Home Selling
Multiple Offers, 2010 Style…
March 2nd, 2010 Categories: Home Buying, Home Selling, Northern Virginia Basics
Were you around in the real estate world in 2004 here in Northern Virginia? Whether you were a buyer, a seller, a real estate agent, a lender or even
friend of someone in the market then, you were well familiar with the woes (from a buyer) or thrills (from a seller) of multiple offers! We heard stories back then of properties receiving FIFTY offers – can you believe it? FIFTY!!! That’s a lot – how did one distinguish themselves from another? Well, back then it was price and terms.
The Escalation Addendum was born… it was a lot like proxy bidding on eBay! In it, a buyer would indicate the highest price they were willing to pay in some increment they determined (it was largely a made up number – often catchy… the house address was a clever gimmick – so for 123 Main Street they may offer $123) over the next higher offer. That’s obviously an oversimplification, but that’s how it worked.
The second factor was terms. Buyers would waive home inspection, waive radon inspections, no financing contingencies, waive appraisal and waive even their right to cancel under the Property Owners or Condominium Association acts. It was NUTS… and if you were really lucky (although in retrospect, I’m not sure if luck is the phrase I would use…) you would be the winning bidder at some ridiculous price – but even in that hairy scary world, the market was setting the price in it’s odd way.
Flash forward to 2010 – we find ourselves in a low inventory situation and
once again, and since history does have a way of repeating itself, I’m seeing multiple offers crop up once again. I just had a listing where we had multiple offers after just 3 days on the market. One of the buyer agents asked me about the escalation addendum and how I felt about it. What did I say? ”I LOVE escalation addenda but c’mon – these days they aren’t worth the paper they’re written on” (this is assuming that price is right to begin with AT or as close to market value as you can get and that all bids are already at asking price)
You see, if a property is priced well, and the market responds with multiple offers, the seller and the listing agent are well aware that they still have a MAJOR hurdle to jump over to get to settlement – it’s the bank! It HAS to appraise. Very few people in this day and age are willing to waive ANYTHING much less their appraisal contingency. So we find ourselves with banks artificially suppressing home values. You see – the market determines the price for a house – you know that, right? Not the seller, not even the buyer really – but a negotiated outcome between what the buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept. If the “market” is increasing the value because of a housing shortage and increased affordability due to low interest rates – guess what – prices CANNOT rise because the banks control the appraisals and thus the pricing.
So the bottom line is this: if you find yourself in a multiple offer situation here in 2010 you will HAVE to get creative to set yourself apart from the competition. It’s likely that offers will be largely identical with a few places for deviance… so get creative, make sure your agent is a go-getter, well schooled in creative offer writing and presentation. If you’re a seller, you may likely have all of your wishes come true (oh, except for a higher price).
If you’re thinking of jumping in, give me a call – I have the experience and creativity to guide buyers through the process. If you’re a seller, I can help position your property in the best way for the best possible outcome!
Happy Tuesday
Jennifer
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
So You Met On the Internet, Now What??
February 26th, 2010 Categories: Arlington Dirt, Home Buying, Home Selling
There’s nothing I love more than getting a phone call that goes like this:
Hi, My name is __________! I’ve been reading your blog and I love it, it’s been so helpful. I’d like to meet with you about my upcoming home sale/purchase. Can we meet this weekend?
OK – Those are the BEST!!! I LOVE those calls. And for those of you who WERE one of those calls for me, I thank you!! I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
So, bear with me for a moment and think about this – what if I had been BAD? What if I was not as thorough as I am? Or what if I wasn’t as experienced as I
am? OR What if you didn’t LIKE ME?? Or,what if I passed you off to a team member when that wasn’t what you’d prefer? There are so many things that can go wrong and, listen up, just because someone writes about real estate, or local restaurants or events, or just because someone follows statistics doesn’t make them the best fit for you nor does it necessarily make them the self-declared expert.
Now I know you’re thinking this is odd coming from me; but I’ve seen so many people pretending to be something they’re not; pretending they’re more experienced than the next guy; pretending they’re infinitely more qualified. they network like crazy and talk a good talk… Honestly it makes me CRAZY!
So what’s the point? Do a little homework – ask a few questions – here’s what I’d start out with:
1) how long have you been in business?
2) how many transactions do you handle each year?
3) do you sell real estate full time?
4) how much business do you do in my neighborhood/building/town? (now while this is NOT a deal breaker in my book, if someone is BLOGGING about one town or area and they live 30 miles away… not so sure about this and it would cause me to ask a few more questions)
5) can I speak with a few past clients/references?
There may be more, but you get the drift. You see, I’m confident in my ability to not only write about my community, but essentially put my money where my mouth is. I’ll gladly share my experience with you, information about past transactions, where I’ve sold, where I’ve shown, where I’m comfortable and where I’m not. We will also know after a face-to-face if we click or not – that’s important too!
So give me a try! Let’s meet, discuss your real estate needs and see if we are a fit! What have you got to lose?
Happy Friday
Jennifer
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
How to Squash the Arlington Condo Market in ONE FELL SWOOP
February 1st, 2010 Categories: Condos, Home Buying, Home Selling
c’mon class, say it with me F-H-A. I know that was a pretty dramatic statement and really, the ENTIRE condo market isn’t squashed – only *most* of those instances where the buyer is
obtaining FHA (or VA) financing…. read on……
New FHA guidelines went into effect today (Feb 1, 2010) whereby any building that isn’t on the “master list” (which is NOT the list of the past) will have to re-apply for FHA approval. HEADS UP this could take 60-75 days according to my lender sources.
Here’s the skinny… if I have a buyer interested in a particular building (or put the shoe on the other foot – if I have a listing in a particular building, you get the drill….) I am going immediately to that list to check. If it is on the list – we’re home free – well, at least as far as building approval goes. However, if it’s not on the list, prepare for a long ride.
Gone are the days of FHA spot approval… the lender will now have to put an application together to get that building approved for the loan they are processing. We are told that for the first 5 packages any given lender submits they will need to go through an FHA audit to be sure they understand the process. Once the building has been approved, it will remain on the approved list for 1-2 years, so realistically, by the summer I would HOPE that most all buildings would have been through this process already but we still have to sell condos this spring, ya know!
Now I don’t know about you, but I’m now picking my chin up off the floor – WHAT???? We have 90 days left to have buyers with a contract and they will need to settle within 150 days and NOW WE HAVE THIS KINK to deal with??
So my best advice is proceed with caution; give yourself a lot of extra time. IF you’re thinking of selling your condo?? Get it ready and get it on NOW… if you’re interested in buying one, get out there NOW with a competent, knowledgeable, experienced, perhaps even fun agent who can guide you through the process (can you tell that I have someone in mind??? ME)
If you want more info whether your building is on the master list, give me a buzz… Always happy to help.
Happy Monday and Happy February
Jennifer
| Discussion: No Comments »
Arlington County Virginia Home Sales 2009 Year in Review
January 26th, 2010 Categories: Arlington Dirt, Home Selling, Market Stats
2009 was a pretty good year for home sales in Arlington County Virginia. From some spot checking, I see that we’re pretty flat compared with 2008 – a little more in units, a little lower on price but all very small differences. MRIS will publish the year end statistics next month and we’ll be able to get some good comparisons… until then, I thought you may like to see the breakdown by zip code – where are the homes selling, what are the average and median sales prices, etc… This only represents the sale of single family homes.
Here are some things I found interesting: the zip hardest hit by short sales and foreclosures was 22204; it’s also the only zip code where the median sales price was HIGHER than the average. There are definitely a lot of good deals there.
I also found it interesting that the 22201 zip code produced the highest median and average selling prices whereas I had always tracked 22207 to be the leader in price (it certainly is hands down the leader in volume), I’m assuming people are paying more for the convenience of metro and proximity to dining, shopping, etc…
I apologize in advance to those folks in 22202 but I sometimes forget about these great areas; remember, I APOLOGIZED already! 
These are some of the coolest neighborhoods in Arlington with Aurora Hills, Addison Heights, etc… great charm and style. You certainly held your own and I’ll do a neighborhood spotlight soon so we can highlight some of the great architecture and charm.
2010 is poised to also be a good re-building year in real estate. We still have incredibly low inventories still today with fewer than 180 single family homes to sell! Just about 40% of those active listings are priced over $1Million whereas only 19% of what’s gone under contract the past 30 days has been in that price range.
So the mantra remains in place; sellers, please let’s get some good properties to sell; present them well, price them well and let’s get some good momentum going! If you’re considering a sale or looking for something to buy, call me and I’ll help guide you through the process.
Happy Tuesday
Jennifer
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
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