This Week In Vienna Oakton Real Estate

So . . .

For the past month, we have seen inventory go up, then down, then up, then down. Two weeks ago it went up. What do you think happened last week?

If you guessed “it went up again” – then you’re right! Inventory has risen for two weeks in a row – do we have a trend?

Our guess would be yes, given that we are entering “prime time” for Spring real estate. People often choose to put their homes on the market when the trees fill out & the flowers bloom. So we may see a brief uptick in inventory.

Homes are still selling briskly in Vienna. This year, we have seen 9-20 homes go under contract each week. This past week saw 18. Oakton, on the other hand only saw 1 home go under contract. So while Vienna remains in a Seller’s market – with inventory up 22% and contracts down, Oakton may be trending back towards a “Balanced Market”.

SELLERS

This is still a great time to sell. While inventory rose this past week, overall the inventory is still low. And if you have good landscaping, it’s the perfect time to showcase the beauty of your home.

(In 2010, Belt Team listings in Vienna sold in an average of 22 days. That’s a whole month faster (and a whole mortgage payment saved) than the average agent. In Oakton and all around Northern Virginia, we had similar results. If you would like The Belt Team to represent you, contact us here or call (703) 242-3975).

BUYERS

If you have been looking for a while and waiting for that perfect home to come on the market, keep your eyes out. This time of year will likely see a brief increase in inventory and you want to be prepared to move when you see the home you like.

Are you fully approved for your loan (not just “pre-qualified”)?
Is your Realtor sending you all new listings EVERY DAY?
Has your Realtor gone over the standard sales contract with you so that you can get any questions you have answered in advance?

While some homes have been on the market for a LONG time (the one that sold in Oakton this week was on the market for almost 2 1/2 years!), most are selling quickly and there are still instances of multiple contracts (we had one in our office this week with 7 competing contracts!).

(Contact The Belt Team if you would like to utilize our FREE PRIORITY NOTIFICATION SERVICE to receive listings via email on a daily basis. No obligation. We can also refer you to a number of top notch lenders for loan approval.)

So, for our detail-oriented readers, here are last week’s stats:

Last week in Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

Number of Contracts: 18
Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 130 days
Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 59 days
Inventory: 175 homes on the market
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 2.7 months
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.3 months

Here are last weeks stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

Number of Contracts: 1
Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 91 days
Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 890
Inventory: 89 homes on the market
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.3 months
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 3.7 months

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, Contact The Belt Team for a more in-depth discussion & analysis – because it’s only the neighborhood YOU live in (or you WANT to live in) that matters!

Brand New Home from Dominion Associates – Open Sunday March 27th

TGIF & time for our Open House Theme Song of the Week!

Imagine strolling into Town, having a fabulous meal at an intimate gourmet restaurant (like Maple Avenue Restaurant in Vienna), then catching a performance by David Lindley (he’s Jackson Browne’s long-time accompanist) at Jammin Java, then grabbing a nightcap at the Piano Bar at Maplewood Grill, and then taking a leisurely stroll home.

Well, if you lived at 903 Plum Street SW in Vienna – you could do exactly that this Sunday, So – please come visit us at our open house. . . . maybe this dream could become your reality! (Scroll down for open house details). First – here’s a taste of David Lindley:

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903 Plum Street SW in Vienna – $1,274,900 – Open Sunday 1-4PM

Brand new home from one of our favorite longtime builders – Dominion Associates Inc. Great Craftsman style elevation (stones & siding with a charming front porch) plus a fabulous floorplan and a “Heart of Vienna” location! Five bedrooms, 4.5 baths, fireplace, gorgeous hardwood floors, coffered ceiling master suite, 9′ box beam ceiling family room & lots of other elegant touches. Madison HS pyramid! Close to Metro, W&OD Trail & Downtown Vienna!

Directions to Plum Street: From Tysons: Route 123 South into Vienna, Left Park Street, Right Tapawingo Rd, Left Plum. OR – from I66/Vienna Metro – take Nutley toward Vienna, Right Tapawingo, Right Plum.

More Info about 903 Plum Street SW

Read about “Life In Vienna, VA”

Contact The Belt Team

Mortgage Rates Jump?

If you’re a buyer who has been waiting to see what the market does, you’ll want to watch this two minute news update about mortgage interest rates.

And if you’re a Seller trying to get the most money for your home, there are some good tips for you as well.

Sellers – one of the services The Belt Team offers is that when we list your home for sale, we hire a PROFESSIONAL photographer. Many Realtors take their own photos, but our philosophy is to have the best professionals each doing their part for YOU. That’s why we have a team. Various members of our team are experts at marketing, negotiating, administration & more. We are not “jacks-of- all-trades & masters-of-none”! This is one of the reasons why our listings sell faster and for more money than the “average agent”!

Buyers – we apply this same philosophy when we help you buy a home. Our team has systems in place to make sure every detail is followed up – from the day you have your first consultation with your Realtor – to the day you move in. We have experts on our team who focus on home search & contract negotiation – and others who monitor loan approval, the appraisal process, deadlines, etc. Plus we have a vast network of professionals that are experts in their own fields and will guide you through financing options, inspections & more.

Contact The Belt Team to discuss selling or buying your home!

This Week In Vienna & Oakton

So . . .

Three weeks ago, inventory went down – two weeks ago inventory went up – last week it went down – and – yup, you guessed it – this week it went up. The number of contracts dropped, but remained healthy. And both Vienna and Oakton are still hovering around a 3 month housing supply – technically putting us in a “Seller’s Market”.

Anecdotally, open house traffic is up and instances of multiple contracts are still happening – mostly in the “bread & butter” price ranges. One listing in our office actually received 8 contracts this weekend. The home was in Oak Hill (Oakton/Herndon border) and priced in the $600’s.

SELLERS

When inventory is low, it’s a GREAT time to sell. Pricing your home right is still imperative and our advice is to make sure you enlist the services of a Realtor who is a market specialist in YOUR area. The more homes they sell in YOUR area, the more experience they have with what Buyers are looking for and how to price so that you are IN the market – not ON the market. You want to be the home that sells, NOT the one who sells someone else’s home!

(In 2010, Belt Team listings in Vienna sold in an average of 22 days. That’s a whole month faster (and a whole mortgage payment saved) than the average agent. If you would like The Belt Team to represent you, contact us here.)

BUYERS

It’s vital that you do your “homework” and be prepared to move forward when you see your dream home. With inventory so low, the “good” homes are moving quickly. The home we referenced above came on the market Friday and had 8 contracts in by Sunday. And 35% of the homes that went under contract this week in Vienna/Oakton, sold in 5 days or less. (Since it often takes a few days to present and negotiate contracts, this likely means the contracts were written very quickly after the listings came on the market!)

This also means it’s important to work with a Realtor who is providing listings to you automatically when they come on the market. You don’t want to wait around for your agent to send listings when they have time to run a search. You should be getting listings daily and acting immediately if you see something you like.

(Contact The Belt Team if you would like to utilize our FREE PRIORITY NOTIFICATION SERVICE to receive listings via email on a daily basis. No obligation.)

Here are last week’s stats for Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

Number of Contracts: 13
Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 131 days
Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 52 days
Inventory: 171 homes on the market
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 2.8 months
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.3 months

Here are last weeks stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

Number of Contracts: 4
Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 106 days
Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 58
Inventory: 73 homes on the market
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 3.3 months
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.5 months

If you’re thinking of buying or selling, Contact The Belt Team for a more in-depth discussion & analysis – because it’s only the neighborhood YOU live in (or you WANT to live in) that matters!

If you live in Fairfax County, then you recently received your real estate tax assessment. For many of us, our assessment went up. As an example, my personal assessment has gone up 9 of the past 11 years. And gosh darn it (that’s as strong as I can say it here on the blog!) – that will mean higher taxes this year. (If you have not received your notice yet, you can check your Fairfax County assessment value online here.)

Although the video below is about federal taxes – it’ll give you a general idea of how we feel about taxes:

The good news is that one reason so many people’s assessments went up (more than 64% of non new construction owners) is that property values rose 7.2% in Fairfax County last year – while property values in most other areas of the country went down. According to the County web site: “As of January 1, 2011, the real estate market change during 2010 has resulted in an overall increase in residential property assessments due to equalization totaling 2.34%.”

And truth be told – the assessments in Fairfax County are oftentimes LOWER than actual “market value” (meaning what a “willing Seller” and “willing Buyer” agree a property is worth by ratifying a contract to sell/buy that property.)

If you are thinking of buying a home in Fairfax County, don’t be deceived into thinking you will be able to buy a home for about what the County has assessed as the value of the property. We are often asked how a Seller could justify an asking price above the Fairfax County tax assessment. Well – here’s an example of why.

We have made a point over the past years to track the tax assessment versus actual sales price on all homes that we sold. (Note: Our statistical pool may not be quite scientific, but since we have sold more homes in Fairfax County than almost any Realtor in the area – we think the results are at least representative.) Here’s what we found over the past year (and prior years were consistent):

We saw wide swings in variance between assessed value and actual sales price: from homes selling for $102,100 below assessed value to homes selling for $201,700 above assessed value.

95.5% of the homes actually sold for more than the assessed value.

Many homes show inaccurate info in the tax records – for example, finished basements are not shown, number of bedrooms may be incorrect, square footage may be off. And all of these things may cause a lower assessed value.

So, while there is often a correlation between assessed value and market value, the market value is almost always higher.

If you think your assessment is wrong, Fairfax County does have an appeal process. You can file an online appeal prior to April 8th. Here are the links for the Fairfax County Online Appeal , instructions and Fairfax County Real Estate Assessment Information site (for researching comps/sales).

And if you have questions about your assessed value, the market value of your home or are thinking of buying or selling a home, give The Belt Team a call (703) 242-3975. We are happy to help you make the right move!

Open House – 903 Plum St SW Vienna – March 20th

TGIF & time for our Open House Theme Song of the Week!

This weekend we have a fabulous new home open. The home was built by master builder Dominion Associates and it’s in the Heart of Vienna, VA. One of the wonderful things about living in Vienna is that it’s a great combination of “big city” and “small town”. Every amenity is available, commuting options are many and there are plenty of things to do. But Vienna also retains its “small town” feeling despite being part of a vast metropolitan area. People are friendly. Everyone knows your name. And you can get baseball at the Little League field, a hot dog at the Vienna Inn and apple pie at The Virginian.

Speaking of baseball – this weekend features a great “small town” event – the annual match up between the Madison High School & Oakton High School baseball teams. (Read more here.) So our song of the week is “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”. (Scroll down for open house details)

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903 Plum Street SW in Vienna – $1,274,900 – Open Sunday 1-4PM

More Info about 903 Plum Street SW

Read about “Life In Vienna, VA”

Contact The Belt Team

This Week In Vienna & Oakton

Two weeks ago, inventory went down. Last week, inventory went up. What did we see this week?

Well, the rollercoaster continues and this week inventory went down.

This week also saw a jump in contracts with 21 contracts in Vienna and 14 in Oakton. In Vienna, this is the highest number of contracts in one week since August of last year. In Oakton, this is more contracts in one week than in any week of 2010!

The combination of inventory going down and contracts going up means that Oakton has now moved into a Sellers Market (Vienna also remains in a Sellers Market). Housing supply in both areas is 3 months or less.

SELLERS

As an example, in Vienna there are currently 164 homes on the market. 75 of those homes have been on the market for more then 90 days. 23 of those homes have been on the market more than 300 days. 7 homes have been on the market more than 500 days. And one has even been on for more than 700 days. That’s almost 2 years! Methinks perhaps price is an issue!

BUYERS

It’s vital that you do your “homework” and be prepared to move forward when you see your dream home. With inventory so low, the “good” homes are moving quickly. This also means it’s important to work with a Realtor who is providing listings to you automatically when they come on the market. You don’t want to wait around for your agent to send listings when they have time to run a search. You should be getting listings daily and acting immediately if you see something you like. (Contact The Belt Team if you would like to utilize our FREE PRIORITY NOTIFICATION SERVICE to receive listings via email on a daily basis. No obligation.)

Here are last week’s stats for Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

Number of Contracts: 21
Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 133 days
Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 82 days
Inventory: 164 homes on the market
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 2.7 months
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.2 months

Here are last weeks stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

Number of Contracts: 14
Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 108 days
Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 66
Inventory: 64 homes on the market
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 3.0 months
Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.3 months

If you’re thinking of buying or selling, Contact The Belt Team for a more in-depth discussion & analysis – because it’s only the neighborhood YOU live in (or you WANT to live in) that matters!

Open Houses – Vienna & Manassas Park – March 13

Time for our Open House Theme Song of the Week (and open house info for the weekend). But first, our song.

Normally – we bring you a “TGIF” type, rockin’ song. Or a tongue-in-cheek play on words. But today, we woke up to news of the Tsunami in Japan, which is now on its way to many other countries, including ours. So our Theme Song of the Week comes from Celine Dion and Josh Groban. It’s called “The Prayer”. Today, our thoughts & prayers are with those across the globe and across the country.

(Scroll down for open house details)

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903 Plum Street SW in Vienna – $1,274,900 – Open Sunday 1-4PM

More Info about 903 Plum Street SW

Read about “Life In Vienna, VA”

Contact The Belt Team
____________________________________________

9431 Rosebud Court – Manassas Park – $362,500 – Open Sunday 1 to 4PM

With its wonderful curb appeal & white picket fence, this idyllic home looks like something out of a Storybook! Enjoy a fabulous 2 story family room with built-ins & gas fireplace, kitchen with center island & pass thru to dining room, two master suites – one on the main level & one on the lower level, loft & more. Lower level also has a rec room with fireplace plus a study/media room. Outside, the deck overlooks expansive wooded views. Extremely desirable location in the City of Manassas Park and near VRE! $362,500

More Info about 9431 Rosebud Court in Manassas Park

Directions:From Centreville: Take Rt 28 South into Manassas area, Left Manassas Dr, go just past VRE station on left, Left Digital Dr, Right Carondelet, Left Primrose, Left Rosebud to #9431.

Contact The Belt Team

So What Did That Home In Vienna REALLY Sell For?

So . . . you know what your neighbors were ASKING for their home – but what did it actually SELL for? Here’s a list of all the settled sales in Vienna, VA (22180,22181, 22182) for February 2011:

Under $500,000:

2726 Gallows Rd #102 – $152,000
2791 Centerboro Dr #485 – $209,900
100 Church St #202A – $212,000
2765 Centerboro Dr #464 – $300,000
538 Lincoln St NW – $328,200
512 Kingsley Rd SW – $380,000
711 Kingsley Rd SW – $384,420 ($385,420 less a $1,000 subsidy)
9203 Dellwood Dr – $392,000 ($395,000 less a $3,000 subsidy)
123 Battle St SW – $397,750 ($409,000 less a $11,250 subsidy)
8229 Goldstream Ct – $403,000
609 Orrin St – $415,000
9620 Marywood Rd W – $420,000
2713 Shawn Leigh Dr – $430,000
2308 Wheystone Ct – $436,850 ($439,350 less a $2,500 subsidy)
608 Meadow Ln SW – $457,000 ($462,000 less a $5,000 subsidy)
600 Kingsley Rd SW – $475,000
2625 Occidental Dr – $475,000
309 Charles St SE – $485,000

$500,000 to $775,000:

2110 Eluna Ct – $529,700 ($530,000 less a $300 subsidy)
8014 Merry Oaks Ln – $549,000 ($560,000 less a $11,000 subsidy)
1722 Asoleado Ln – $580,000
1824 Abbotsford Dr – $581,000 ($591,000 less a $10,000 subsidy)
9800 Oleander Ave – $595,925 ($600,000 less a $4,075 subsidy)
2800 Barkham Ln – $598,000 ($608,000 less a $10,000 subsidy)
118 Elmar Dr SE – $600,000
8435 Hunt Valley Dr – $640,000 ($645,000 less a $5,000 subsidy)
1003 Fairway Dr – $660,000
8225 Idylwood Rd – $685,000
8440 Hunt Valley Dr – $689,900
8210 Labbe Ln – $710,000
10035 Garrett St – $737,000 ($745,000 less a $8,000 subsidy)

$775,000 to $999,000:

10006 McDuff Ct – $796,000 ($798,000 less a $2,000 subsidy)
9805 Spring Ridge Ln – $824,000 ($825,000 less a $1,000 subsidy)
8254 George Washington Ct – $888,300 ($891,000 less a $2,700 subsidy)

$1,000,000 and up:

1464 Carrington Ridge Ln – $1,116,097 ($1,150,000 less $33,903 subsidy)
603 Glyndon St SE – $1,120,000 (SOLD BY THE BELT TEAM)
410 Berry St – $1,150,000
1491 Broadstone Pl – $1,175,000

Contact The Belt Team for more info about homes in Vienna, VA – 22180, 22181 or 22182

So What Did That Home In Oakton REALLY Sell For?

So . . . you know what your neighbors were asking for their home – but what did it actually sell for? Here’s a list of all the settled sales in Oakton, VA (22124) for February 2011:

Under $500,000:

10216 Bushman Dr #223 – $198,000
10338 Granite Creek Ln – $368,900 ($374,900 less a $6,000 subsidy)

$500,000 to $775,000:

11829 Waples Mill Rd – $522,500 ($530,000 less a $7,500 subsidy)
2507 Easie St – $595,000 ($605,000 less a $10,000 subsidy)
10166 Castlewood Ln – $625,000
2904 Young Dr – $640,000 ($650,000 less a $10,000 subsidy)
10412 Hunter Ridge Dr – $688,000 ($694,000 less a $6,000 subsidy)
1103 Blenheim Dr – $697,700 ($702,700 less a $5,000 subsidy)
2917 Elmsmeade Ct – $710,000
10853 Country Pond Ln – $723,500 ($727,500 less a $4,000 subsidy)
10304 Lewis Knolls Ct – $750,000 ($760,000 less a $10,000 subsidy)
11001 Devinish Dr – $755,000 ($760,000 less a $5,000 subsidy)

$775,000 to $999,000:

NONE

$1,000,000 and up:

2808 Marshall Lake Dr – $1,300,000
2782 Marshall Lake Dr – $1,902,000

Contact The Belt Team for more info about homes in Oakton, VA – 22124

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