Northern Virginia Real Estate: Vienna, Oakton, McLean, Great Falls, Reston, Fairfax, and surrounding areas.

We’re proud to announce that Terry Belt, CEO of The Belt Team, has been asked to be one of the local real estate experts on the radio show Real Estate Radio Washington. A variety of topics are discussed – from how Buyers & Sellers can choose a “great” Realtor (versus a “good” or “bad” one) . . . . to pricing strategies for Sellers . . . . to mistakes you don’t want to make when selling your home & more.

Listen here:

• Selling Your Home – Don’t Make These Mistakes!

• Pricing Strategies for Sellers

• Is There A “Cost Of Waiting”? What Separates a Good Agent From a Bad Agent, More Importantly What Separates A Great Agent From A Good Agent?

• Who Is Terry Belt & The Belt Team

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home and want a GREAT Realtor to represent you, Contact The Belt Team . It would be a pleasure for OUR family to help YOUR family make a successful move!

Thank you to all who participated in our Food Drive for SHARE of McLean!   

Last week, Keller Williams Realty celebrated our 3rd annual RED DAY. RED stands for Renew, Energize, Donate. RED Day is a national community service initiative by the 80,000+ agents and staff of Keller Williams Realty. Last year, Keller Williams agents donated 155,000 service hours in one day. We haven’t totalled the hours yet this year, but all kinds of activities took place around the country – from home building to blood drives to visiting nursing homes & more. 

Locally, our office collected food & supplies for SHARE of McLean. SHARE is run by a coalition of religious & civic organizations and provides lower income families in McLean, Great Falls & Pimmitt Hills with a food pantry & emergency assistance program. You may be surprised to know that there are MANY families in these areas who need help and the number has been on the rise.

This year, we are proud to say that in addition to cash & Giant gift cards, Keller Williams McLean collected almost twice as much food & supplies for the food pantry as we did last year -  7,100 POUNDS!! We now hold the food drive record at SHARE. And thanks to your generosity, they are hoping to be able to handle their clients’ emergency needs for the next 2-3 months !

Thank you for helping us GIVE WHERE WE LIVE!

Last week, our company gathered for the annual “Keller Williams Family Reunion”. That’s what we call our annual convention. About 9,000 (of the 78,000+) Keller Williams agents from across North America got together for lots of incredible training, the annual presenting of awards  – - – and of course some fun!

And as of last week, Keller Williams Realty is now in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest cha cha slide dance! This doesn’t have anything to do with real estate – but it’s a good example of how Keller Williams is not like other companies. We’re different! It’s about a mindset that not only thinks outside the box – we think like THERE IS NO BOX. And this is the mindset we bring to our clients in today’s market.

So – here’s a glimpse into Keller Williams Realty’s Family Reunion: (Note – the previous record for the cha cha slide was 250 dancers. The new record – set by Keller Williams – is 2,387 dancers! THAT’s how we do things at Keller Williams!) 

We got the letter below recently and wanted to share it with you. It’s an example of what you can expect when you work with The Belt Team. Thanks Gary & Priscilla Bell for making our day!

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Dear Terry,

We would like to thank you for the outstanding job you and your team did in the listing and marketing of our home in Vienna. We feel the fact that we were able to sell in less than 60 days in the “fall market” is because of your expertise and knowledge of the Vienna market. Your customer service staff was friendly and responsive. We knew we could rely on Tara to address any of our questions or concerns. We received continuous attention and communication from you and your staff from the time of the decision to list to the final contract negotiations. Terry, the professionalism that you and the Belt Team demonstrated in each and every stage of selling our home was greatly appreciated. Truly your company’s recognition as one of the top real estate firms in the country is well deserved.

Thanks again for everything and Happy New Year to you and your team.

Sincerely,

Gary and Priscilla Bell

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If you would like to go to settlement “with Bells on” (ie- have the same kind of experience that Gary & Priscilla Bell did when selling their home) – call The Belt Team at (703) 242-3975 or contact The Belt Team here. It would be a pleasure for OUR family to help YOUR family!

“How’s business?” and “What areas do you sell homes in?” These are two questions we get a lot!

The first question (“How’s business?”) is sometimes really just a lead-in to a more specific personal question – meaning for example that the person asking may be wondering how the market is because they are thinking of selling their home. Or they’re wondering “How’s business?” because they are thinking of buying and want to know if they can “get a deal”. These are questions we address frequently here on our blog – with market statistics, advice to Buyers and Sellers and anecdotal stories about what’s happening in the marketplace.

But we also frequently get asked – “How’s YOUR business?”. So we thought we’d take a minute to answer that. Why?

1. Because we feel blessed to have been able to assist so many wonderful families this year – and want to thank you!
2. Because we think it will underline the differences between The Belt Team and the “average agent”. And that difference may be important to you when you are buying or selling.

Last year, The Belt Team sold 96 homes. We were named to the Top 100 Residential Real Estate Teams in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal (out of over 1.1 million Realtors) and we ranked #6 in North America for Keller Williams Realty (out of over 80,000 agents).

In Northern Virginia, there are more than 10,000 Realtors. (Wow – seriously?! We must rank right up there with attorneys – yikes!) The “average agent” in Northern Virginia sold about 4 homes – that’s one every 3 months. The Belt Team sold a home every 4 DAYS!

So – who cares?

YOU CARE. This means when we work with you, we are able to share our knowledge, experience and expertise and put that to work to make YOUR real estate goals a success . Real estate isn’t just something we “dabble” in. It’s our passion. And we are good at what we do. (It’s why all but 2 client surveys last year rated us a “10″ out of 10!)

So – the answer to the original question “How was your business in 2010?” is – GREAT!

We were very blessed to have been able to help 96 families. And we especially thank our past clients and customers who referred their families, friends and colleagues to us. We are very proud that 90% of our business comes from past clients and referrals. The principle that guides The Belt Team is “God, Family, Then Business”. We’re not rocket scientists or doctors saving lives, but we do take seriously the trust you put in us when you are making one of the biggest financial transactions of your lives. And we feel very privileged that you ask us into your lives during really important times – when you’re getting married, having babies, getting divorced, retiring, starting new jobs, etc. We do feel that this is our vocation and it’s where our passion to serve you well comes from.

On to the next question: “Where Does The Belt Team Sell Homes?”

The answer? All over Northern Virginia (and even Maryland and D.C.). Because most of us live in Vienna, we tend to sell more homes in the Vienna and Oakton areas(in fact – more than ANY other Realtor!), but we also have long track records in Great Falls, McLean, Arlington, Reston, Alexandria, Ashburn, Herndon, Sterling, Fairfax, Oak Hill, Manassas, Clifton and pretty much all of Northern Virginia. Since we have been selling Northern Virginia since 1972, we have a good working knowledge of the entire area. And since we work as a team, we can leverage our knowledge exponentially on your behalf.

For the engineers in our audience, here are our statistics from last year:

VIENNA & OAKTON

In 2010, The Belt Team sold 68 homes in Vienna & Oakton – more than twice as many (in fact 262% more) as the next top Realtor!

• The Belt Team       68
• Next Top Agent     26
• Next Top Agent     19
• Next Top Agent     15
• “Average Agent”   less than 1

(Note also that Belt Team resale listings sold 3 weeks FASTER than the “average agent”‘s and our listings sold for 3.53% more of orginal list price.)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

• The Belt Team     96
• “Average Agent” less than 1

MILLION DOLLAR HOMES

The Belt Team sells homes in ALL price ranges. Over the past few years we have sold homes for as low as $69,000 and as high as $2,350,000. Because we sell so many homes, we have a special expertise in Million Dollar Luxury Homes. We sold 25 Million Dollar Homes in 2010. (The “average agent” sold NONE.) We are especially proud of our Vienna and Oakton stats for Million Dollar Homes:

In 2010, we sold TWICE as many Million Dollar Homes in Vienna and Oakton as the next top Realtor. We sold our resale listings 73 days FASTER than the average agent. And our listings sold for 6.95% more of original list price than the “average agent”‘s listings.

• The Belt Team       22
• Next Top Agent     11
• Next Top Agent      9
• Next Top Agent      6
• “Average Agent”   less than 1

If you would like to have The Belt Team represent you as a Buyer or a Seller, call us at (703) 242-3975 or contact us here. It would truly be our pleasure to serve you!

Our last Belt Team settlement in 2010 happened on December 30th. Congratulations to first-time homebuyer Justin Cipriano. Welcome to the wonderful world of home ownership! And a HUGE thank you goes out to Justin for making our day today. He wrote a note to the person who referred him to us (and copied us in) and this is what he said:

The service and personal attention I received from The Belt Team, and more importantly, Kevin Kleifges was exceptional and unexpected from a Realtor!  They are truly a high-calibre team. His knowledge of the local market and his key contacts in the community helped me in my search for my dream home. After patiently going through listings and explaining tax details with me, he made sure I got the best location and all of the amenities I wanted.Regardless of whether you are buying or selling, I would highly recommend Kevin Kleifges to help you/your business with his expertise in the real-estate market. I could not have asked for a better Realtor to guide me through the process, especially as a first time buyer.Sincerely,
Justin J. Cipriano

Thanks Justin – - - You made our day!

If you have a family member, friend or colleague who is looking to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia, you can be confident that we will take just as good care of them as we did of Justin. We know that you are “on the line” when you refer someone and we appreciate that you put your trust in us. We won’t let you down!

CALL THE BELT TEAM AT (703) 242-3975 or Contact The Belt Team here.

BELT – Bringing Expertise, Loyalty and Trust to Real Estate

We’ll be doing a year-end wrap-up for the Vienna-Oakton area later this week. It’s a good way to get some perspective on what has happened in our local market versus what happened around the country. Thankfully, our local market seems to be much healthier than the rest of the U.S.! In the meantime, 2011 has begun with a bang!

The Belt Team ratified contracts on two of our listings over the holiday weekend. SOLD! Congrats to our Sellers! And we also caught up with a few of our Belt Team Realtors to see what their “crystal balls” show for 2011. Here’s what they had to say:

Terry Belt, CEO of The Belt Team commented, “Remember that real estate is local and as it relates to our local market, home buyers arrived at the closing table in larger numbers than last year as  the Northern Virginia/DC/MD region continued to enjoy increases in homes sales from year ago levels. Listing activity remains stable – a combination that has kept inventory under stiff pressure. The outcome is a robust market with promise for 2011. The biggest wild card that could damper the prospects for a strong market for the entire year would be a severe spike in mortgage interest rates. I recommend that Buyers and Sellers strike while the iron is hot, especially in the close-in areas The Belt Team serves of Fairfax and Arlington counties where the market conditions continue to improve with strong demand.”

Susan Hussey predicts that “2011 will continue to show an improving Northern VA housing market overall with more activity and price improvements in the upper brackets than we saw in 2010.  I believe the market will continue to be balanced between buyers and sellers.”

If you only follow the national news, you might be surprised to hear that as Susan references, last week we saw a 3-6 month housing supply in the Vienna – Oakton area. This means that despite what you hear in the national news (that many markets are still in a Buyers Market), the Vienna – Oakton market is very balanced between Buyers and Sellers.

Mary Jane Perry offers this prognostication & advice for Buyers: “I think interest rates are finally going to rise. We saw some incredible interest rates in 2010 (as low as 4%) – not only for first-time homebuyers, but also in the Jumbo Loan markets.  It won’t stay that low forever. I see it perhaps coming up to 5-6%. If it was me, I would not continue to wait on interest rates before naking a buying decision!”

Mary Jane added, “And for all my sellers sitting on the fence, you may not like this next prediction:  I do not see sales prices going up. I believe prices will remain flat, close to our current 2010 prices. Buyers are technically savvy and feel they can determine for themselves the “current market value” of a home, and therefore, won’t pay more than they have to. Buyers will continue to put pressure on home prices.”

Gail Belt, Founding Partner of The Belt Team, provides a different take on 2011: “I am cautiously optimistic that the 2011 market will continue the improvement we saw in 2010. We will know more in the 1st quarter, once we see what the new Congress implements based on the “message” the country sent in last November’s elections. The key ingredients are “returning buyers” and” realistic sellers”—that combination will result in healthy sales.”

And as always, the market is cyclical. Kevin Kleifges reinforces this with his comment: “I predict a slow beginning in January with a gradual uptick in real estate activity starting in mid February and continuing through the late spring into the early part of summer.” We see this hold true year after year. And so if you are thinking of selling this Spring – NOW is the time to prepare. In fact – NOW may be the time to go on the market. You’ll have a LOT less competition!

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia in 2011, please don’t hesitate to give any of us a call. We are more than happy to share our expertise with you – to walk you through the process – help you get pre-qualified for a loan – consult with you on what things need doing before your home goes on the market (or even on what things don’t!).

CALL THE BELT TEAM AT (703) 242-3975 or Contact The Belt Team here.

BELT – Bringing Expertise, Loyalty and Trust to Real Estate

Despite the fact that home prices have begun to rise again in some parts of the country, there are still a number of areas that are classified as “Undervalued Markets“. The video below will give you details, but five of the Top Undervalued Markets (as researched by IHS Global Insight) are listed below:

• San Francisco
• Ft Lauderdale
• Dallas
• Las Vegas
• Bridgeport, CT

 The Belt Team has top-notch Realtor connections in each of these markets. So if you (or your family, friends or colleagues) are looking to buy a home in one of these areas – don’t miss the opportunity! Contact The Belt Team TODAY at (703) 242-3975.

Our new Belt Team Gazette ad debuted recently. Tell us what you think!

(And don’t let our efforts at being tongue-in-cheek fool you. We take our jobs seriously. But The Belt Team is different! We think outside the box. Our creativity, negotiating expertise and commitment to our clients is unparalleled. It’s why we’ve sold more homes in Northern Virginia than almost ANY other Realtor! Over 1,500 Families served! )

THE “SHIFTING” REAL ESTATE MARKET

Wow, when they call today’s real estate market a “shifting market,” they are 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 Sellers to “sell.”SHIFT, a recent book by Gary Keller, co-founder and Chairman of Keller Williams Realty, 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. Sound familiar? Sure it does. The year was 1979!

“Does it make us feel better to know that this has happened before? No.

But can we learn from it? YES!

Fast forward to 1987 and it happened again. This time, changing tax laws had a disastrous effect. And guess what? History repeats itself. Now, in the 21st Century, we are faced with this same situation again. But this time there are real differences. In 1979, mortgage interest rates topped 18 percent. Last week, Buyers were still getting approved at under 5 percent through local lenders. That is a HUGE difference! And today’s Sellers are becoming realistic with the pricing expected by today’s Buyers, 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. Lending laws, availability of funds & appraisal requirements have all been diifferent in these various markets and your strategy as a Buyer or Seller needs to adjust accordingly. Remember though, the news you heard last week is “old news,” so stay in touch with your local, trusted real estate team (In Northern VA, that’s The Belt Team!) for updates on this ever changing market.