This Week in Northern Virginia Real Estate - 5/10/2009
It was another interesting week in Northern Virginia Real Estate. First please enjoy a 10% discount on Lowe's purchases up to $5,000 by clicking the Lowe's banner above. I am still seeing low inventory in the $200-400k price range in and around the beltway. Multiple contract situations are occurring on just about every decent property even short sales. On regular sale properties above $400k I am seeing the best properties being cherry-picked and not a whole lot of price negotiation going on. In certain neighborhoods houses will come on the market and will be under contract by the end of the weekend. I had a three day long negotiation this week with a stubborn seller who didn’t want to budge on anything. It was extremely frustrating for my buyer who was basically bending over backwards for them.
On a sad note, in the low $200k price range I have been seeing a lot of townhouses with multiple families sharing them. The entire basement has been turned into an apartment where storage rooms are being used as bedrooms. I also saw a shoe box size bedroom where four kids were sleeping in bunk beds. I am amazed at the space utilization and how they turn closets into showers and have full mini-kitchens in the basement. It is very sad to see and I wonder where these children will have to live next. Hopefully their credit isn’t so destroyed that they have no place to live.
A really hot neighborhood right now is Del Ray in City of Alexandria. I love the main-street charm on Mount Vernon Avenue and the real sense of community that you feel when you are in the area. I also love that people are coming in and restoring these beautiful old homes and that all of the homes are unique and have so much character. On Saturday morning everyone was out at the Farmer’s Market, shopping at the Art Fair, or hanging out with their kids at the park. I just had such a great vibe and feel from the community. One of my favorite restaurants, Evening Star Café, is in the neighborhood. I posted a link below to Del Ray so check it out. You can also search for available properties I Del Ray by clicking on the Search the MLS tab on my website at http://www.kimdarwaza.com.
I had a client make an offer on a short sale property the day after New Years 2009 and during the process one of the HVAC units stopped working, pipes froze etc. The bank countered back higher than the list price after this damage occurred and said that if my client didn’t take the offer then the house would be going in to foreclosure. I of course advised them not to take the counter so the house went in to foreclosure. This was the week of 2/23. The house finally came back on the market at the price my client offered on Friday. I will be interested in seeing if there are multiple contracts this time around. It took almost 2 ½ months for the property to come back on the market as a foreclosure. Another property that I had a similar situation occur with only took two weeks to come back on the market. All banks operate differently.
I will have two new listings coming on the market in the next week:
1.) Leesburg – NV Carter’s Grove Model with all of the bump-outs boasts 5 bedrooms, and 4.5 baths. It is 5,856 square feet and will be listed in the low $600’s. The property has a lot of nice features and will be on Broker’s Open House Tuesday and public open on Sunday. Check back for photos and information later this week.
2.) Potomac Falls – Single Family Home in the Lowe’s Island section of Cascades. This 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home has a great open floor plan and is located in the community where Donald Trump just bought the golf course.
A few links:
Del Ray – City of Alexandria - http://www.delraycitizen.org/default.php
Famous Mom’s Homes
Jen & Ben’s New Estate
Freddie Mac’s Avoid Foreclosure Fact Sheet - http://www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure/plan.html
Freddie Mac’s Relief Refinance Program - http://www.freddiemac.com/sell/factsheets/relief_refi.html
For additional information on the Northern Virginia Real Estate market and to search the MLS please visit http://www.kimdarwaza.com.