real estate market, home sales, homes for sale, housing prices, mortgages and finance
Open House!
703 Potomac Street, Alexandria VA 22314
2 Bedroom plus loft, 2.5 Baths, 4 level brick townhouse with off-street parking. Located in the South East Quadrant of Old Town Alexandria and less then a block from the Potomac River and Bike Trail. Hardwood floors on three levels, brick patio with gravel area for dogs plus garden space and storage.
Come Visit!
Come visit the Weichert, Alexandria/Old Town office tomorrow (Sat. Jan 29) at 10:30 am for a Real Estate Forum. We will be discussing the state of the market in the Northern Virginia and DC areas: Interest Rates, Mortgage Availability, Price trends, Inventory and more…
Address is: 121 N. Pitt Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Feel free to call or email me for more information! Hope to see you there!
503 Cameron Station Blvd, Alexandria, VA 22304
RARELY AVAILABLE 2-LVL TOWNHOUSE-STYLE CONDO! INVITING OPEN FLOOR PLAN W/LOTS OF LIGHT. WOOD FLOORS, STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES AND GAS FIREPLACE ON MAIN LEVEL. WOOD BLINDS, UPGRADED LIGHT FIXTURES & NEUTRAL PAINT DECOR. MASTER BR HAS FULL BA W/SEP SHOWER, CUSTOM WALK-IN CLOSET & EXTENDED PATIO. W/D ON BR LVL. 1 CAR GAR + ASSIGNED SPOT. AMENITIES INCL SHUTTLE TO METRO, POOL, FITNESS CNTR & SO MUCH MORE! HMS WARRANTY INCLUDED!
Come Visit!
Thought I would share…
Written by: Tim McLaughlin
There was a web based discussion a couple of weeks back; the talking points which were shared with me by trading partners on the street, which was entitled “Is Real Estate Finally a Good Investment”? Essentially, the moderators of the discussion pointed to three underlying reasons why Real Estate Investment, in certain scenarios, makes feasible sense right now (taking a traders mindset into account):
Hatred of the “Asset”: Hatred of an asset is often the precursor to contrarian interest, and being contrarian is at the heart of many investment strategies. To paraphrase Warren Buffett, “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”. Mr. Buffett backed that idea when he invested in the stock market in the teeth of the financial crisis in late 2008 and early 2009. Remember, Gold was hated for years (termed as “dead money”) before it recently became an attractive asset class once again and skyrocketed in value.
Smart Money is Buying: John Paulson, the hedge fund manager who made $20 billion betting against the housing bubble in 2007-2010, stated in a speech late last year: “If you don’t own a home buy one. If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.” Why is Mr. Paulson so adamant? Because he believes long term interest rates are not going to get much lower. They have, in fact, risen since he gave that speech, but they remain remarkably low by historic standards. Low rates and the expectation that home prices will rise is his basis of this sound argument
Demand is Coming Back: Supply isn’t as out of whack as it was at the height of the crisis. At the end of Nov, home builders reported 197K new homes on the market, the lowest level since 1968, according to Yardeni Research. The National Association of Realtors reports that the inventory of existing homes for sale fell 4% to 3.71M homes, which represents a 9.5 month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 10.5 month supply in October. And that timeline appears to be falling.
Albeit, no one will really know when the “best” point in time is/was to buy or invest until it has already come and gone. But with “value” inventory and low interest rates, more and more observers think the time is now.
429 N. Patrick Street, Alexandria VA 22314
Beautiful Old Town townhouse…Close to Braddock Road Metro and King Street Shopping and Dining. 3 Bedroom, 2.5 Baths. This Fabulous, renovated home has a fireplace, hardwood floors, patio, yard and a 1 car garage with alley access. Recent updates to Kitchen include, stainless appliances, glass backsplash and paint. Eat-in kitchen, dining room large enough for table to seat eight. All closets have Elfa Organizing Systems.
Interesting Insight from Weichert Financial’s “Market Monitor”
“We continue to witness the uptick in mortgage rates, as foreign investors divest from their holdings in mortgage backed securities, and banks/institutional players sell their holdings to book the gains from these purchases in the 2010 calendar year. We saw a very similar scenario take place at year end 2009, with global investors capitalizing on profits. In the first/second quarter of 2010, those very same sellers became buyers again, driving rates back downward for the remainder of the year. Many traders are wondering if we will see the very same phenomenon happen again in 2011.
The wild card will be the economy. With a growing/strong economy, investors will be more willing to invest in Equities as an alternative investment choice to Fixed Income. If the economy continues to remain stagnant, not so much, and Fixed Income will once again be attractive. We will continue to monitor through year end, but with 30 yrs in the 4’s, 15 yrs in the 3’s, and a 5/1 ARM at 2.99%, these are still very attractive levels. It not too late to capitalize.”
418 N. Patrick Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Lovely detached Victorian home in Old Town Alexandria w/spacious rooms, high ceilings, large windows, pocket doors & original hardwoods! Living room & formal dining rooms both w/fireplaces! Large kitchen w/beamed ceiling, granite counters, island & breakfast nook w/skylight! 3 upper-lvl bedrooms, rooftop deck,deep yard w/arbor covered patio & walk. 2 OFF ST PARKING SPACES behind the fence!! Blocks to METRO shops & restaurants. Come visit between 1-4pm!
Burrrr…it is finally cold out…but that doesn’t seem to be affecting the RE mkt in NoVA…it is still HOT! While we are moving at a slower pace than 2009 (primarily because of the exp. of the tax credit), with rates still low, buyers are still out looking and writing contracts. The market is showing signs of health and we are experiencing @ an 11% YoY increase in the avg sales price and we are up 0.9% MoM. Does this news surprise you? Well it shouldn’t…with the governement in our backyard, jobs are plentiful and while the economy here was affected (like everywhere), it wasn’t nearly as affected as the majority of the country. The average home owner in this area sells every 4-5 years….homes are always for sale, and because the area is so transient, people are always looking to buy.
Check out the DC real estate stats and the Northern Virginia real estate stats by clicking the links!
Many families start decorating for the holidays during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. Sellers with their home on the market during the holiday season shouldn’t feel the need to give up their holiday traditions. In fact, sellers should not forgo decorating their home for the holiday. People expect at least some decorations, plus they add warmth to a home.
The key is to decorate in a way that won’t turn off buyers, and the following tips will help sellers strike a good balance:
Kfoley Homes by Kristen Foley, REALTOR® 