FLOWER AVE       3534      1/11/2008      $525,000    1941
8000 CARROLL AVE     1714      1/25/2008      $520,000   1938
53 PHILADELPHIA AV  936         1/7/2008      $489,000   1923
707 BOSTON AVE          1259        2/7/2008      $445,000   1951
209 SPRING AVE            986      1/28/2008      $437,000    1921
6621 EASTERN AVE      1270        2/4/2008      $435,000   1923
6916 PR. GEORGES      1568         1/4/2008      $406,000   1957
6845 EASTERN AVE    1404         2/8/2008      $397,060    1930
212 MANOR CIR           1238       1/22/2008      $389,000    1937
8610 GREENWOOD     888        1/15/2008      $380,000    1934
8106 LOCKNEY AVE    1216          1/7/2008      $375,000    1950
1105 LANCASTER RD  1008       1/10/2008      $360,000    1940
7310 NEW HAMPSH.  1288          2/1/2008      $354,000    1946
6809 PR. GEORGES    1364        1/25/2008      $350,000    1942
6910 NEW HAMPSH.   1176      12/31/2007      $346,254     1941
8504 FLOWER AVE   1488         2/15/2008      $270,000    1927
7716 MAPLE AVE        2260         2/13/2008     $138,080    1951

Cheers - and happy hunting.

Photo credit to my fellow blogger Kira. (ok - I admit, it does not look much like Takoma Park but its all I could find in a pinch!)

March 26, 2008

Loudoun County: Just Rip Off the Band-Aid, People

If you read my blog with any regularity, you will come to find that one of my biggest real estate pet peeves is sellers who refuse to acknowledge reality and price their homes appropriately. And by appropriately, I mean price their homes so as to actually attract offers. (My other pet peeve is sellers who throw their house on the market without doing even the minimum to make it presentable, such as decluttering, but that’s a post for another day.) I cringe every time I see another overpriced house enter the market, especially in my own neighborhood, because I know exactly what is going to happen. The house will stay on the market for an eternity and add to an already overwhelming oversupply of homes. At best, and if the owners can still afford the property, it will be taken off the market until the market improves (along with plenty of other properties). At worst, if the owners can no longer afford the property (which, in this day of ARMs and-no-money-down loans, is more often the case), it will sink into short sale and then into foreclosure. And that’s not good for anybody (believe it or not, it’s not even always good for buyers; foreclosures can be a nasty, frustrating business).  

Loudoun still has a huge overpricing problem. It’s not unusual for me to see properties put on the market for $100,000 or more over what would be their “sellable” price. I’m basing that both on comparables on the market and comparables that have already sold. Here’s one example: House A is priced at $594,900 and is nearly identical to House B, which is priced $150,000 lower at $449,900. Both houses are in Lansdowne, on the same street, with the same size and type of lot (they back directly up to a very steep hill). House A has only been on the market for 1 day, while House B has been on the market for 79 days, and has been reduced 3 times from its original list price of $524,900. How can House A’s sellers/realtor think pricing $150,000 higher is a good idea? It really boggles the mind. 

If you’re wondering what brought on this little diatribe, it was this article by Dave Leonhardt in the March 26th online edition of The New York Times. Entitled, “Be It Ever So Illogical: Homeowners Who Won’t Cut the Price”, it provides an interesting analysis of why sellers have been so stubborn the past year or so in terms of price revisions and negotiating with buyers, and rightly points out how the phenomenon only adds to the housing crisis. My favorite passage went like this: “In many ways, it would be better if the housing correction would happen more swiftly and sharply. The pain might be worse, but it would be over quickly. We seem to understand this principle when we’re removing a bandage. Why, then, is it so much harder with housing?”

Most experts and analysts agree that we haven’t hit the bottom of the real estate crash yet. It’s painful to watch this slow, downward spiral, all the while wondering if we’re “there yet”. Let’s show ourselves some mercy and just rip the bandage right off. It’ll hurt like hell, but at least we can start to move on.

March 22, 2008

Loudoun County: Hot Links

WashingtonPost.com photo of the Dulles Greenway.

A reader recently posted some comments filled with information about Loudoun County’s plans to alleviate traffic congestion (Thank you, Toi!). I learned enough from her comments to realize that I had a lot more to learn, which prompted me to do further research of my own. LoCo residents have a lot of questions about both current and future road/transit plans, and while there is not one central place to get all the answers, I have managed to track down a few websites that address some of the big issues.

For general information about transit, visit www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=1000; for specific information pertaining to the Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP), go to www.loudounctp.com.

If you’re wondering how the interchanges on Rt. 28 are coming along, check out www.28freeway.com/projectmap.html.

Interested in the latest news about the Dulles Rail Project? Click on www.dullescorridorrail.com/update.htm and www.dullesmetro.com.

Last but not least, you can learn more about the Dulles Greenway (including its VIP Cash Back Bonus Program) at www.dullesgreenway.com. You can also visit http://www.smart-tag.com to sign up for Smart Tag or an E-ZPass.

March 21, 2008

SQFT Deals for Condos in Bethesda

If you are looking for a quiet condo community that offers a good deal in terms price per square foot then you may want to check out Sumner Village, pictured below. There are now three apartments on sale there at less than $300 per square foot. True, this is not the most up-to-date set of buildings, but they offer large windows, a wooded setting and lots of amenities (e.g. pool and tennis). Sumner Village is also within walking distance of a large shopping area at Sumner Square. And hey, that 70s look is back in again - all you need is a bit of imagination to make it hip!

Cheers,

Allison

March 21, 2008

Loudoun County Price Reductions: March 21

If you’re a serious home shopper, this weekend might be a great opportunity to check out these recently reduced properties. Since it’s Easter weekend, there’s a good chance that sellers will be out of town, making it easier to schedule a tour and to take your time. Plus, the weather on Sunday looks like it will be lovely.

The 2008 Easter Egg Hunt at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg.

One interesting note: Three of the reduced properties have been on the market for 2 weeks or less; one of them has only been on the market for 8 days. This confirms what I’ve been noticing, which is that while some sellers are willing to let their properties linger for an interminably long time, an increasing number of them are not wasting any time trying to find the right price.

ASHBURN VILLAGE
20736 ASHBURN STATION PL, ASHBURN, VA 20147
4 bd/4.5 ba; 5200 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $169
Reduced from $895,000 to $879,900
Days on Redfin: 44 

44087 MACEDONIA CT, ASHBURN, VA 20147
4 bd/3.5 ba; sq. ft. unavailable
Reduced from $540,000 to $525,000
Days on Redfin: 14 

43359 ICE POND DR, ASHBURN, VA 20147*
4 bd/3.5 ba; 3250 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $158
Reduced from $525,000 to $514,000
Days on Redfin: 15
*Second price reduction; original list price of $539,000

43916 GIRDLAND CT, ASHBURN, VA 20147*
5 bd/2.5 ba; 2408 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $208
Reduced from $509,990 to $499,900
Days on Redfin: 166
*Sixth price reduction; original list price of $575,000 

BELMONT COUNTRY CLUB
19961 INTERLACHEN CIR, ASHBURN, VA 20147
5 bd/5.5 ba; 5861 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $170
Reduced from $1,055,000 to $999,000
Days on Redfin: 38 

BRAMBLETON
42477 RINGNECK PL, ASHBURN, VA 20148*
3 bd/3.5 ba; 3300 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $197
Reduced from $675,990 to $649,990
Days on Redfin: 262
*Third price reduction; original list price of $699,990 

BROADLANDS
21567 SCHOOLHOUSE CT, BROADLANDS, VA 20148
6 bd/3.5 ba; 4070 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $168
Reduced from $725,000 to $684,900 
Days on Redfin: 8

42771 EVENING BREEZE CT, BROADLANDS, VA 20148
4 bd/3.5 ba; sq. ft. unavailable
Reduced from $530,000 to $519,750
Days on Redfin: 31 

LANSDOWNE
18793 UPPER MEADOW DR, LEESBURG, VA 20176*
5 bd/4.5 ba; 4304 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $186
Reduced from $824,900 to $799,990
Days on Redfin: 42
*Second price reduction; original list price of $839,900 

43343 RIVERPOINT DR, LEESBURG, VA 20176
5 bd/4.5 ba; 4704 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $170
Reduced from $825,000 to $799,900
Days on Redfin: 27 

43466 RIVERPOINT DR, LEESBURG, VA 20176*
4 bd/2.5 ba; 3760 sq. ft.; Price/sq. ft.: $177
Reduced from $699,900 to $664,900
Days on Redfin: 63
*Recently reactivated after being off the market 

19293 CREEK FIELD CIR, LEESBURG, VA 20176*
4 bd/3.5 ba; sq. ft. unavailable
Reduced from $659,500 to $645,000
Days on Redfin: 90
*Third price reduction; original list price of $679,000 

LOUDOUN VALLEY ESTATES*
23370 KERRISDALE WAY, DULLES, VA 20166
5 bd/5.5 ba; sq. ft. unavailable
Reduced from $814,900 to $759,500
Days on Redfin: 28 

23292 ROGERDALE PL, DULLES, VA 20166
4 bd/3.5 ba; 3857 sq. ft.; Price per sq. ft.: $195
Reduced from $765,000 to $749,900
Days on Redfin: 129 

*A little piece of trivia about Loudoun Valley Estates: The community actually straddles both Ashburn (20148) and Dulles/Sterling (20166).

Happy hunting!

March 18, 2008

Up and Down in Loudoun County

According to this article on LoudounExtra.com, Loudoun’s real estate market seemed to awaken from hibernation a bit in February. Citing numbers from the Dulles Area Association of Realtors (DAR), the article states that realtors sold 48 more houses in February than in January, and the median sales price was about $5000 higher.  

Good news? Well, kind of. Since the number of homes sold in January 2008 was the lowest total this decade*, it didn’t set a very high bar. Although we’ll definitely take whatever crumbs of improvement we can get (it’s surely better than the alternative), the numbers are still looking a little sad when compared to last year’s. In February 2007, realtors sold almost 100 more houses than in 2008, and the median price was about $45,000 higher. Below is a rundown of the numbers. 

*Total number homes sold in Jan. 2008 = 216; median price = $370,000. 

A few other interesting February tidbits, per LoudounExtra.com and DAR:

• Average number of days on the market for sold properties: 120
• Properties sold for an average of 90.1% of list price
• Number of active listings: 3321
• Supply of properties on the market: 12.5 months (yikes!)
• Loudoun’s price peak: December 2005 (median price = $509,950)

From my vantage point, it seemed like the uptick from January to February was due to foreclosure/short sale movement. In my development (Lansdowne), I counted at least 5 foreclosures/short sales that got scooped up by buyers last month. All of them were detached homes in the low $500,000 to low $600,000 range, and were similar or identical models, so it seems as if we might have a bit of price discovery on our hands. And although I’m still seeing a fair number of overpriced homes coming on the market, I’ve also noticed that more and more sellers are making friends with reality and pricing their houses based on “what is”, rather than on “what should be”. What will be interesting to see is if the Fed’s recent rate cut and corresponding market recovery help bring interest rates back down a bit as we go into the spring, to make it easier for buyers to take advantage of some of the amazing deals to be had.

March 15, 2008

New Homes Open in Glen Echo Heights

There are a number of new homes in Glen Echo Heights and surrounding areas resulting from tear-down projects. I have to say, they are beautiful, large and luxurious. The area is woodsy, quiet, and only a few minutes by car to the DC borderline on Massachussetts Ave.

Let’s take a look at a few. Three of them are open for viewing this Sunday.

- The 5 bed, 5.5. bath house pictured above is at 5100 Wehawken Rd. Listed at $2,095,000, it is much prettier in real life than in the picture - offering a warm, welcoming feel. On the outside at least, it seems top, top quality, especially with the natural wood garage door. I have not seen the inside other than peeping through the windows. The property is 12,000 sqft, with a sloped yard at the back. It is at the end of a very quiet street/cul-de-sac, with lots of room out front for basketball enthusiasts or kids at play. Around back I saw a deck off the main floor, and walk-out access from the basement. At the back, the side view of the neighboring house is not great but could be covered with bushes. This house has only been listed in the MLS for 12 days, but it must have been on the market before because a large price reduction is mentioned in the ad. Not open this weekend.

- Closer to Massachussetts Ave there is a 6 bedroom arts and craft house at 5410 Wehawken Rd. Listed at $1,925,000, it has been on the market for 2 weeks and will be open this Sunday from 1-4. The house includes 4 bedrooms on the second floor, 1 on the third, and 1 in the basement. One of my favorite amenities (among many) is the screen porch, which is a bonus in this mosquito-infested city of ours! There is over 6,000 sqft of living space and a double garage for all your outdoor toys, all on a 10,000 sqft lot.

- For $1,749,000 there is a beautiful 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath colonial at 6004 Walhonding Rd. It is a great family house with a library, mud-room, porch, flat yard, detached 2-car garage and lots of play space. It has been on the market for 2 months without any price reduction thus far. And although the MLS only has a drawing rather than a photo, personally this looks like my favorite from the outside. It will be open on Sunday from 1-4.

- In nearby Del Mar Park there is a new house at 5206 Belvoir Dr. Priced at $1,595,000, it has great curb appeal, with a sunny yellow exterior (I always fall for yellow houses!) The yard is not big at all - only 6,302 sqft. I guess that means fewer bushes to cut. At almost 5,000 sqft, the house has 7 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. It has dropped in price 4 times since it was first listed last year at $1,845,000. It will be open on Sunday from 1-4.

Enjoy,
Allison