Buy Alexandria Real Estate: February 2009

Okay... hate is a strong word and one that my mother told me never to use.  Let's say you dislike them or just don't enjoy working with them anymore.

So, you're working with a real estate agent and things have gone sour.  Maybe your agent is not available according to your schedule.  Perhaps they don't return your phone calls.  Do they show you homes that they like but not ones that you like?  Whatever the reason, you've decided that you no longer wish to work with that particular REALTOR.

Now what?

Are you stuck?  Are you locked in to work with this agent?  What can you do?

Have you signed an agreement?

There are two basic types of agreements that somebody signs when they decide to work with a real estate agent.  If you are selling your home, you will always sign a listing agreement.  If you are working with an agent to purchase a home, you may have signed a Buyer Broker Agreement.

You should know your broker's obligations under these agreements:

Selling Your Home -- Know the Broker's Duties

Ready to Buy a Home? Know Your Buyer Broker's Duties

Listing agreements and buyer broker agreements have expiration dates. 

It is unethical for another real estate professional to solicit your business while you are still bound by one of these agreements.  However, it is perfectly okay for you to contact another agent when you are dissatisfied with your current one, even while the agreement is still in effect.

Please check any agreement you have signed for a clause that mentions a payment to terminate the agreement.  Some agents make you pay to stop working with them before the agreement is over.  I don’t think this is a good business practice.  If your relationship is not working, it’s not working.  I’ve never charged somebody to get out of an agreement.  Nevertheless, some agents do this and you want to be careful not to be stuck owing your former agent money.

Once your agreement has expired, you are entirely free to start working with an alternative agent.

If you have not signed an agreement, realize that there is nothing keeping you bound to “your” real estate agent.  This agent may have driven you all around town for two weekends, but without an agreement, they’re just counting on your loyalty.  But, there’s nothing keeping you legally bound.

Do you want to live near The White House? 

Imagine the President's motorcade being an everyday occurrence.  Catch glimpses of the Marine One helicopters as they take up from The White House lawn.  If you're a political junkie, a Barack Obama White House aide, or just want to be in the center of all the action, here's some news for you.

As of today, there are 60 homes in Washington D.C. on the market for sale within a 3/4 mile radius of The White House, priced from $134,900 to $1.15 million.  The average price to be within earshot of the President is $472,222.

Expanding that circle to a one mile radius opens up a total of 281 available properties for sale in D.C., including a renovated home on Embassy Row suitable for a new embassy -- priced at a cool $14.9 million.

While I promise you that I'll provide you with the best service available to help you purchase your new home within walking distance of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I can't promise you that you'll get an invite to Bowling with 'Bama on the private White House lanes.

WASHINGTON D.C. HOME SEARCH

Contact Brian Block, REALTOR/Attorney, RE/MAX Allegiance: Licensed in Virginia & Washington D.C.
Cell: 703-626-0715.    Specializing in  helping buyers and sellers in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia.

Unless they just discovered toxic radioactive waste underneath your front porch, you're likely to answer this question in the negative. 

How about the stock market?

Well, 9 months is enough time to have a baby.  In the last 9 months, this baby has gone down a whopping 41.8%.  Since reaching 12,968.79 on May 16th, the Dow has plunged to 7,552.60 as of the closing bell yesterday!

Since October 1st, the Dow is down over 30%, and in the last 46 days alone, the DJIA has lost over 16% of its value.

Your home value may have decreased over the past year or two, but I'm certain that unless a meteorite or an errant airplane landed on your home, there's absolutely no way that your home has lost this much value in so short a time.

Where do you want to put your money?  The stock market or the real estate market.

It's your choice.

I'm here to help.

Real estate, like any other market, is all about supply and demand.

SUPPLY:  As of February 12th, there are 606 homes on the market in Alexandria, Virginia.

DEMAND:  In the last 30 days, 77 homes sold in the City of Alexandria.  January and early February are traditionally very slow times for the Northern Virginia real estate market.  At this pace, there'd be a 7.9 month inventory of homes on the market.  However, I expect that the warmer Spring days will usher in a somewhat heated up real estate market (this REALTOR can hope, can't he? -- watch the video!)

Here are the details about the housing inventory in Alexandria -- if you're thinking about buying a home in Alexandria or elsewhere in Northern Virginia, you might want to whisper to your sweetheart this Valentine's Day that he/she ought to read this blog.

Alexandria Virginia Single Family Homes 

99 Single Family Homes are on the market in Alexandria at an average price of $916,114.  The prices range from $129,900 up to $2,999,999.  There are 27 homes priced at one million dollars or more.  However, there are almost an equal number of Alexandria single family homes priced below $600,000.

The largest concentration of homes are in the following Alexandria neighborhoods:

Beverly Hills -- 9 homes available -- Average price $823,589

Braddock Heights -- 4 homes available -- Average price $994,500

Coopers Grove -- 4 new homes under construction -- Average price $1,142,300

Del Ray -- 10 homes available -- Average price $769,430

Rosemont & Rosemont Park -- 9 homes available -- Average price $939,611

CLICK HERE TO FIND A SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN ALEXANDRIA 

Alexandria Virginia Townhouses 

184 Townhouses are on the market in Alexandria at an average listing price of $794,226.

The highest concentration of townhouses are in the following Alexandria communities:

Beauregard Station -- 4 new construction townhouses -- Average price $542,657

Cameron Station -- 20 townhouses -- Average price $611,235

Fords Landing -- 5 townhouses -- Average price $1,915,000

Old Town -- 25 townhouses -- Average price $1,335,244 (note that this number is skewed a bit because of a townhouse on the market for $5.7 million.  Without this home, the average price in Old Town is $1,153,379 -- almost $200K less).

Potomac Greens -- 6 townhouses -- Average price $940,112

Stonegate -- 5 townhouses -- Average price $616,740

FIND A TOWNHOUSE IN ALEXANDRIA

Alexandria Condominiums

Over 330 condos are on the market in Alexandria:

133 Garden Style condos (1-4 floors) at an Average price of $310,185

26 Mid-Rise condos (5-8 floors) at an Average price of $268,223

116 High-Rise condos (9+ floors) at an Average price of $259,032

FIND AN ALEXANDRIA CONDO

Hey, what's that official looking letter in your mailbox?

It's your NOTICE OF 2009 REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENT.  In big bold type, the city or county government that sent you this notice informs you, that "THIS IS NOT YOUR TAX BILL"

If you own a home in the City of Alexandria, you just received (or will receive in the next day or so) your 2009 Real Estate Assessment.

For most people who own property in Alexandria, they'll see the assessed value of their home decrease quite a bit from last year's assessment.  My property tax assessment on my condominium went down about 11.4% from 2008's assessment. 

According to the City of Alexandria, here's some news about the current assessments:

2009 average assessed value for single family homes and condos is $476,490.

Single family home assessment in Alexandria averages $637,154 -- a decline of 3.5% from 2008

Average condominium assessment is $301,718 -- a decline of 7.6% from 2008.

There is some good news for Alexandria owners (besides the fact that your taxes may or may not go down).  The City of Alexandria reports that "[w]hile average home values in the Washington D.C. region have dropped some 15% over the past year, in Alexandria in 2009 the average home values dropped 4.7%."  That's a silver lining.  Despite losing home value and home equity, Alexandria homeowners are faring much better than some of the surrounding jurisdictions.

The new property tax rates will not be set by the City Council until April 27, 2009, but it has been proposed to increase the tax rate by 4.2 cents to 88.7 cents.

More information about Alexandria Virginia real estate assessments can be found at www.alexandriava.gov/realestate or by calling the Real Estate Assessments department at 703-838-4646.

There's lots of homes in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia with bronze plaques signifying a historic home.  Many homes here were built in the 1800s, with some even constructed before the 19th century.  If you live here and think your house deserves such a plaque, call the Historic Alexandria Foundation at 703-549-5811 or the Office of Historic Alexandria at 703-838-4554 to learn more about the program.

So, what's happening in the Old Town Alexandria real estate market?

Here's a quick snapshot of real estate sales in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia for the last 30 days.

Old Town Alexandria, Virginia Home Sales (Zip Code 22314):

• Active homes for sale:  202 (includes 37 new listings in the last 30 days)
• Homes sold in last 30 days: 21
• Average Sales Price: $636,305
• Median Sales Price:  $471,000
• Average Days on Market:  92
• Average Sales Price/List Price:  94.82%

Search Homes for Sale in Alexandria

Contact Brian Block, REALTOR/Attorney, RE/MAX Allegiance: Licensed in Virginia & Washington D.C.
Cell: 703-626-0715.    Specializing in  helping buyers and sellers in Alexandria, VA.

As anyone who watches Law & Order, CSI, or any other television show or movie featuring policemen, knows, criminals are entitled to be read their Miranda rights before being carted off to jail.  Having studied this in my criminal law class back in law school, I know that this stems from a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Miranda v. Arizona (does your REALTOR or even your attorney know this?)

After reading Poinciana Florida real estate broker extraordinaire, Bryant Tutas' post, Desperation Creates Depreciation!!!, which details what can happen when a hapless or naive home seller follows buyers and their agents around their home, I decided to create and institute a newly revised

"Miranda Rights for Home Sellers"

I've always counseled my clients on these points, but now I'm formalizing it.

It's time to read home sellers their rights (if you are planning to sell your home, listen up... If you're a REALTOR, I suggest you do the same with your clients):

You have the right to remain silent during home showings.

  If you can leave the house, that would be even better. 

Anything you say can and will be used against you when buyers decide whether they want to purchase your home.

  Anything you say will affect the price and terms that a buyer offers. 

Don't tell them that you NEED to sell. 

Don't tell them that you just got a job promotion and must be in Houston, TX by next month. 

Just be quiet.  Let the buyer's agent show them your house.

You have the right to ask them to call your REALTOR with any questions.

  If you cannot follow these rules and your home fails to sell, another REALTOR will be appointed for you.

Do you understand these rights?

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 January 2009.  All information was obtained through MRIS.

Overall, there were 23 sales topping $1 million during the month of January 2009.  This is less than 1/2 the number that sold in December 2008, indicating that the current state of the economy, and uncertainties about layoffs and other economic issues is definitely starting to impact the luxury market in the D.C. metropolitan area.

JANUARY'S MOST EXPENSIVE SALES

Single Family Detached Homes:

• 5335 Summit Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030  -- Sold on January 9th for $4,068,750.
  This estate sold at a bankruptcy auction.  Set on almost 3.5 acres, this home features over 25,000 square feet of living space, with 8 bedrooms, and 9 full bathrooms.  It was built in 2005.  2008 property taxe on this home were $28,115.
  
  
• 818 Clinton Place, McLean, VA 22101  -- Sold on January 21st for $2,300,000.
  In the Langley Forest area of McLean, this custom built 2002 home on over an acre features marble baths, coffered ceilings and custom cabinetry on 4 levels.  The deck with hot tub backs to trees.
  
  
• 11199 Branton Lane, Great Falls, VA 22066  -- Sold on January 13th for $2,085,000.
  Brand new in 2008, this home in Great Falls with 5 bedrooms and 6 full bathrooms boasts over 7700 square feet of living space.  The gourmet kitchen includes a wine fridge, and professional appliances.
  
  
• 2779 Marshall Lake Drive, Oakton, VA 22124  -- Sold on January 30th for $1,620,000.
  Over 9,000 square feet of living space, 3 fireplaces, and 6 bedrooms on an acre of land made this home a nice buy in Oakton.  The gourmet kitchen features Viking and Bosch appliances and the home overlooks a stream.
  

Homes in this luxury price range are generally selling for a discount from asking price.

CLICK TO SEARCH FOR AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 

Townhouses: 

• 117 S. Lee Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on January 29th for $1,275,000.
  This Old Town Alexandria townhouse has a private and large garden with "hidden" parking for two cars.  The historic home was built in 1800 and has 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths and wood floors throughout much of the house.
  
  
• 1102 Roundhouse Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on January 30th for $1,185,000.
  Built in 1998, this 2 level Charleston-style townhouse is close to the King Street Metro and the wonderul Whole Foods grocery store.  A large townhouse at 2800 square feet, it features 2 courtyards and a 2 car garage -- though living here, you can leave the car at home!
  

• 132 Waterford Place, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on January 9th for $1,100,000.
  Another Old Town Alexandria townhouse -- this one on 4 levels and built in 1980.  With three fireplaces, and an enclosed brick patio with ornamental pool, this townhouse is perfect for entertaining.
  
  
• 8027 Reserve Way, Vienna, VA 22182  -- Sold on January 22nd for $808,873.
  A brand new 4 level townhouse with hardwood floors, stainless steel kitchen appliances and 2 car garage in The Reserve at Tysons Corner.
  

SEE AVAILABLE TOWNHOUSES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Condominiums: 

• 1781 Chain Bridge Road #108, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on January 30th for $825,000.
  Built in 2008, the boutique condominium Morgan at McLean provides convenient access to Washington D.C. and Tysons Corner.  This 2 bedroom 2 bathroom unit has over 2,100 square feet of living space on 1 level.
  
  
• 1530 Key Blvd #928, Arlington, VA 22209 -- Sold on January 2nd for $806,000.
  Selling for $43K under the asking price, this 2 bedroom Atrium Condo in Rosslyn features parquet floors and an updated kitchen with granite counters.  This unit has 2 balconies.
  
  
• 1250 S. Washington Street #310, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on January 15th for $770,000.
  With a view of the Potomac River, this 2 bedroom and library condo at Porto Vecchio sold in mid-January for $45K under the asking price.  The private solarium features great views of both the river and a country club golf course.
  
  
• 1530 Key Blvd. #924, Arlington, VA 22209 -- Sold on January 2nd for $640,000.
  Another condo unit at the Atrium Condos in Rosslyn.  This one was totally renovated and features 1,280 square feet of living space on 2 levels.
  

SEE AVAILABLE CONDOMINIUMS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 

Contact Brian Block, REALTOR/Attorney, RE/MAX Allegiance: Licensed in Virginia & Washington D.C.  703-626-0715. If you are interested in purchasing or selling a property in Northern Virginia including Arlington County, Alexandria City, Annandale, Burke, D.C., Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Great Falls, Lorton, McLean, Springfield, Washington D.C., contact Brian today.