Northern Virginia Homes Marketing Group

October 2010 Regional Home Sales Northern Virginia: NVAR

Lori O'Day — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:43:41 +0000

The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® reports on October 2010 home sales activity for Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.

A total of 1,229 homes sold in October 2010, a decrease of about 23 percent below October 2009 home sales of 1,604.

Active listings increased by about 5 percent this month compared to last year, with 7,244 active listings in October, compared with 6,877 homes available in October 2009. The average days on market (DOM) for homes in October 2010 increased by about 5 percent to 61 days, compared with 58 days in October 2009.

Average sales prices rose by about 11 percent compared with those realized last year. The average sales price this October was $470,882, compared with last October’s average of $424,510.

The median price of homes sold in Northern Virginia in October was $399,400, which is an increase of around 12 percent compared with October 2009’s median price of $356,800. The number of pending home sales in Northern Virginia in October decreased by about 20 percent with 1,601 sales pending compared to 1,990 in October 2009.

For the NORTHERN VA REPORT, click HERE.

New Zillow Report Warns Of Unprecedented Decline in Home Prices

Lori O'Day — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:03:24 +0000

New Zillow Report Warns Of Unprecedented Decline In Home Prices, No Hints Of Stabilization

Zillow just released a devastating third quarter housing report. Basically every major indicator is crashing:

* The decline in home values accelerated in September, dropping 0.4% month-over-month
* Foreclosures reached an all-time high
* A record 23.2% of mortgages are now underwater

The double dip — already a rare phenomenon — is now entering an unprecedented free-fall. Zillow economist Stan Humphries says prices won’t hit bottom until next summer at the earliest, as foreclosure activity grows.

Humphries warns: “While not unexpected, the unceasing declines in home values signal that we’re in for a long, bleak winter of continued troubles for the housing market. The length and depth of the current housing recession is rivaling the Great Depression’s real estate downturn, and, with encouraging signs fading, will easily eclipse it in the coming months.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/zillow-market-report-unprecedented-decline-2010-11#ixzz14t9uIKU9

PRICE SLASHED to a GREAT $449,900

Lori O'Day — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:31:39 +0000

UNDER CONTRACT – YOU MISSED IT!

More info: http://www.postlets.com/res/4472504

OPEN HOUSE in Herndon, VA this weekend!

Lori O'Day — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:20:09 +0000

Details:

http://www.postlets.com/res/4575040

October’s THIS MONTH IN REAL ESTATE – undervalued markets.

Lori O'Day — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:03:06 +0000

Northern VA Market Activity Data

Lori O'Day — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:01:36 +0000

Have you considered renting out your house instead of selling?

Lori O'Day — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:46:15 +0000

Homeowners Turn to Renting, Waiting for Market to Recover
By MARK KOBA
Updated 10:38 AM PDT, Tue, May 12, 2009

Still having trouble selling your house? More homeowners are deciding to rent out their homes while they wait for the market to recover.
“I had my condo on the market for three months and I didn’t have any bites,” says Molly Smith, a public relations executive in Newburyport, Massachusetts. “I realized if I was going to sell it, I’d take a big loss.”
So the 29-year-old Smith, who wanted a shorter commute to her job, decided to rent out her house and move into a rental herself.
“I was asking $145,000 and I couldn’t afford to go lower, so I decided to rent,” she explains.
As the housing market slowly recovers from the biggest collapse since the Great Depression, homeowners are still finding it hard to unload their current residence without suffering a big loss. As a result, they’re deciding to hold onto the house but renting it out in hopes of selling later when the market improves.
“With a glut of housing inventory, renting is a common option” says Jessie Keenan, an adjunct professor at the University of Miami who teaches classes on housing.
And the demand for rentals appears to be strong.
“Even with housing prices coming down, they are still too high for some people.” says Keenan. “They’d rather rent then buy.”
As of March, the latest month for which figures are available, there were 3.74 million unsold existing homes in the US, according to the National Association of Realtors. Though that was down slightly from the month before, the backlog represented a nearly 10-month supply of homes.
“There’s what we call a ‘shadow market’ of homes, condos and townhomes for rent,” says Peggy Abkemeier, general manager for Rent.com, an online rental listing service. “Normally those houses would have sold but this has put more rental inventory on the market.”
Renting isn’t always a perfect solution, however. While Smith says she’s avoided a loss from selling her Massachusetts condo, she’s still losing money as a landlord.
“The rent I get covers about 80 percent of the condo mortgage,” she says. “And I have to pay the mortgage taxes and the condo fee.”
Just how long a homeowner can hold out for a better market while renting worries Marla Saret, who rents her one-bedroom condo in the Chicago-area for $1,550 a month.
Saret says she couldn’t sell the home after 400 showings. So she rented out her house and moved into a bigger living space so her brother could live with her.
“The rent I’m charging doesn’t cover all my expenses,” says Saret. “I recognize I may need to eventually take a loss, but I’m not sure how big of a loss is too big.”
“I can last for a year or two more without selling,” says Smith. “But after that, I don’t know.”
People with second homes are also deciding to rent them out while waiting for prices to rise.
“We’re renting our two bedroom oceanfront condo in Palm Beach,” says Thomas Madden, Chairman and CEO of TransMedia Group.
“The apartment was worth more than $1 million during the height of the housing market. It’s probably lost about 30 percent of its value, which is why I don’t want to sell it now. We’ll wait until the market recovers.”
“The economy is driving many homeowners, particularly second homeowners to rent out,” says Denise Fraser, a spokesperson for HomeAway, an online vacation rental marketplace. “That’s because they can’t sell it at the price they want or are facing foreclosure. They need income so they rent.”
High-end homes are also finding renting out an option, says Mary Cassidy, a broker at Bronxville-Ley Real Estate in Westchester County, New York.
“We have several homes worth more than a million on sale and for rent at the same time,” says Cassidy. “It’s a matter of whichever comes first.”
Homeowners who bought during the housing boom find renting nearly the only way to avoid losing their investment says David O’Neil, broker and owner of Century 21 Spindler & O’Neil Associates in North Reading, Massachusetts.
“Many of those who bought five years ago and thought they could sell into a profit can’t do that now,” says O’Neil.
“They may be able to buy a new home, but they’re having to rent out their existing homes.” But while renting can buy some time for homeowners, it’s not an end to itself says Jim Randel of Randel Real Estate.
“Home buyers remain cautious and property values are still unsettled,” says Randel. “With job losses still happening and consumer confidence still shaky, prices could fall even further in some places.”
“People still have to determine the valuation of a home,” says University of Miami’s Keenan. “It’s like a stock PE and it’s not clear now how to value homes.”
Besides waiting to a better time to sell, homeowners have to worry about keeping up their rental property.
“It’s not easy being a landlord,” says Smith. “I’ve been pretty much okay with my tenant, but people don’t always pay their rent on time,” Smith says. “You have to make sure you get back up rent in case your place is vacant for a while.”
“My renter is thinking of moving out this summer and I’d have to find someone new,” says Saret who rents a condo herself. “I don’t really like the idea of having my money tied up in the place. And I may have to put more money into it to fix it up.”
But for homeowners needing a robust housing market, renting may be the only way out for now says Rhonda Duffy, a broker at Duffy Realty in Atlanta, Georgia.
“It’s smart to weigh the pros and cons of renting with property values declining,” says Duffy. “But people who want to keep their exposure to further drops in real estate values at a minimum should rent.”

For more stories from CNBC, go to cnbc.com.
Copyright CNBC
First Published: May 12, 2009 9:04 AM PDT

PLEASE NOTE – every real estate market is local. While here is Northern VA, we are NOT seeing a glut of inventory, we are seeing stalled sellers who want to wait for the market to recover. Recovery, according to local economists, is YEARS AND YEARS away – did you know this, and, are you prepared for the wait??? Call me with questions 703-399-5618 (Lori O’Day)

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Lori O'Day — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:49:28 +0000

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Best of Reston/Herndon/Sterling/Ashburn Publication – Need YOUR Help, Please!

Lori O'Day — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:45:10 +0000

As a value-add for my clients (past, current, and future), I am creating a page on this blog and a print publication for distribution. What I need from you – PLEASE forward to me the name of ANY Reston, Herndon, Sterling, or Ashburn Business with which you have done business, their contact information, and a brief 1-3 sentence review of what they did and whether or not they did a good job. Also, please include whether or not you want to sign the review with your name – such as Lori O. of Reston – or if you would rather be signed anonymously – such as Anonymous of Reston.

If you have pics, please include. If you are already doing this on Yelp or another social network, please give me your user name and I will grab the content right from there.

Here are some examples of businesses I would like to learn about:

grocery stores

department stores

entertainment

bakeries

video rental stores

ABC stores

shoe stores

attorneys

accountants

electronics

recreation

ANYTHING…

My goal is to spend 4-6 weeks collecting information then organize, post, and print by December 1.

HOW TO GET THE INFORMATION TO ME:

1) via email – LoriODay@me.com

2) via fax – 800-803-0778 (pics must be emailed, please)

3) via blog (leave comment here)

Anyone who participates and shares this information with me will be put into a drawing for a Starbuck’s Gift Card, as a token of my appreciation. I will contact each person who submits a review to let you know if you have won or not.

THANK YOU in advance for your help!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I am looking forward to learning more about our community and the ability to share this tool with my clients!!

Essential Heating System Maintenance

Lori O'Day — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 12:42:21 +0000

Check it out before the weather turns to CHILLY!