I have written about the teardown business before. In one article “Is Your Home Worth More Dead Or Alive?” I suggested sellers should take time to analyze their situation and decide whether it is better to sell to a builder or sell to an owner occupant. In the other “Vienna Teardowns Part 2 – Street […]
The Truth in Lending RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID or TILA-RESPA) is changing the lending landscape and how settlements are conducted. In fact we will no longer have settlements but more on that later. Like most construction projects, the original launch date has been pushed back. The changes were scheduled to take effect August 1 but […]
All over Northern Virginia, older homes are being torn down and replaced with million plus homes. With no more large tracts of land for new single family homes in the northern part of the county, buyers who want a brand new home close to a metro with as short a drive as possible to Washington […]
Some businesses advertise extensively to find new customers or clients. Others depend on referrals and repeat business from past clients. I am certainly in the latter. After 25 years, I have helped hundreds and hundreds of families buy and sell homes. And now over 90% of my business is from past clients and referrals. The […]
(Say that quickly!) I usually just post the monthly numbers in the Market Stats section of the website and do not comment on the numbers but there was one number in the September results that showed a small turn in the market. Most people tout the change in average price as an indicator in […]
Where have all the homes gone? Buyers are out in force but there is so little for them to look at. Since October 2011 the month over month inventory levels have been off at least 10%. ( Oct 2011 vs Oct 2010, etc) Since April 2012 there have been more than 20% fewer homes on […]
Last month I had two settlements delayed. On both I was representing the seller and both were delayed due to appraisal issues. The appraisal issues were outside the control of the lenders but how they were handled demonstrates why I prefer local, direct lenders. Here are the stories…
I am reading the book Canada by one of my favorite authors, Richard Ford. Early in the novel which centers on irrational acts committed by the main character’s parents, he writes, “Common sense should have dictated none of this ever take place. But no one had access to common sense.” That is how I feel […]
From Centreville to Vienna to Arlington and points in between, homeowners have already received (Arlington) or will shortly have their new real estate tax assessment in the mail. (Fairfax County assessments will be available 2/28) I am guessing most will be higher than last year since we had an overall 3% increase in prices in 2011.
I am often asked if the assessment is reflective of market value and the answer is
I must admit, I am a bit of a stat nut. I have detailed sales and inventory data for the Northern Virginia market for the last 15 years and additional sales data going back to 1975. (Using baseball parlance, I might border on being called a seamhead) Don’t worry, it is safe to read on. My blogs will never get too deep into a statistical interpretation of the market. I will leave that to others. Under the Market Stats tab above are several good resources for those interested in viewing a stunning array of charts and graphs. Here we will just review very simple data that can help a buyer or seller in deciding what time of year may be best to act.
