1892 Beulah Road in Vienna - Sunday from 1PM to 4PM - $625,000
1505 Deer Point Way in Reston - Sunday from 1Pm to 4PM - $499,900
Lots of real estate opportunities exist in Vienna, Oakton and all of Northern Virginia. If you’d like to make the most of this opportunity - give The Belt Team a call: (703) 242-3975.
Q. The election has passed and the new administration and all their new people are headed to the DC area. Doesn’t this bode well for the Northern VA housing market?
A. The Belt Team is often asked this question at Presidential Election time. The answer is that the truth belies the conventional wisdom. The fact is that our region is so large that the influx of politicos with a new administration does not have a meaningful statistical impact on the overall market in Northern Virginia. However, remember that real estate is local. This means certain local micro-markets will see a positive benefit. The neighborhoods with good access to Capitol Hill in areas like Arlington, close-in Alexandria & close-in Mclean will most likely see increased activity.
Read this short, interesting article about just this question:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/07/AR2008110701635.html
What we can tell you anecdotally from our experience over the years is that elections have a psychological impact and activity often slows down before an election as the market seems to be on the fence and holding its breath. . . . and that after an election, this deep breath is slowly released as people get on with their lives and pursue their dreams & goals. We have experienced that slow-down again this year and are already seeing activity increase since the election because prices have corrected have corrected significantly and interest rates are low. First time and move up buyers have opportunities available to them not seen since the early 1990’s. The savvy buyers are looking now.
Lots of real estate opportunities exist in Vienna, Oakton and all of Northern Virginia. If you’d like to make the most of this opportunity - give The Belt Team a call: (703) 242-3975.
We have some wonderful listings that will be held open this weekend. Please stop by!*********************************************************************
Sunday from 1PM to 4PM
Vienna - 8421 Cottage Street -Walk to Dunn Loring Metro! $597,000
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Saturday 12 Noon to 5PM AND Sunday 12 Noon to 5 PM
Fairfax/ Vienna Metro Area - 8881 & 8886 Olive Mae Circle - near Dunn Loring & Vienna Metro! $838,500 & $849,500
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Now that Election Day has come & gone, let’s take another look at what real estate (condos, townhomes and single family houses) is available for sale in the Vienna Oakton market. (Check back next week and we will have contract/sale statistics for Northern Virginia for October.)
VIENNA:
293 homes are for sale (down from 321 last time we posted). The lowest priced listing is a condominium at Mosby’s Landing. It has 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths and is listed at $215,000. The highest priced listing is a re-sale on East Hunter Valley. It has 7 bedrooms, 9 full baths, 2 half baths, is sited on 6 acres and is listed at $4,250,000. The average list price for homes on the market is $867,663 and homes are currently averaging 131 days on the market.
OAKTON:
96 homes are for sale (only 2 less than last time we posted). The lowest priced listing is still a condominium in The Vistas. It has 1 bedroom and 1 bath and is listed at $164,900. The highest priced listing remains the same -a 2 year old home on 2 acres on Vale Road. It has 6 bedrooms, 8 full baths and 5 half baths. It’s over 19,000 sq ft and includes a gym with sauna, tanning booth, steam spa shower, pool, tennis, koi pond, state-of-the-art theatre & winetasting room! It’s listed at $16,500,000! (Our prediction is that it will NOT sell for that!). The next highest priced listing is also still the same - an 18,000+ sq ft. home on Stuart Mill Rd. It has 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths, 3 half baths & 9 fireplaces and is listed at $10,700,000! The average list price for homes on the market is $1,085,073 and homes are currently averaging 127 days on the market.
If you have questions about the current market, buying or selling a home, what your home is worth, or anything else real-estate related - call The Belt Team at (703) 242-3975.
CLICK HERE TO Get a free comparative market analysis of your home’s value sent to you with no obligations.
If you’re reading our blog, then you already know about our main web site. Well, we’ve now added a few additional sites in order to serve you better. Click here to check out our new sites:
www.ViennaOaktonHomeValues.com
Each site offers something a little bit different - including the ability to Search the MLS, Request a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis - Your Home’s Value) and Apply for a Pre-Approved Loan. Each site is very easy to use. We have had very good comments about each one. We would appreciate yours too!
So when your family, friends, or associates are thinking of buying or selling real estate, especially in Vienna, Oakton, Great Falls, McLean & the rest of Northern Virginia, please tell them about The Belt Team and our new websites.
Wow, when they called today’s real estate market a “shifting market,” they were right on target. It keeps shifting, and shifting, and shifting … Every time we turn on the news there’s a new development that affects our economy and therefore the ability of buyers to “buy” and the sellers to “sell.”
SHIFT, the most recent book by Gary Keller, co-founder and Chairman of Keller Williams Realty Inc., begins with the following paragraph: “The Real Estate Market has shifted drastically and dramatically. Sales volume and the number of transactions have dropped significantly. Inventory has reached an all-time high. Buyers have never been more reluctant. Fear is rampant, anxiety is high, and people are getting out of the business left and right. Sounds familiar? Sure it does. The year was 1979!”
Does it make us feel better to know that this has happened before? What did we learn from it in 1979? Fast forward to 1987 and it happened again. Changing tax laws this time had a disastrous affect again. Well guess what? History repeats itself. Now we are faced with this again, in 2008 but this time there are real differences.
In 1979 mortgage interest rates topped 18 percent. Last week buyers were still getting approved at under 6 percent through local lenders. That is a huge difference! Today’s sellers, with the help of their real estate agents, are becoming realistic with today’s pricing, bringing our market back on track.
The real estate business is “cyclical.” An experienced real estate agent and a mortgage lender will understand this and be prepared to give counsel that is in tune with the current market. Remember though, the news you heard last week is “old news,” so stay in touch with your local, trusted real estate team (The Belt Team!) for updates on this ever changing market.
Not only have we assisted our clients in navigating the markets of the 1979 & 1987, but we are participating in seminars, conference calls, webinars, and many other training events to stay on top of the game to better assist you.
Real estate remains your single most valuable asset if handled correctly. Please don’t hesitate to call The Belt Team for all of your real estate needs. (703) 242-3975
Your real estate experts,
Terry Belt & The Belt Team
While recently reading an article in Inman News (http://www.inman.com/news/2008/08/27/study-sets-benchmarks-customer-service) about our company’s top ranking in a recent home buyer -seller study (yeah Keller Williams!), I came upon the following quote: “…study found that it took sellers an average of six months to close a deal, and that 23 percent of sellers had listed their home with another agent before having success with the broker evaluated…”
Boy did this give me pause. 23% of sellers had to use more than one agent to get their home sold. Wow! I knew that our personal statistics were much better than average, but I had no idea how much better.
I am proud to say that The Belt Team sells 99% of our listings. We have kept this record in both sellers’ markets & buyers’ markets….from 1972 all the way through 2008. Our expert skills & local, long-term experience allow us to get the job done for our sellers….whether they are selling a large house or a small condo, a home in Vienna or a home in Arlington, land in Oakton or a mansion in McLean. This means a lot less stress for our Sellers!
Thanks Inman News. You made my day!
71 homes went under contract in Vienna in August 2008. List prices of these homes ranged from $180,900 for a condo at Mosbys Landing to $1,721,321 for a six year old home in Symphony Meadows. Days on market for homes that went under contract in August ranged from 0 to 433. Of special note is that The Belt Team was involved in 2 of the Top Seven Sales in Vienna in August.
19 homes went under contract in Oakton in August. List prices of these homes ranged from $230,000 for a condo at The Oakton to $1,995,000 for a home backing to Fox Lake. Days on market for homes in Oakton ranged from 7 to 163.
Please contact The Belt Team at Sales@TheBeltTeam.com if you would like additional market information on homes in Vienna, Oakton, Great Falls, McLean or any other Northern Virginia area.
83 homes went under contract in Vienna in July 2008. List prices of these homes ranged from $208,900 for a condo at Mosbys Landing to $1,575,000 for a new home to be built in close-in Vienna. Days on market for homes in Vienna ranged from 0 to 344 and averaged 69 days. Of special note is that The Belt Team was involved in the 2 highest selling homes in Vienna in July.
20 homes went under contract in Oakton in July. List prices of these homes ranged from $299,900 for a condo at The Oakton to $1,599,000 for a home in Hannah Hills. Days on market for homes in Oakton ranged from 0 to 423 and averaged 94 days.
Please contact The Belt Team at Sales@TheBeltTeam.com if you would like additional market information on homes in Vienna, Oakton, Great Falls, McLean or any other Northern Virginia area.
Today I was thinking about “moving on“. This summer, three of our “Belt Team Extended Members” are “moving on“. My daughter, Melissa, is graduating from Madison High School and moving on to Jacksonville University. Terry’s son, David, is graduating from Our Lady of Good Counsel and moving on to Madison High School. And Terry’s son, Luke, is graduating from Wolftrap Elementary School and moving on to Kilmer Intermediate School.
Thinking about all the upcoming changes in our families also made me reflect on the changes that our clients go through….the “moving on”. Oftentimes when you hear people talk about the “Top Ten Most Stressful Life Events”, buying or selling a home is included in that list. One of our goals as Belt Team members is to make buying or selling a home a GOOD experience and to relieve you of as much stress as possible. We know that we are not surgeons or fire fighters who save lives every day….but we are often working with you while you are moving on with important life changes (having new babies, starting new jobs, getting married, moving to retire, etc…)…and so we take very seriously our pledge to you to do the best we can to make things easy in your moving on!
Please do give The Belt Team a call (703-242-3975) if we can be of assistance when it’s time to move on in your household! It would be our pleasure to be of assistance.
Christy Belt Grossman