Real Estate Information

We got a call from a client we had helped find a townhouse to rent last year. He is interested in moving up to a single-family house with a decent lot size, but he wants it to be new construction between $500,000 and $550,000. That means either Manassas or Woodbridge. He and his wife chose the latter, so last weekend we took the Tom & CindyMobile off into the heart of Woodbridge.

Here are some of the ones we liked:

Tom & Cindy and Associates is announcing it here first! The winners of our Holiday coloring contest are Shelby Press and Alexa Steele. They each receive a $25 gift certificate to Toys R Us. Look for the next contest in the upcoming issue of The Kingstowne Area Times and The Lorton Area Times. As always, drop off your entry at our Alexandria real estate office and get a free one-scoop ice cream cone from Baskin-Robbins. Good luck!

Here is a quick update on our local real estate market. At Tom & Cindy and Associates we study the statistics and are able to note micro-changes we see that can be of value to our clients.

I'll talk about Lorton first. There are 290 homes on the market. Of those 35 are under contract for an absorption rate (AR) of 12%. Of these 143 are detached homes. 15 are under contract for an AR of 10%. There are 130 townhouses on with 20 under contract for an AR of 15%. There are 24 condos on and 2 under contract for an AR of 8%.

In Springfield, there are 646 homes on the market. 96 are under contract which is an AR of 15%. 414 of the homes are detached and 59 are under contract for an AR of 14%. 198 are townhomes with 31 under contract for an AR of 31%. 38 condos are available with 7 under contract for an AR of 18%.

In the Kingstowne area, there are 342 homes on the market with 57 under contract for an AR of 17%. Of those, 153 are single-family detached with 18 under contract for an AR of 12%. There are 140 townhouses, with 27 under contract for an AR of 19%. There are 48 available condos and 14 under contract for an AR of 29%.

What does all this mean? Well, condition and price are king. People that say homes are not selling are just plain uninformed. Homes ARE selling (our team has sold 4 this week), but it is the savvy seller that is successful. Staging, pricing, marketing, and negotiating are more important than ever before.

On February 9th 2008 Tom & Cindy and Associates will be doing our Adopt a Highway program we've been doing for years in Amberleigh and Landsdowne in zip code 22315 in the Kingstowne area of Alexandria. We always start at View Ln. and work our way through the subdivision. It's our way of giving back to the communities we serve and making the area we live in have a better appearance. If anyone wants to join us, we start at 9:00 am.  We have doughnuts and juice to wake us up (and give us a sugar buzz) before we start. That's at our real estate office at 7027 A Manchester Blvd.

 

For the 4th year we've really had a great response to our Toys for Tots drive. We've gotten the word out that our Kingstowne office in Alexandria is a major drop-off site for new, unwrapped toys for underpriveledged children. Our team is also matching donations up to $1000, which we've already exceeded. We've got a pile of toys that will hopefully make a lot of kids smile. It's been fun and we really like getting a chance to catch up with our friends, clients and anyone that comes by to drop something off. It sure gets us into the holiday spirit. We also like the community to know that as well as selling a lot of houses and local real estate, we are also very involved in supporting local events and many worthy charities. Happy Holidays to you all.

 

Here are the Alexandria real estate stats as of Monday, December 3rd, 2007 and pulled by Tom Pietsch of Tom & Cindy and Associates of Long & Foster Realtors, located at 7027 A Manchester Blvd. Alexandria, Va. 22310.

We at Tom & Cindy and Associates track various zip codes every day to see which direction the market is going. We separate the research for single family homes, townhomes and condos. This gives us unparalleled current market knowledge, and the ability to advise our clients in a way that no one in our area can. We have sold over 200 homes this year so far in what most experts consider a challenging market.

Today we concentrate on the Kingstowne area of Alexandria. This includes areas like Kingstowne itself, Manchester Lakes, Amberleigh, Island Creek, Hayfield Farm, Autumn Chase, Founders Walk, Lake D Evereaux, Landsdowne, Van Dorn Village and many others that Tom & Cindy specialize in.

In total in zip codes 22315 and 22310 in Alexandria, there are 365 homes on the market. Of these, 64 are under contract.

For detached homes there are 156 available. 20 are under contract. The average days on the market is 126 days.

For townhomes, there are 149 available. 30 are under contract. The average days on the market is 80.

For condos, there are 56 available. There are 16 under contract. The average days on the market is 72.

If you divide the available homes by the number under contract, you get the current absorbtion rate in the marketplace for Alexandria real estate in this area.

Many of the best homes available can be seen on www.HelloVirginia.com and www.TomandCindyHomes.com  

A lot of people ask us if they should have their homes on the market during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Years. We answer them this way: sure there are fewer folks out looking during this time of year, but the ones that are looking are very serious buyers. This is the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia market. There are constantly people moving in and moving out. We've put homes on the market on Christmas eve and sat in settlement on New Year's eve, so we know it's true. Another plus to this time of year is that a lot of frustrated sellers take their homes off the market during the holidays, so the inventory of homes usually declines. Lower inventory means less competition. Our market is all about 3 things, and they are not location, location, location. In Northern Virginia just about everywhere is a good location for someone. So, it becomes all about price, condition, and current inventory.

Now, all that being said, there are a few people that should not be on at this time of year. That would include homeowners that are overpriced or want to "test the market". Also, homes in bad condition or in need of cosmetic repairs should do the work before entering the market. An unappealing home not only turns off the buyer, but ensures that the agent showing it will not come back with future clients.

I hope that helps if you're thinking of selling right now in this market.