Buy Alexandria Real Estate

The last few days, everywhere you look -- television, internet, newspapers -- there's a lot of doom and gloom about the real estate market. 

Understandably when numbers come out stating that nationwide resale home sales are down 27%+ and new home sales are at the lowest point since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, there's some fear out there.

**However, every market is local.** 
                                               
                                              
(can't emphasize that enough!)

CNN, ABC, CBS, and the rest of the alphabet soup of national broadcast and cable stations do not report on the local market.  They report on the "national" market.  Truth is there is no such thing as the "national real estate market."

The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market is different.  It's a one word description that explains why:

Jobs.

No, not Steve Jobs -- he's out in Silicon Valley still trying to recover from the iPhone 4 antenna fiasco.

Real, honest to goodness, employment.

Check it:

While national unemployment figures weighed in at 9.6% and have been hovering just under 10% for quite some time, Northern Virginia is drastically different.  Not a single jurisdiction on this graph is over 6% unemployment (considered normal unemployment in "normal" times).  Arlington and Alexandria have unemployment rates under 5%!

Basically, if you want a job, there's one available in Northern Virginia.  That makes our housing market different. It's as simple as that.

Read more about jobs in Northern Virginia and their link to the Northern Virginia housing market:

Jobs = People = Houses -- Sounds Like a Winning Formula for D.C. Region

Less than Half: Unemployment in Northern Virginia

"J" is for Jobs; That's Good Enough for Me!

Not Just "Office Space" -- D.C. Area has the Good Jobs

Northern Virginia Highlights of the Trends in Housing Report

Do you love your pets?  Are you a fan of all things furry?

Then you are in for a treat (and so is your dog, cat, and/or child)!

This Saturday, August 28th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., The Village at Shirlington is hosting a free family event featuring activities for both two-legged and four-legged attendees, including:

• Exhibitors
• Pet Contests
• Pet Portrait Photos
• Live Music
• Children's Entertainment & Activities
• Demonstrations
• Merchant Specials
• and More!

The marketing materials for the event say: "What a doggone purr-fect way to spend the day!"

Attend Wags 'N' Whiskers at The Village at Shirlington this Saturday, August 28th.

Shirlington is located at Exit 7 off of Route 395 South

Learn more about Shirlington: Eat, Play, Love: Living in Shirlington, Virginia

Search for homes in the Shirlington area

A few years ago, I wrote a post entitled My Friend is in Real Estate: Might Not be the Best Choice detailing why choosing a friend to represent you in a real estate transaction may not be the best bet.

Here's an excerpt:

"It's one thing to want to help out a friend.  Perhaps you see a friend struggling in the slow real estate market and want to help them out with a sale.  These altruistic feelings are part of your human nature.  

Ask yourself how much experience your friend, family member, or neighbor has when it comes to selling real estate.  If you were having heart surgery, would you trust the operation to your friend who just graduated from medical school and has never performed the procedure?  Will you spend your hard earned money and buy a stock on a tip from your neighbor who dabbles in the financial markets? 

Make sure that the professional you choose for your real estate needs has a solid track record of success."

Click here for the full article: My Friend is in Real Estate: Might Not be the Best Choice

Now, there's a video that proves the point. 

Enjoy!

If you've ever shopped at Marshall's, Target, Walmart, or any other discount department store, you'll definitely have seen the price tags that compare their prices to those found "elsewhere."  Whether the actual "elsewhere" price as marked is the true picture is debatable, but it's meant to make you feel good about your purchase, knowing that your shopping smart.

So plunking down $52 for that Clairborne dress shirt doesn't feel so bad, when you know that "elsewhere" it retails for $117!

When looking at the statistics for the overall Northern Virginia real estate market in July 2010, much of the picture doesn't look so great:

These numbers take into account Arlington County, Alexandria City, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City.

The Bad News:  Compared to July 2009, July Sale $ Volume is Down 10.12%, Total number of Sales is down by 19.05%.  Similarly, compared to the previous month (June 2010), dollar volume is down 20.53% and total sales are down by 22.62%.

The Good News:  Prices are up significantly from July 2009, and up slightly from June 2010.  Home are selling significantly faster than in July 2009 and slightly slower than in June 2010.

How does this compare to "Elsewhere"?

The National Association of Realtors reports July 2010 existing-home sales dropped 27.2 percent from June and were down 25.5 percent from a year earlier. Existing-home sales last month fell to the lowest level in more than a decade.

So, overall, Northern Virginia is not so bad considering what's going on elsewhere. 

 

The picture above is of a community marker for Clarendon and Courthouse, two popular Arlington areas along the Orange Line Metro in North Arlington, VA. Photo courtesy of dionhinchcliffe

What's Happening today in the Arlington, Virginia Real Estate Market?

Here's a snapshot of Arlington Virginia home sales in the last 30 days from the end of July through now:

ARLINGTON VIRGINIA HOME SALES:

• Active homes for sale:  742 -- 214 of those (or ~29%) have just come on the market within the last 30 days! 
  
  
• Average listing price: $667,182
  
  
• Arlington Homes sold in the last 30 days:  187.  Arlington Virginia is a very active real estate market.
  
  
• Average Sales Price:   $556,947
  
  
• Median Sales Price:     $494,010
  
  
• Average Days on Market:  45
  
  
• Average Sales Price/Original Listing Price:  95.02%.  There's still some negotiating room on home sales in Arlington Virginia.

Interesting Notes & Analysis: 

Homes in Arlington currently on the market range in price from $69,900 to $7.95 million.

** Find a Home in Arlington**

"You Gotta Eat!"

or so the famous slogan from Checkers Drive-In Restaurants goes.
(Disclaimer: I've never been to a Checkers & don't think I ever will!)

Admit it:  You love food.  And you especially love good food.  If you're like me, you have some favorite restaurants and you tend to get stuck in a rut of hitting the same joints week after week because the food is good, it's comfortable and you know the experience you're going to get.

Well, it's time to branch out.  The good news is that Alexandria, Virginia is making it fun, easy, and affordable.  Hot on the heels of D.C.'s Restaurant Week (which is ongoing through the end of this week), restaurants in the City of Alexandria are hosting their own Alexandria Restaurant Week starting this Friday, August 20 and lasting through August 29th. 

Okay, it's actually 10 days -- not a week, but I guess "Restaurant Week" has a better ring to it than "10 Days of Cool Eats!"

Logo courtesy of Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association

More than 60 Alexandria Virginia restaurants are offering special deals to diners during Alexandria Restaurant Week 2010.  The restaurants are offering either a $35 prix-fixe three-course dinner or a $35 dinner for two -- at some of these restaurants, this is an especially good deal.

Some of the restaurants involved in Alexandria Restaurant Week include:

Bilbo Baggins Restaurant

The Carlyle Club

Clyde's at Mark Center

Geranio Ristorante

Hank's Oyster Bar

Jackson 20

Mango Mike's

Southside 815

Click here for a full list of participating restaurants

Bon Appétit

Arlington County just outside Washington D.C. is hardly the countryside.  In fact, Arlington is barely even a traditional suburb, with many areas almost as urbanized as downtown D.C.  However, from Wednesday August 18th through Sunday August 22nd, Arlington is hosting a good old County Fair, complete with pigs, ponies and other fun things!

Located at Thomas Jefferson Community Center at 3501 South Second Street, Arlington, VA 22204, the Arlington County Fair will include rides, entertainment, vendors, food, competitions, and movies -- in other words, fun for the entire family.  If you're looking for fun in Northern Virginia, you'll want to stop by the Arlington County Fair later this week.

According to the Fair website, the opening ceremonies on Thursday evening will include a performance by The Old Guard, Fife and Drum Corp, from "Pershing's Own" US Army Band. The National Anthem will be performed by a Cantor from the US Army Band.  The 2010 Arlington County Fair opening ceremonies will be preceded by a 30 minute concert featuring Downrange, a contemporary vocal ensemble from the US Army Band. 

Friday is Family Movie Night and Saturday is Teen Movie Night at the Fair.  There will be animals, food, and community organizations at the Fair.

Have a good ole time at the Arlington County Fair!

DETAILS:

WHAT:  The Arlington County Fair

WHEN:  Wednesday August 18th - Sunday August 22nd, 2010

WHERE:  Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 South Second Street, Arlington, VA 22204

MORE INFORMATION

Search for homes in Arlington Virginia

Real Estate is a full-time job career! 

In order for your real estate agent to perform his/her job effectively and help you with your purchase or sale of a home, it's important that they keep on top of the market, deadlines, marketing, the mortgage process, inspections, and the many other components that make up the real estate sales process.

Due to the nature of the sales business and the ups and downs of working in a commission based career, many agents who fail to plan and budget, necessarily succumb to the whims of the market. 

Alternatively, those who treat real estate as the full-time career that the profession demands are the ones that are most successful in serving the needs of their clients and making sure that sales get to the closing table.

Please watch this entertaining video below to see why you don't want your real estate agent to have a side job.  When interviewing agents to help with your real estate needs, always ask "Are you a full-time REALTOR?"

Are you wondering about Northern Virginia real estate and pondering what has sold recently?

Here's some information about the most expensive home sales in Northern Virginia (Arlington County, Alexandria City, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Falls Church City) for July 2010.  All information was obtained through MRIS.

Overall, there were 105 Northern Virginia home sales topping $1 million during July 2010, a slight drop from the 134 that sold in June 2010.

Currently, there are 776 homes on the market in Northern Virginia with list prices topping $1 million.

JULY 2010'S MOST EXPENSIVE SALES

Single Family Detached Homes:

• 10350 Elizabeth Street, Great Falls, VA 22066 -- Sold on July 1st for $6,500,000
  This AMAZING home features over 17,000 square feet of living space on 2.7 acres.  Some of the features in this 2007 built 7 bedroom, 10 full bathroom home include 9 fireplaces, an inground pool, heated floors throughout the home, 6 dishwashers, 4 washers and 4 dryers and 2 built in cappuccino machines!  It's truly a global home -- materials used to build the home are from 36 countries!
  
  
• 1149 Bellview Road, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on July 1st for $2,700,000
  This 2005 French Chateau in McLean on 3.58 acres was sold for $750K under the asking price and also sold "as is."  With 12 foot ceilings on the main level and a luxurious main level master suite, this large home is now someone's castle.
  
  
• 847 Alvermar Ridge Drive, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on July 15th for $2,500,000
  Located in the popular Reserve neighborhood of McLean, this 6 bedroom home with top of the line appliances was built in 2003 and sold for nearly $500K under the asking price.
  
  
• 502 Cathedral Drive, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 20th for $2,200,000
  Built in 1961, this 4,677 square foot home has the following features: gourmet kitchen, great room, library, in-ground heated pool, finished lower level and 2 car garage.
  
  
• 7906 Old Falls Road, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on July 21st for $2,146,027
  This brand new home was sold by the builder and features an open floor plan, a semi-detached au pair/in-law or office suite over a 3 car garage.  It has 6 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths on three finished levels.

CLICK TO SEARCH FOR AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 

Townhouses: 

• 207 S. Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 9th for $2,840,000
  Right in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, this historic townhouse was built in 1807.  It has 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a walled garden and 4 fireplaces.  There's also parking for 3 cars -- very important in Old Town!
  
  
• 430 S. Lee Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 23rd for $1,528,000
  Another historic Old Town Alexandria townhouse, this one was built in 1846.  With tall ceilings, wood floors, and 2 wood-burining fireplaces, this 19th century home has 21st century amenities.
  
  
• 1496 Teague Drive, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on July 16th for $1,487,000
  This very large (over 6000 square feet) townhouse in Evans Farm was sold by one of the agents in my RE/MAX Allegiance office, Steve Thoman.  It features 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, lots of built in bookshelves and a great recreation room on the lower level.
  
  
• 1910 N. Ode Street, Arlington, VA 22209 -- Sold on July 15th for $1,150,000
  This four level townhouse in Rosslyn is only 2.5 blocks from the metro.  The townhouse features an amazing 46 windows!  There's a gourmet kitchen with maple cabinets and chestnut granite, and a wrap around slate patio.  The home was built in 1999 and has over 3000 square feet of living space.
  
  
• 20 Keiths Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 1st for $1,010,000
  Located in the Fords Landing community of Old Town Alexandria, this 4 level end unit townhouse has 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and a 2 car garage.  The home features hardwood floors, crown molding, a built-in bookcase, gas fireplace, and large walk-in closet.

SEARCH AVAILABLE TOWNHOUSES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Condominiums: 

• 901 N. Monroe Street #1306, Arlington, VA 22201 -- Sold on July 28th for $997,500
  Right next to the Virginia Square Metro, this huge condo (2,113 square feet) has tons of closet space, a very large balcony with outdoor stereo system, brand new stainless steel appliances, a wine refrigerator, and separate laundry room and pantry.
  
  
  
• 502 W. Broad Street #506, Falls Church, VA 22046 -- Sold on July 30th for $770,000
  This condo at The Broadway in Falls Church is massive -- 2,693 square feet spread throughout 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.  There's a wrap around blacony, gourmet kitchen, and hardwood floors -- all within a short distance to the Metro.
  
  
• 600 Second Street #405, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 9th for $725,000
  Built in 2004, this condo at Liberty Row in Old Town Alexandria features and open floor plan, hardwood floors and a gas fireplace.
  
  
• 2151 Jamieson Avenue #2-1904, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on July 14th for $725,000
  Carlyle Towers is a popular condo building in Old Town Alexandria and this 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath unit features wood floors, a marble foyer, and a tiled glass enclosed balcony.  There's a fantastic view from the 19th floor.  It's close the Whole Foods, the movies, restaurants, and lots of shops.

SEARCH AVAILABLE CONDOMINIUMS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 

Yesterday morning I had the honor and pleasure of being interviewed by Fox News for a story on buying versus renting.  I first met the Fox5 News reporter Melanie Alnwick about 6 weeks ago when she interviewed my home inspector Jay Markanich at a home inspection for my client.  When I met her there, we got to chatting, I gave her my card and suggested she call me next time she had a real estate story.

Melanie contacted me last week to ask if I could meet her for an interview about buying versus renting in the D.C. metro area.  We finally set up an interview for yesterday.  I asked whether she wanted to meet at my office, at her studio, or at a home I had listed for sale.  She thought that meeting at the home would put things in the best context for television.  I agreed, asked my clients, and we set up a time.

So, yesterday morning, Melanie and I (and the cameraman) met at A Stylish, Warm, Elegant Townhouse: 8353 Moline Place which was Priced Right and Under Contract in Just 6 Days in Springfield, Virginia!

The best part of this was that we filmed right in front of my RE/MAX "For Sale" sign!

Expecting the piece to air on the 5 p.m. news, my wife started taping the show and we looked out for my appearance.  Unfortunately due to a violent thunderstorm that whipped through the area, my segment was preempted and did not appear.  Though disappointed, I expected that it would air the next night. 

When I woke up this morning, one of my colleagues had commented on my Facebook post indicating that she saw me on television on the 10 p.m. news -- so it did air yesterday after all.

Here's the complete segment from the Fox 5 News website: