Archive for January, 2009
What Criteria DO Your or Should You Use when Evaluating a Real Estate Professional?
January 28th, 2009 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, First Time Buyers Club, McLean Dirt, Real Estate 101, Reston Dirt
There are probably a hundred different reasons to give for selecting (and maybe fewer for having an on-going relationship with) your real estate professional. Some seem very rational and reasonable and quantitative, others a little more intangible, qualitative and difficult to define. I’ve been thinking about this for some time and here are my thoughts, at least looking from 10,000 feet:
Things you SHOULD look for:
Friendliness
You might think this shouldn’t exactly be at the top of the list – but I will tell you that friendliness goes a long way. I was recently successful in a multiple contract short sale situation because I was friendly with the listing agent. People WANT to work with people they like – so choose someone friendly – know that they won’t offend someone or rub them the wrong way and most of the time, it will work in your favor!
Availability – Accessibility — Responsiveness
This is really important… is your prospective agent full time? Are they managing a client load that doesn’t allow for them to make time for you? Do they cancel? Are they late? How easy are they to reach via whatever means of contact you’re comfortable with? Do they text? Do they email? How quickly do they return calls and/or emails? Are their priorities straight?
Experience
This is a tough one – I believe even inexperienced agents can do a good job – after all, we were ALL inexperienced at some point in time. But you need to judge for yourself how their experience level matches with your expectations. Are they experienced in the neighborhood that you’re interested in, but not well versed outside of it? Are they great at understanding the contract but don’t have the “systems” down to manage your transaction seamlessly and painlessly? And when contemplating the brand new agent – do they know what they don’t know? Do they know when to say “I don’t know but I’ll find out for you” and/or when they need to bring in an expert to assist? That’s what you need to gain a comfort level with.
Trust
By this I mean many things but mostly how your relationship develops with 
your agent. Sometimes your agent will need to tell you tough things – you’d rather they were honest with you but sometimes it’s difficult to separate the message from the messenger. Sometimes it’s a discussion about the pricing of your home. Sometimes it’s about the market conditions that help determine an offer price. Sometimes it’s their advice about one property over another from an investment perspective. At the end of the day, the decisions and choices are yours, but you’ve hired a professional to assist in the process – heed the advice which you should be able to do if you have that trust.
What’s NOT so important?
How many “For Sale” signs have their name on it in the neighborhood that interests you?
Why should this be important? It suggests that only the agents who have signs there are knowledgeable of the neighborhood – it doesn’t always work that way. Don’t get me wrong, I love a sign call as much as the next girl, but you have to be sure all of the other factors are in place too!
Just because your boss used him, doesn’t mean he’s right for you…
OK, I’m braced for all the flack I’ll get for that statement – again, don’t get me wrong, I love a referral as much as the next girl, but it’s not always a good fit. I try hard to earn every piece of business I get whether it’s a referral, a reader of my blog, a past client, a sign call, someone I meet at an open house, etc… But at the end of the day, all of the factors I mentioned above need to be there…
How many clients they’ve helped in the past…
While this does tie into experience, as I stated above, it’s not the be-all and end-all in determining if they’re right for you.
So the bottom line is… decide what factors are important to you, do a little research, ask some questions and then, go with your gut. It usually doesn’t let you down. I’m always available to chat if you’d like!
Happy (icy) Wednesday!
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! And remember, spring is RIGHT around the corner!
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Contract Writing Surges in Arlington County – January Week 2
January 21st, 2009 Categories: Arlington Dirt, Market Stats
Hello all – what a day yesterday was! The area is certainly a-buzz with Inauguration fever… but in the days leading up to yesterday, contract writing was a-buzz!
In 2009, Week 2, a whopping 41 contracts were ratified – that’s the most in any single week for the past 2 months and a 25% increase over last year’s 31. I can’t say that we will stay 25% ahead of last year, but it was a good week, that’s for certain. I do believe that these extra low interest rates are helping – and we’re starting to see a few great properties come on that are priced well.
So stay tuned – this week isn’t looking quite as strong, but with the MLK holiday as well as the Presidential Inauguration, our focus might have been elsewhere!
Have a great week
Happy Wednesday
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! And remember, spring is RIGHT around the corner!
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A Year in Review: 2008 for Lexington Square in Arlington Virginia
January 16th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Dirt, Condos, Market Stats
I promised to give you a snapshot of some condo buildings and some neighborhoods for 2008 – it was overall a good year for Lexington Square – located between Ballston and Virginia Square metro stops. It’s a gorgeous property that was developed right around 2000. It offers a pool, exercise facility, party room, etc… The lobbies are tastefully decorated and I have found the residents LOVE living here!
So, 23 units changed hands in 2008. To get an idea how that looks compared with historical sales, see below:
2003 – 66 units
2004 – 64 units
2005 – 34 units
2006 – 42 units
2007 – 32 units
So it fits with the trend – also, sellers, if they are trying to protect their investments, are waiting for the market turnaround and I expect 2009 to bring more Lexington Square listings than 2008 and for that number to be on the rise each year over the next few years.
Let’s take a closer look at the units that sold this year:
ONE BEDROOM
TEN 1–bedroom units changed hands this year ranging in price from $315K to $357K. We’re seeing on average, a little over 1% of seller subsidy, but interestingly, I only saw it for the 1 bedroom units. They are selling for an average of 95% of list price and on average, the contract is coming after 47 days on the market.
ONE BEDROOM/DEN
THREE 1–bedroom/den units were sold this year, all within a very tight settled price range of $395K-$400K – almost no seller subsidy as I mentioned earlier but these units sold for only 92% of list (on average) and days on market was the longest of all categories as well at 76 days. Perhaps if these units had been priced better at the onset, we would’ve seen that percent of list much higher and perhaps days on market much lower? Food for thought…
TWO BEDROOM
EIGHT 2–bedroom units moved this year selling for an average of 96% of list! Almost no seller subsidy and sales were after an average of 65 days on the market. They sold for as low as $413K (this was a bank owned property – for more information on bank owned properties, email me directly to discuss) and as high as $455K.
LARGE TWO BEDROOMS
TWO of these “jumbo” units sold this year – both are 1,358 square feet and both sold in under 20 days. One was priced at $535K and sold for list price; and the other sold for $575K which was 96% of list. Again, no seller subsidy. These units are a little more in demand as there are fewer of them – they also have an additional half bath.
Overall, while the sales numbers are down, as a whole, the units that sold went for 95.5% of original list price (this takes into account any price reductions) and averaged less than 60 days of marketing time. It’s a good solid property and whether you’re considering purchasing to live in, purchasing for investment, or selling your Lexington Square unit, give me a call. I have a lot of experience in the building (also lived there for a little while) and would love to help you with this great property.
Happy HAPPY Friday!
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! And remember, spring is RIGHT around the corner!
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Are we Busy Selling Real Estate in Arlington County?
January 15th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Dirt, Market Stats
Yes – but I have a feeling we’re going to get a whole lot busier. Many of us have been discussing the recent rise in sign calls, open house visitors, buyer showings, etc… which is great news. The official start of spring, while when you look at the calendar is not for another 2 months, the 
“spring real estate” market really begins in February.
As last year, I will continue to report on contract writing because as I’ve said many times before, I believe that’s the truest indicator of market activity and behavior. So, for last week, what we’ll call Week 1 of 2009, we had 23 ratified contracts – on the low side, but it’s what we expect. I will say as a preview of what’s to come for the week we’re in, we already have 26 and we have a few more days to affect that number!
If you’re thinking now might be the time to start the process, give me a call – I can help you prepare for a successful transition whatever that means to you!
Happy Thursday!
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! And remember, spring is RIGHT around the corner!
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