Buy Alexandria Real Estate: January 2011

I don't know about you, but I never get tired of the beauty of the whitewater and the Potomac River at Great Falls.  However, while I've gone whitewater rafting before on Class 5 rapids, you're not going to find me braving these falls anytime soon like the kayaker above.  (photo credit: stevehdc)

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

Here's a snapshot of Great Falls Virginia home sales in the last 30 days from the end of December 2010 through now:

GREAT FALLS VIRGINIA HOME SALES:

• Active homes for sale:  114 -- just 12 of those have come on the market within the last 30 days! 
  
  
• Average listing price: $1,821,845 -- these prices are not for the typical first time homebuyer!
  
  
• Great Falls Homes sold in the last 30 days:  11; at that rate, there's about 10 month's worth of current inventory in Great Falls. 
  
  
  
• Average Sales Price:  $1,318,519
  
  
• Median Sales Price:     $1,080,000
  
  
• Average Days on Market:  97
  
  
• Average Sales Price/Original Listing Price:  92.04%

Interesting Notes & Analysis: 

The lowest priced home on the market in Great Falls is listed for sale at $495,000.  The highest priced one is $7.65 million.  If you're looking for a home for under $500K, then Great Falls may not be the right place for you to look.

Everyone else, click below:

* Find a Home in Great Falls**

The photo above is of Jamey Turner, a glass harpist, performing on the Old Town Alexandria Waterfront.  You've got to see him performing to believe the beautiful music that he makes with a set of wine goblets.  It's truly amazing!  In the meantime watch him perform on YouTube.
(photo credit: runneralan2004)

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

Here's a snapshot of Alexandria Virginia home sales in the last 30 days from the end of December 2010 through now:

ALEXANDRIA VIRGINIA HOME SALES:

• Active homes for sale:  508 -- 132 (or 26%) of those have just come on the market within the last 30 days! 
  
  
• Average listing price: $565,731
  
• Alexandria Homes sold in the last 30 days:  99; at that rate, there's just over 5 month's worth of current inventory in Arlington. 
  
  
  
• Average Sales Price:  $443,956
  
  
• Median Sales Price:     $361,000
  
  
• Average Days on Market:  79
  
  
• Average Sales Price/Original Listing Price:  93.20%.  While Alexandria sellers are getting pretty close to their asking price, there's a bit more negotiating room here than there is in neighboring Arlington.

Interesting Notes & Analysis: 

There are homes available for sale in Alexandria ranging from $75,000 to just under $9 million

* Find a Home in Alexandria **

Does this chart above surprise you?  What have you heard about real estate lately?

What's your investment strategy for 2011 & beyond?  Maybe it's time you got off the phone with your stock broker and starting talking to your REALTOR!

Don't let the next 10 years pass you by...

Of course, every investment is different and depends upon your tolerance of risk, your timing, your choices, etc.  However, I did not make up the numbers above.

Contact me at 703-626-0715 or by e-mail at brian@brianblock.com to discuss investing in your future with real estate in Northern Virginia and Washington D.C.

The photo above is the outside of the Arlington County courthouse in Arlington, VA
(photo credit: Cliff1066)

 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 December 2010 through now:

ARLINGTON VIRGINIA HOME SALES:

• Active homes for sale:  529 -- 141 (or over 26%) of those have just come on the market within the last 30 days! 
  
  
• Average listing price: $651,496
  
  
• Arlington Homes sold in the last 30 days:  116; at that rate, there's less than 5 month's worth of current inventory in Arlington. 
  
  
  
• Average Sales Price:  $516,930
  
  
• Median Sales Price:     $480,613
  
  
• Average Days on Market:  77 
  
  
• Average Sales Price/Original Listing Price:  96.79%  Arlington sellers are getting sales prices fairly close to their asking prices.  This indicates a competitive real estate market in the Arlington VA area.

Interesting Notes & Analysis: 

There are homes available for sale in Arlington starting from $65,000 and ranging all the way up to just under $8 million!

** Find a Home in Arlington **

The photo above is of a Northrop Grumman office building in McLean, Virginia (photo credit Jim Moore)

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

Here's a snapshot of McLean Virginia home sales in the last 30 days from the end of December 2010 through now:

MCLEAN VIRGINIA HOME SALES:

• Active homes for sale:  226 -- 30 of those have just come on the market within the last 30 days! 
  
  
• Average listing price: $1,746,285
  
  
• McLean Homes sold in the last 30 days:  31.  At this rate, it would take nearly 7 months for the current McLean inventory to sell -- however, I expect that sales will pick up in the early Spring. 
  
  
  
• Average Sales Price:  $1,226,088
  
  
• Median Sales Price:     $864,000
  
  
• Average Days on Market:  133 -- time on the market has increased substantially in the Winter (especially since these numbers include the traditionally slower holiday period from Thanksgiving to New Years)
  
  
• Average Sales Price/Original Listing Price:  81.64%.  This number is heavily skewed due to a very large price drop on one or two high-priced homes in McLean.  Discounting those, the average sales price to listing price ratio is likely closer to the low 90-percents.

Interesting Notes & Analysis: 

Of the 226 currently listed for sale, 144 McLean homes or 63.7% are priced above $1 million.  64 McLean homes are priced over $2 million!

Prices for homes in McLean that sold within the last 30 days range from $180,000 to $9 million.

** Find a Home in McLean**

Just over one year ago, I opened up the envelope and read:

"Congratulations!  You have been selected as one of thirteen REALTORS to participate in the NVAR Leadership Institute"

Last week, I graduated from the program. 

The picture may be a little fuzzy.  In case you can't tell, I'm the good looking guy with the pink shirt and pink tie, third from the right.

Throughout 2010, I participated in 12 different sessions, the highlights of which were the following:

•  a bus trip to Richmond, Virginia to meet with members of the Virginia State Legislature and see the General Assembly in action.  We had the opportunity to learn how the lobbying process works and to discuss real estate issues with our state representatives.
  
  
• a leadership luncheon and several leadership sessions at the National Association of REALTORS Mid-Year Meeting in Washington D.C.
  
  
• a trip to MRIS Headquarters (our local MLS system) in Rockville, MD to learn more about their operations and see a sneak preview of changes to the system as well as new analytical tools to help better analyze the real estate market.
  
  
• the annual real estate press conference at the National Press Club in D.C. with the opportunity to speak with several reporters regarding the real estate market.

A PHENOMENAL DAY

Far and away, the best session we had was the amazing opportunity to spend an entire day training and working with Ron Phipps, the 2011 President of the National Association of REALTORS. 

Ron travelled from his hometown of Warwick, Rhode Island to spend a day in Northern Virginia training us on talking with the media.  During the day, each of us participated in mock media interviews in front of the class, where Ron would ask us questions about real estate and we'd have to come up with answers on the spot.  After each person, we'd work as a class to evaluate how each participant fared.  Not only was this a great educational and practical experience, but it was great to be able to spend the day and personally connect with the top leader within the nationwide REALTOR community!

It's no surprise and no coincidence that in 2010, I appeared in the media (including newspaper articles and television) talking about real estate no less than 10 times!

And, my first appearance in the newspaper for 2011 is this article in the Arlington Sun Gazette detailing our graduation from the NVAR Leadership Institute: Local Realtors Graduate from Real Estate Institute.

Things just keep getting more exciting!  After 7 1/2 years with the brokerage and almost 2 years of serving as the Managing Broker for our RE/MAX Allegiance office in McLean, VA, I've been offered a new opportunity.

BRIAN IS SPREADING HIS REAL ESTATE WINGS!

I'm pleased to announce that in addition to my continuing duties as the Broker for the McLean office, I am now the Managing Broker of our RE/MAX Allegiance office in Arlington, Virginia.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

In total, I'm now directly responsible for supervising over 80 real estate agents and brokers -- about 30 in McLean and over 50 in Arlington.

Both offices handle a high number of real estate transactions and total sales volume.  In 2010, the agents from the two offices combined sold nearly 900 homes with a total dollar sales volume of almost $375 million.

I'm working with some heavy hitters.  The top 7 agents in the Arlington RE/MAX Allegiance office had an average sales volume of $12,975,382 in 2010 while the top 6 agents in McLean had an average sales volume of $11,636,595!

Both McLean and Arlington are highly desirable areas in Northern Virginia.  Each area was less effected by the real estate downturn than many other locations in the D.C. metropolitan area.  Both McLean and Arlington are very close-in suburbs to Washington and the majority of homes there have retained their desirable sales prices.

You can find & meet me in either location (or any of our 20 RE/MAX Allegiance offices throughout the area, for that matter!)

RE/MAX Allegiance: McLean, VA                                           RE/MAX Allegiance: Arlington, VA
6226 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, VA 22101                     3319 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22207
703-237-9500                                                                       703-522-1940

Of course, the best way to reach me remains my cell phone at 703-626-0715 or by e-mail at brian@brianblock.com.

If you are planning to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia, please contact me any time. 

If you're a real estate agent reading this and interested in finding out more about RE/MAX Allegiance in either Arlington or McLean, drop me a note or give me a call and I'll be happy to discuss opportunities at each of our offices.

Entrepreneurship and Washington D.C. -- two concepts that are not always mentioned in the same breath.  If you're outside the Capital Beltway, you might think of the Nation's Capital as a place mired in regulation, gridlock, and never-ending political battles.  You might picture D.C. as a place for big businesses -- defense contractors, pharmaceutical companies, accounting firms, law firms, and others that want to be close to the center of political power so that they can lobby for their initiatives. 

Sure, we've got all of that in D.C.  However, we also have a thriving entrepreneurial scene.  According to Under30CEO, Washington D.C. was one of the top 10 cities for young entrepreneurs in 2010.  Ranking D.C. #9 on its Top 10 list, Under30CEO reports that:

"DC is an obvious choice for the list with its ideal location to the political scene. Washington has a large number of attractions like the National Mall and countless museums. The area is also home to leading colleges like Georgetown, American and George Mason University. These schools bring a very active social scene to the city which makes it a great spot for young people along with providing numerous resources for start-ups."

I can personally attest to the entrepreneurial spirit of the D.C. area.  Both my wife and I are entrepreneurs and we both started our businesses while we were under 30 (oh! those were the days!)  My business, of course, is real estate sales, and I can think of no area of the country better for real estate than the D.C. area!  My wife Deborah has built a thriving wedding dance business and children's etiquette business here in Northern Virginia and D.C.

If you are moving to the area to start a business or graduating from a D.C. area college or university and want to get started on your entrepreurial dream, D.C.'s a great place to be. 

Click here to start looking for your permanent home in the D.C. area and pursue your business idea today!

With nary a wait on a security line or flight across time zones, international investors are purchasing real estate in the United States through the click of a mouse, a view of photos and virtual tours and an exchange of e-mails and phone calls with REALTORS in their location of choice.  For many global real estate investors, the Washington D.C. area will be that location of choice in 2011.

According to the Washington Business Journal, Washington will be the second-most favorite city for real estate investments among foreign investors, both within the U.S. and globally in 2011.  The Washington Business Journal reports that:

"As the fear of a double-dip recession has faded, investors are becoming more enthusiastic about the prospects for the U.S. economy and are taking aim at real estate investment opportunities," said AFIRE (Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate) Executive Director James Fetgatter. "However their strategy is more akin to a rifle than a shotgun. Except for multi-family housing, they are not scattering their interest throughout the U.S., but rather narrowly targeting it to New York City and Washington, D.C. to an even greater extent than in previous years." [Emphasis added]

The National Association of REALTORS provides information reporting that over 4% of residential purchases in the United States are made by foregin clients with permanent residences outside of the United States.  During a 12 month period from mid-2009 to early 2010, this foreign investment accounted for over $41 billion in residential real estate transactions.

If you're planning to sell your home in the D.C. area (including Northern Virginia) in 2011, there's a good chance that it may be sold to a foreign investor.  Here's some information you should know:

• Foreign investors typically purchase homes in a somewhat higher price range than the average market.
  • In 2010, the median price (nationwide) for international purchasers was $219,400 compared to $173,000 for all home purchases.
    
    
• 55% of international purchasers paid cash for their home purchase.

Here's a chart from the National Association of REALTORS showing the international purchases by client nationality:

BENEFITS TO WORKING WITH BRIAN BLOCK

When it comes to international real estate transactions in the D.C. area, there are several distinct benefits to choosing me as your REALTOR whether you are selling your existing home here or are a foreign investor yourself looking to purchase in Washington D.C. or Northern Virginia.

1.  My blog and website get a lot of global exposure.  Over the last few years, people from 178 countries around the world have visited my site.  A full 5.75% of the site's traffic comes from visitors outside the United States.  In the last month alone, www.VirginiaRealEstateNews.net has received website traffic from almost 70 countries.  I frequently get e-mail inquiries and phone calls from people overseas looking to purchase property in the D.C. area.

2.  I have significant experience working with foreign buyers.  During the past 3 or 4 years, I have successfully closed real estate transactions in Northern Virginia and D.C. with clients from India, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Malaysia, South America, and Poland.  Often these transactions involve communication over timezones, complexities with mortgage lending requirements, and handling overseas paperwork and international wiring of funds. 

3.  My access to the RE/MAX global network.  As a Managing Broker at RE/MAX Allegiance, I have access to a vast network of RE/MAX Agents and Brokers around the world.  As of this writing, there are nearly 90,000 RE/MAX associates in 84 countries (see map below).  These brokers and agents refer their clients to others within the RE/MAX network. 

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 December 2010.  All information was obtained through MRIS.

Overall, there were 70 Northern Virginia home sales topping $1 million during December  2010, a big increase from the 57 sold in November and the 61 sold in October 2010. 

Currently, there are 540 homes on the market in Northern Virginia with list prices topping $1 million - this is an almost 14% decrease from the 623 that were on the market at this time last month.

December 2010'S MOST EXPENSIVE SALES

Single Family Detached Homes:

• 0 Sorrel Street, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on December 30th for $9,000,000
  (will probably have a street number soon!)  This almost 20,000 square foot estate has an elevator, gourmet kitchen, guest house, staff quareters, media room, spa area, climate controlled wine cellar, pool, tennis court, pond, 5 car garage and more.  All you can say is WOW!
   
• 6615 Georgetwon Pike, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on December 9th for $4,060,000
  Sold for more than $400K under the asking price, this Georgian-style home is just 3 miles to DC in the Langley area of McLean.  The property totals 8 bedrooms, 8 full baths and over 11,000 square feet of living space.
  
  
• 3123 N. 9th Road, Arlington, VA 22201 -- Sold on December 8th for $3,900,000
  This was 3 homes sold together with the value in the prime land in Clarendon just 3 blocks to the Clarendon metro stop.
  
  
• 6500 Briarcroft Street, Clifton, VA 20124 -- Sold on December 17th for $2,500,001
  On 5 acres in Clifton, this 5 bedroom, 9 full bathroom home was just completed in November 2010.
  
  
• 6202 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria, VA 22307 -- Sold on December 17th for $2,500,000
  Built in 1936, this Beaux Arts colonial on 1.4 acres across from the Belle Haven Country Club sold for $400K under the asking price.  The home has 4 debrooms, 3 full bathrooms and 4,715 square feet of living space.  There's also a guest house with a bedroom, bath, media room and office!

CLICK TO SEARCH FOR AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 

Townhouses: 

• 24 Wolfe Street #58, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on December 21st for $2,495,000
  Located in Harborside in Old Town Alexandria, this townhouse feels like a detached home and offers magnificent views of the Potomac River facing south.  The dining room has a crystal chandelier and sconces.  The home has 4 fireplaces, 4 bedrooms and 4 full bathrooms and a 2 car garage.
  
  
• 516 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on December 30th for $1,800,000
  Built in 1840, this Old Town Alexandria townhouse has fine moldings, 3 fireplaces, original pine floors, front and rear staircases and a slate roof.  The garden features towering magnolia trees.
  
  
• 726 S. Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on December 3rd for $1,650,000
  Another Old Town Alexandria townhouse -- this one built in 1991 -- features 5 floors of private living space all easily accessed by an interior elevator.
  
   
• 710 S. Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on December 20th for $1,175,000
  Just a few doors down from the one above in Fords Landing, this townhouse has 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bahtrooms, lots of natural light and tree top views.
  

SEARCH AVAILABLE TOWNHOUSES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Condominiums: 

• 1111 N. 19th Street #3004, Arlington, VA 22209 -- Sold on December 1st for $1,949,000
  This condo is a whopper!  30th floor luxury penthouse at the Waterview Residences in Rosslyn abouve the Hotel Palomar.  3 bedrooms with awesome views of the Potomac River and Georgetown.  It was the last available residence at The Waterview!
  
  
• 11900 Market Street #902, Reston, VA 20190 -- Sold on December 22nd for $835,000
  Located at the Midtown at Reston Town Center, this 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom condo features 2,111 square feet of living space with great views of the park, fountains and the Reston Skyline.
   
• 3835 N. 9th Street #1005W, Arlington, VA 22203  -- Sold on December 20th for $745,000
  Built in 2000, this condo at Lexington Square in Arlington has been extensively updates with over $50,000 of renovations.  There's new bathrooms, kitchen, appliances, window treatments, light fixtures, wood floors and custom closets.  Right near the Metro, this 2 bedroom plus den condo has 1,510 square feet of space.

SEARCH AVAILABLE CONDOMINIUMS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA