September 2005 Article History

There are 17 articles published in September 2005. Here are the first 20:

Begonias in the Garden Scottish Heather In Bloom Loudoun 2005 Market Data Remodeling: What's it worth? 16 ways to sell for top $! Impact of Property Presentation Time to Sell?

For Firefox Browsers Annual Builder List Market Snapshot Northern Virginia Disaster Plan? Blog Spamming One Last BUBBLE Comment Loudoun Market Update-August 2005 Home Inspections 101 No Smoking, Naked Lights Fox Creek TH | Sterling, VA

You will find a complete Index of Articles by Category in the History Archives.

September 26, 2005

Notice to Firefox browser users: We are currently reviewing our design (stylesheets) to make the blogging experience the same as IE6. Be patient with us. Thanks.

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September 22, 2005

On September 17, 2005 The Washington Post reported on the J.D. Powers annual satisfaction survey of new home builders in the Wasington D.C. Metro area.

Centex, Pulte, Winchester Top Survey

J.D. Power Measures Satisfaction of New-Home Buyers

By Sandra Fleishman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 17, 2005; Page F03

The most satisfied new-home buyers in the Washington area last year were customers of national giants Centex Homes and Pulte Homes Inc. and of Bethesda-based Winchester Homes, according to a survey released this week.

The three companies tied for first in the annual survey by J.D. Power and Associates, a California research group best known for its rankings of car buyers' satisfaction.

Arlington-based IDI Group Cos. was next in the rankings, followed by Frederick-based Ausherman Homes, a division of the Drees Co. in Kentucky, and NV Homes, a division of NVR Inc. in Reston. The survey covers only builders that closed on sales of 150 or more homes in the market.

Centex scored a high of 122 points. Van Metre was 10th at 113 points and Toll Brothers was 18th at 88 points. 100 points is equal to the national average. Refer to our guide on buying new construction.

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September 18, 2005

New! Our Market Snapshot of Loudoun County real estate activity and National Overnight Mortgage Rate Averages available at a glance in the sidebar.

With all the talk about Bubbles and declining real estate markets, the majority of current interest in our Blog is our Market Update articles. Now, we have the Market Snapshot (Loudoun County, Virginia) on the front page. We also give you our opinion based on short term trends.

See more detail by selecting Market Updates from the Directory.

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September 15, 2005

This just in from the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance:

September 15, 2005
9/11...Hurricane Katrina...What’s It Going To Take?

An unprecedented and immensely costly effort is underway to rebuild infrastructure and lives in New Orleans.

Years of warnings about the inadequacies of the City’s levees went unheeded.

Four years after 9/11 no effort has been made to address the Washington area’s transportation network inadequacies, despite the fact it has long been identified as the nation’s third most congested and the region is now generally acknowledged to be a major international terrorist target.

Our road and bridge network routinely fails twice a day and the type of disaster most likely to impact our area is unlikely to have a five-day advanced warning.

Will still more catastrophes and the loss of thousands of additional lives be required for federal, state, regional and local officials to work together to address this region’s obvious transportation deficiencies?

Let’s hope not.

David M. Guernsey, Chairman Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance

The Alliance Alert is a free online update on regional transportation issues and public involvement opportunities provided by the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance. For more information on regional transportation issues and NVTA, please visit our website at www.nvta.org.

Contact Info
Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance
P.O. Box 6149
McLean, Virginia 22106-6149
tel 703-883-1830
fax 703-883-1850
http://www.nvta.org

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Every once in a while, I will get a malicious trackback ping to a single page. I receive an email alert showing the ping, sign in to the MovableType admin area, ban the IP and then delete the trackback. These are normally clever marketers trying to get attention.

The most recent occurrence appears to have been to get my attention. It was a porn site that pinged as many of our entries as they had sub-domains...about 36 of them. The odd thing about this attack was that the trackback URL was our blog. They got my attention...were banned and deleted. The sad thing is that it is relatively cheap to attack, cover and then move somewhere else.

This medium is great but it is subject to all sorts of devious behavior by those that are simply hacking for the fun of it or are seriously attempting to get attention. Email spam spawned a whole new industry of anti-spam. As the blogging community grows we will enable yet another growth industry of tools to protect our blogs. This malicious behavior is costing us millions if not hundreds of million dollars annually for protection.

Do we really have to start locking our blog doors at night and installing alarm systems?

It makes me want to...

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September 10, 2005

I get a lot of questions about real estate market timing. My simple answer is this:

Real Estate has always been the most stable "long term" investment anyone can make. History proves this statement. Buy real estate for making a home and generating memories. Our home is our safe haven.

Over the long haul, you won't be dissappointed with the returns. Markets will adjust. Be patient. It is foolish for us average types to try to predict what might happen a month from now or five years from now.

This will be my last statement about the B word. Or, maybe not.

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The dreaded bubble has a very slow leak (pssssssssss...) in Loudoun County.
August data is a little surprising. Sold listings are up and, OH MY GOSH, avearage days on the market went up to 28 days from 22 days last month. Inventory (properties on the market) went up by 200 or about 10%. New listings went down slightly. We are still selling for a smidgeon (sp?) below the asking price. And, the average sale price went up 12% over July and up a WHOPPING 32% since January.

What does all this mean? We are in a market that still exhibits healthy demand. Active listings for August are up over 60% than last year for the same period. Home owners are cashing out and capturing their equity. Where are they going to go? Moving up in Loudoun County! I see this in the average sales price increase. We have several clients in the move up mode.

In the meantime, we continue to advise our selling clients to do whatever is possible to make their properties show their best. When there is more seller competition, the most prestine homes sell quicker and for more money regardless of the bubble. See our recommendations at Property Presentation.

2005 Loudoun County Monthly Sales Statistics
Month	Residential Units Sold	Average Sales Price	Median Price	Average Days on Market	Active Listings	New Listings This Month	New Pendings This Month	Average S/P as a Percentage of L/P
January	508	$469,168	$419,900	31	714	439	557	98.69%
February	485	$462,467	$429,000	30	908	720	678	99.15%
March	698	$501,491	$450,500	24	930	1007	808	99.84%
April	760	$525,525	$470,000	23	1259	1298	898	99.67%
May	799	$515,239	$475,900	14	1486	1295	942	100.28%
June	994	$547,057	$491,000	21	1779	1485	802	99.47%
July	788	$550,128	$482,250	22	2067	1395	736	98.97%
August	851	$618,542	$506,100	28	2266	1352	723	99.55%
September
October
November
December
Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc.   ::    Last Updated on 09/09/2005

Comment on Loudoun Market Update-August 2005. Follow this article is off. More articles like this one filed in: Loudoun County Market News

Having a home inspection might be the single most important aspect of purchasing a home. You want the peace of mind of knowing exactly what you are buying. We always recommend our clients make a home inspection contingency part of a purchase contract. There may be rare instances when an inspection can be waived.

Sellers have legal responsibilities to either disclose all known defects to potential buyers or provide a disclaimer that they are selling "as-is". The latter is a notice of buyer beware and is the usual notice that sellers make. Even in the "as-is" notice, sellers and their agents have a legal obligation to disclose any known material defects or abnormal conditions. The inspection contingency gives you many alternatives based on the inspection report:

• void the contract,
• request the seller make necessary repairs,
• re-negotiate the price, or,
• accept the property as-is.

The recommended course of action is very similar for buyers and sellers.

For Buyers

The purchase contract will stipulate time limits for having the inspection done and a specific amount of time after the inspection for you to give notice of action. If there are issues, we usually recommend that you re-negotiate the price, receiving credit for the cost of any repairs or equipment replacements if they can be reasonably fixed. This way, you can make the corrections yourself (using contractors of your choice) and to your specifications.

For Sellers

Based on the age of the home and its condition, we often recommend sellers have a "pre-list" home inspection for the peace of mind of knowing what it might reveal. If we know of conditions that need to be addressed, getting these done before hand will make your home more desirable and reduce the chances that a buyer will walk away from a purchase contract because of defects.

If a buyer finds issues after a purchase offer, we usually recommend that you re-negotiate the price, giving credit for the cost of any repairs or equipment replacements if they can be reasonably fixed. This way, the buyer can make the corrections and remove any future disputes as to whether they were done properly or to the buyers expectation.

I found a great web resource providing detail on what inspectors look for...

Take the Virtual Home Inspection Tour now to learn about some common problems found during a home inspection.

We can recommend many companies and individuals who are certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), are ethical and are highly experienced. All of these perform to the highest industry standards as well as our own standards for professionalism and customer service. Each charge about the same for their services. We let you choose.

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September 7, 2005

In the realm of wierdness...can anybody help me out here? I know there are movements all over the country to limit smoking...but naked lights? If we can't smoke, I still want my right to have naked lights. Oh well. I'm moving to New Hampshire...Live Free or Die.

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Sterling, Virginia

SOLD | Fox Creek Town Home | $412,500 Charming Fox Creek townhouse, 3 bedrooms, 3 full and 1 half bath, fully finished walkout basement w/full bath, large deck, fenced rear yard, bright and open. Location. Location. Location. Fox Creek is close to major commute routes to Tysons, Sterling, Reston and Herndon. **New carpet, new paint! Ready to move into.**

MLS# LO5371383 | Visual Tour | Map it

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September 5, 2005

Onich Hotel Gardens, Onich, Scotland

The single most impressive feature of the UK is the fascination and use of flowers everywhere. Flower gardens, window boxes and hanging baskets give properties old and new an attraction that is extremely appealing.

We advise our clients to spruce up their landscape before marketing their home. The objective is to present a colorful freshness and a well cared for look that attracts buyers. Cut flowers inside the home provides the same effect. It is relatively inexpensive and it works!

Click the picture for a close up view.

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Nectar in the Scottish Heather

On our recent trip to Scotland I put my camera I use for property photos to the test on the sights and color of this magnificent country. The camera is a digital Konica Minolta Dimage A2 that manually adjusts from 28mm to 200mm. Ultra high quality is achived with 8 megapixel resolution. The wide angle lens (28mm) is perfect for property photos. This photo was captured using the macro mode. Click the picture for a larger view.

Heather grows wild here and literally blankets the hillsides with lovely color in late August through September.

I have always had a mild interest in creative photography. Interest is turning into a mild passion with the capabilities of this camera. I have to admit though, it has so many options I will have to get a PHD to master them all. In due time.

Also, our web designer, Donald Peterson, is a master of using color in design and I am learning from him by watching his works. Check out these websites:

Web Design

Web Designer Blog

Flowers of Albuquerque

ABQ Style

Albuquerque Photo Album

Thanks, Donald, for the inspiration!

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September 4, 2005

Loudoun 2005 Market Data

by Merv on Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 08:27 PM | [1] Comments [0] Blog links

The following charts provide data for home price ranges and include average List Price (Price), average Sold vs. List Price percent (%) and average days on market (DOM). Data was extracted from the regional multiple listing service (MRIS™) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data presented is intended to provide an overview of a broad range of activity in the stated time period, in the entire county and all detached home types. Individual situations may be different.

Averages shown are for Residential Detached Home Listings sold (closed).

1^st Quarter Ending March 31, 2005
Loudoun County Market Averages
For Single Family Detached Homes

Price Range	List Price	Orig List	Sale Price	% of List	DOM	#
0-100K	$0	$0	$0	%
100-200K	$0	$0	$0	%
200-300K	$263,622	$270,789	$269,618	99.57%	19	18
300-400K	$366,841	$368,686	$366,664	99.45%	21	82
400-500K	$453,275	$456,421	$452,592	99.16%	26	128
500-600K	$559,063	$561,761	$559,110	99.53%	37	168
600-700K	$650,215	$654,409	$648,408	99.08%	34	149
700-800K	$751,266	$757,924	$749,833	98.93%	38	82
800-900K	$865,706	$875,391	$856,285	97.82%	61	25
900-1000K	$945,957	$949,594	$932,638	98.21%	42	16
1-1.25M	$1,162,004	$1,183,700	$1,121,259	94.72%	109	23
1.25-1.5M	$1,412,863	$1,450,988	$1,399,125	96.43%	122	8
1.5-2M	$1,639,800	$1,639,800	$1,580,000	96.35%	89	5
2M+	$2,545,000	$2,545,000	$2,022,500	79.47%	115	2

2^nd Quarter Ending June 30, 2005
Loudoun County Market Averages
For Single Family Detached Homes

Price Range	List Price	Orig List	Sale Price	% of List	DOM	#
0-100K	$99,900	$99,900	$80,000	80.08%	9	1
100-200K	$0	$0	$0	%
200-300K	$277,553	$314,817	$274,381	87.16%	33	11
300-400K	$355,657	$363,601	$356,941	98.17%	21	55
400-500K	$453,233	$455,705	$455,110	99.87%	14	229
500-600K	$553,479	$557,390	$557,022	99.93%	16	243
600-700K	$651,273	$653,611	$653,612	100.00%	17	271
700-800K	$747,553	$751,732	$748,379	99.55%	26	202
800-900K	$847,659	$852,418	$847,086	99.37%	33	105
900-1000K	$957,180	$966,482	$949,629	98.26%	37	47
1-1.25M	$1,174,599	$1,186,682	$1,143,386	96.35%	105	38
1.25-1.5M	$1,391,101	$1,381,497	$1,360,709	98.50%	120	25
1.5-2M	$1,602,100	$1,563,100	$1,553,073	99.36%	199	9
2M+	$3,250,000	$3,350,000	$3,350,000	100.00%	525	3
						1239

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Remodeling: What's it worth?

by Merv on Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 02:43 PM | [0] Comments [0] Blog links

One of the important considerations before making the remodel decision is: what will the return on investment be when I sell? "Some remodeling projects can pay big dividends to sellers at resale."⁽¹⁾ Others may not. The seventh annual Cost vs. Value report recently published by Remodeling and REALTOR® magazines lists nine (9) of the most popular remodeling projects and compares the cost to the additional resale value added to a home in 53 major markets.

The following remodel projects included in the publication are:

• Major kitchen remodel
• Master suite addition
• Minor kitchen remodel
• Bathroom remodel
• Bathroom addition
• Attic bedroom/basement remodel
• Sunroom or deck additions
• Window replacement
• Siding or roofing replacement

The study reports that either a bathroom remodel in a mid-range valued home or a deck addition return greater than 100% of the costs in the Wasington DC Metro area. In general, according to this report, returns are greater in areas that experience rapid price appreciation. An independent analysis of the survey reports an error rate of ± 5-10%. While this study can serve as a general guide, there are many other considerations such as:

• Remodeling may be an alternative to selling if you are simply looking for larger space or more comfortable living conditions.
• Spending significant amounts on remodeling before a sale may not be worth it. Lower cost alternatives such as paint and/or new carpeting may be better.
• Your homes location, general condition and market characteristics are important elements in making the remodel decision.

When we work with sellers, we get to these answers through our needs assessment up front. If you love your house, love your neighborhood and have many close friends nearby, remodeling may be a better alternative to selling.

Contact us for a complimentary copy of this new report or for a discussion of our needs assessment. We can help guide you to the right decision.

---

(1) From the 2004 Cost vs. Value report published by Remodeling and REALTOR® magazines.

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16 ways to sell for top $!

by Merv on Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 02:04 PM | [0] Comments [1] Blog links

You can get top dollar and sell quicker by following these guidelines:

1. Make a good first impression. Keep your lawn trimmed and edged. During winter, keep snow and ice removed from sidewalks and steps.
   
2. Welcome prospective buyers with a clean and painted front door. A seasonal door decoration adds warmth.
   
3. Assure a quick sale and top dollars by decorating. Faded walls, worn and scratched wood-work reduce appeal.
   
4. Show the bright side of your home by opening draperies, curtains and blinds.
   
5. Entice buyers with a clean kitchen. Many judge the housekeeping by the oven and the stove. Clean until it shines. Baking soda is good for removing stains, and it will not mar the finish.
   
6. Sell your home with sparkling bathrooms. Repair caulking in bathtubs and showers. Shower door, ceramic tile and grouting should be polished and free of water marks and stains. Consider a professional deep cleaning of the whole house. It will do wonders!
   
7. Avoid cluttered appearances. Remove excess furniture and other items you seldom use. Clear stairways are essential and safe.
   
8. Make closets look larger. Remove Items that can be stored elsewhere. Neat, well-organized closets show that there is ample space.

This is only the first 8...more

Here are the next 8 fool proof ways to increase your home's value and sell it faster.

9. Display the full value of laundry or other utility space by removing all unnecessary articles. Brighten dark, dull walls with a lighter coat of paint.
   
10. Check major appliances. Change the filter on the furnace. Correct noisy attic or appliance fans with a little oil. Clean the exterior of the water heater, furnace and other appliances that will be seen by prospective buyers.
    
11. Fix minor flaws is your house. They suggest neglect to the prospect and are easy for you or a handyman to fix.
    
12. Have as few as possible in the house when it is shown. Too many introductions are distracting to buyers. By putting them at ease, you give them a chance to clearly absorb the advantages of the property.
    
13. Let your agent or the showing agent do the talking. Be polite, but do not strike up a conversation with prospective buyers. The agent showing the home has the details already and need all the attention of the buyers to increase their interest.
    
14. Turn on the porch light when showing the house after dark. Also have the house well lit throughout when the hour of the appointment nears.
    
15. Sell the house first. Do not try to sell the buyer any furniture, rugs, or drapes in the house at this time.
    
16. Finally, consider professional staging. It is proven that a professionally staged home sells faster and at a higher price! It will return many times the nominal cost.

These 16 ways to improve your chances of selling for top dollar quickly are really just common sense. The best test:

• Step out to your curb, put yourself into the buyers mind and assess what you see from the outside. Do you have curb appeal? If not, what can you do? First impressions are important.
• Next, go inside and note your impressions here. Again, try to be objective. Homes that show well will sell quickly and for the highest price.

One of our most important responsibilities to you as our client is to be objective and offer our best recommendations. It just may be that spending a little to get to show status will provide a handsome return. In the end, you have to decide what you can or cannot accomplish.

Do you know you need to do all or some of these but are short of cash? Call us, we can help. We offer these services as part of our business and we can be compensated at closing.

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Impact of Property Presentation

by Merv on Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 11:50 AM | [0] Comments [0] Blog links

In a softening real estate market it is of utmost importance to sellers that your home shows its best. Homes that are neat, clean, organized and has fresh paint will sell before those that don't and for more money.

Here's a case in point:

A recent listing client made the following home prep investments to their 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, finished basement and 2 car garage to be listed at $425,000:

• Packed and stored all unnecessary household items to create an uncluttered, organized and more open environment.
• Replaced all carpeting with a medium grade in a neutral clor.
• Had all exterior outside wood rot repaired.
• Repainted all exterior woodwork.
• Repainted most of the interior in a neutral color creating a bright, fresh appearance.
• Cleaned the entire home inside and out.
• Refinshed and stained the deck.
• Staged by a professional home staging service.
• Spruced up the landscape adding flowers in beds, trimmed edges and placed hanging baskets across the front porch to greet visitors with color.

There were two other homes listed in the neighborhood:

• One was listed for $440,00; the same basic model just a little bigger.
• The other was listed for $425,000; same model with an added master bedroom and full bath above the one-car garage.

Our client received 2 valid contracts. We ratified one of the contracts for $5,000 more than the asking price. The status of the other properties are:

• The $440,000 property is now listed at $427,500 with a different broker.
• The competing $425,000 dropped their sales price to $399,900 and is still for sale.

Our clients understood the value of making their home show! They spent $11,000 on the improvements. We offered a fixed fee listing and a "one-stop-shop" where we paid for and managed the improvements. We will be reimbursed our expenses at closing. $11,000 was invested in the improvements but we saved this client over $6,000 in commissions and we got a contract at $5,000 over the list price. Net cost to the sellers to make the improvements: $0.

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September 2, 2005

Time to Sell?

by Merv on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 06:45 AM | [0] Comments [0] Blog links

This is one of the most common questions we get. There is not a general answer. Like everything else, it depends on many factors including location, condition, price range and current market conditions.

Since the market dynamics are changing, it is important to remember a few key facts about "time on market". Lower priced homes usually sell faster because there is a larger pool of buyers. Conversely, executive and estate properties take much longer because of a smaller pool of buyers. Also, see 2005 Loudoun County Monthly Sales Data, source of buyers and marketing plans. History shows that when a home goes on the market, the peak interest comes in the first two to three weeks. To illustrate this point:

INTEREST LEVEL IN PROPERTY (for illustrative purposes only, each bar represents ~1 week)

Listing (Goes on the market) Week 10

This is the reason it is extremely important to get the price in the right range up front. If a property is over priced, it will be shunned and it gets "stale". The longer a property is on the market raises the question of "what's wrong?" to agents and potential buyers.

We perform periodic market studies by location, type and price range to keep abreast of market conditions and use this in designing the right marketing plan for our clients.

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