Well, it looks like the rumours are true. We've been hearing for a while that Wegman's might be coming to our area. We've been told by some folks that are "in the know" that they will indeed be coming to the Hilltop property just north of the intersection of Telegraph and Buelah Rd. If you've never been in a Wegman's, I think you'll be impressed. Their prepared foods area is like no other..(read more)
If you didn't catch this interview in the Washington Post, read it. It is one of the most plain-spoken articles I've seen in relaying what's going on in our local Northern Virginia real estate market. They don't mince words and say what all sellers need to hear.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042600166.html(comment)
Let’s help the letter carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” on May 10th
On Saturday, May 10th, the day before Mothers’ Day, the letter carriers will stage their 16th annual blitz to combat hunger. This is the largest one-day food collection in the nation and is such a worthy cause, with over 70 million pounds of non-perishable items donated last year.
Food bank donations..(read more)
As many of you know, a short sale is where a person owes more on their home than it is worth on the open market. They are attempting to sell because they are having trouble making payments because of either a personal adversity (job loss, sickness,etc,) or an adjustable rate mortgage has reset at a higher interest rate, making their payment more than they can afford.
The idea is to get an offer..(read more)
We have sold 6 homes in the last 2 days. The absorption rate for townhouses in the Kingstowne area is 44% and the rate for condos is 58%. That is a huge jump from a couple of months ago. One of our open houses last Sunday received 18 visitors and the other had 14 different couples---both are sold. It was good to see a number of 1st time buyers with no properties to sell. In our market area, if a home..(read more)
A few weeks ago, I mentioned a few new homes developments that my clients were interested in. This past weekend, I'm happy to announce that they've decided on their new home at Port Potomac in Woodbridge, VA. They chose Port Potomac because of its proximity to the OmniRide bus stop, which takes them straight to the Pentagon Metro, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and convenient HOV lanes,..(read more)
Activity has picked up the last 2 weeks. Usually people ask us when the spring market starts. We usually surprise them by saying that it begins about January 15th. This year it has started much later. But we are happy to say it HAS started. Prices are not rising, but activity is. We are receiving more visits to listings, and more offers are chugging through the fax machine. Here are some local stats---as..(read more)
We had a new homes sales representative from the Christopher Companies, a popular builder here in Northern Virginia, visit our office today at Tom & Cindy and Associates.
After treating us to some lovely orange juice and donuts, she told us about the soon-to-be-built community. It's called Kendrick, a small development of only 8 single-family homes in the 700's. It's located right behind Hayfield..(read more)
Last Saturday we did our quarterly Adopt a Highway trash pick-up in the Landsdowne and Amberleigh subdivisions of Alexandria, Virginia. It was a little cold in the morning, but as we began walking and bending over, we all warmed up. We've been doing this for over 2 years now, and we really like it. It's a good community service, and helps to make things look better. We give a lot of money to charities,..(read more)
Tom & Cindy’s 2008 Spring Market Update
As we look forward to the spring market, Cindy and I wanted to give homeowners an update on market conditions and our insight as to where we are headed.
Current conditions still favor buyers, as they have since early 2006. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that the height of the market was April, May, and June of 2005...(read more)
