I’m raising money to support the fight against blood cancer.   The funds I raise for Light The Night will help find better treatments and cures for blood cancers so patients can live better, longer lives.  You can join me in the fight by making a donation or by registering for the Walk and fundraising.

The Walks take place in the evening and walkers carry illuminated balloons — white for patients and survivors, red for supporters, and gold for those who have lost their battle to blood cancer.  Anyone can take part — children, adults and seniors are welcome!  It’s a casual fundraising event with music, food and fun prior to the Walk. It’s an amazing night!  The Northern Virginia Light The Night Walk will take place on Saturday, October 2 at the Reston Town Center. To learn more go to www.lightthenight.org/nca.

Please join the fight by making a donation through my fundraising page. Just go tohttp://pages.lightthenight.org/nca/Reston10/jklaussen to make a secure, tax-deductible donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Any amount donated will help to make a difference in the lives of those affected by blood cancer.  Your generosity is appreciated!

Please feel free to forward my request to your friends and family.  The more people we have joining the fight, the closer we are to finding a cure!

Thanks for your help!

Jennifer Klaussen

homes in 2005, 2006 and maybe even 2007  (at least here in the DC metro area) chances are you now owe more than your home is worth.   We call that upside down… Congratulations… ok, not really… doesn’t feel too good, does it?

I certainly don’t mean to sound smug or insincere or uncaring – believe me, I have seen the pain it causes and most people who are in this situation now were simply a victim of timing.   Looking back, of course we all should have seen it coming, but if you needed a home, a roof over your head and purchased a home during those years, it is what it is.

If you have questions about short sales or if you  think you might find yourself in a tight spot – don’t wait – please, don’t start depleting your savings and your retirement!  First step:  read the four part series I wrote on short sales and let’s set up a time to talk.  Additionally, the organization which which I’m affiliated has regular free, un-scripted, confidential webinars to answer questions as to how to minimize risk, minimize the devastation and how to move forward.  I will be happy to share the registration for these confidential events with you – just email me for the link.

If you know a short sale is in your future, give me a call or an email – let’s start talking today and strategize the best solution for you.

Jennifer

It made me think, are we doing our prospective new clients (you, the readers) a disservice by advertising ourselves in areas we’re really not well equipped to service?  I wouldn’t DREAM of advertising my services to a town 35 miles away from where I live and work…  perhaps if I lived in a rural county and there were 3 or 4 towns I would understand.  But really there’s enough right here in my own back yard to keep me busy.

I guess the bottom line of my message today is if you are researching an area you are planning to relocate to, and you stumble upon a great agent via their blog or Facebook page or Twitter or even a referral from a friend, figure out where they sell real estate – it really is local (I would even call it hyper-local) and you would be best served by hiring a local resource – as for me, I list and sell mainly in Arlington and the immediately surrounding areas of McLean, Alexandria, Falls Church, Vienna and Reston.  If you’re thinking of buying and selling in one of these communities, give me a ring and let’s talk!

Happy  Thursday

Jennifer

So I thought I’d give you a brief rundown of the activity in the Lexington Square complex so far in 2010…

So far this year there have been 17 closed sales compared with only 10 by this date in 2009!!  They are summarized as follows:

4 – 1br units have closed between $324K-$348K
4 – 1br/den units have closed between $375K-$389K
7 – 2br/2ba units have closed between $415K-$435K
1 – 2br/2ba/den unit has closed at $520K
2 – 3br/2ba units have closed for $695K and $755K respectively

Currently there are only 2 active units: a 1 bedroom unit listed for $339K and a 3br unit listed for $759K… there are also 2 under contract, both 2br units listed between $425-$430K

This is a fantastic building – nicely managed with great amenities in a wonderful location.  If you have any questions about living here please don’t hesitate to call.  I have helped clients buy, sell and rent in this great complex and I’ll look forward to helping you, too!

Happy Monday!

Jennifer

We still have unprecedented, historically low interest rates. It’s beyond me why everyone considering buying doesn’t do so RIGHT NOW! With low interest rates, the dollar stretches so much farther! But for the purposes of this article, actually, that’s neither here nor there.

With the tax credit of 2009 and the last minute extension into 2010, we have artificially messed with the proper order of the world – so who really knows?? I have some data for you in 6 month chunks going back to 2007. Here’s how the single family market has been behaving the last 3 1/2 years:

Crazy, isn’t it?  2008 was a terrible year for units sold – and certainly 2008 moving into the early part of 2009 saw longer days on market than we’d seen in a number of years as well.  As for pricing, we’ve stayed fairly flat for the last 2 1/2 years seeing the lows in the 2nd half of 2009…  I sure would like to believe we’ve stabilized and are heading back up – but I’d like to know why the numbers are what they are – is it truly that prices are down?  Or is it that through the tax credit, we encouraged primarily first time buyers to get busy and for the most part, they are not purchasing $1M+ properties… thus perhaps stimulating the lower end of the single family market?  And you know, that will make it appear that prices are trending downward, when perhaps it’s not true at all??  Just a theory.

Let’s look at the same data for the Arlington condo sales market:

Following the trends I outlined above, 2008 was a terrible year – units were down and we saw prices eventually going into 2009 below the $400K mark.  Also during 2008 the Days on Market were trending up with the tax credit of 2009/2010 perhaps now affecting days on market as well as unit sales?

In the end, I’m really not sure what’s spurring market activity – but I can tell you anecdotally it has been trailing off.  We still have inventory issues – right now we only have 264 single family homes for sale in Arlington; we only have 420 condos for sale.  Those are low low low!!!  But with these interest rates, potential buyers would be foolish not to get themselves into the market before rates go up.  There just are no two ways about it.

If you’d like to explore your buying options, please don’t hesitate to call.  We’re never too busy to help our new clients (and past clients and referrals and anyone else who shows up on our doorstep with real estate needs) navigate through the process of home buying, selling or both!

Happy Saturday

Jennifer

OK, people, follow along, the GREEN is 2010 – notice what happened about 5 weeks into spring (more importantly it would’ve been right around APRIL 30) – we experienced a HUGE drop-off in ratified contracts!  For anyone who believes that other factors are driving the market right now (rates, supply, reasonable sellers, to name a few) I beg to differ.  Now if you look at year over year, we are still 13.6% ahead of where we were last year at this time and we are actually 28% ahead of the ratified contracts during the same period in 2008 – so having said that, we are still in a more active market; I would actually contend that we simply MOVED buyers forward in their cycle and that such a drop off is a natural occurrance.

So what now?  Well, I have a few random thoughts -

I’ve seen some properties advertised as “missed the tax credit deadline?  This seller is willing to give an $8,000 credit at settlement” – that’s one solution.

Another reality is that not everyone is eligible for the tax credit anyway – where are all THOSE buyers now?   People do you not understand that these interest rates are likely to go up?  We will not have 5% interest rates around forever – the purchase power 1 % of interest rate is HUGE!

And lastly, no sense crying over spilled milk – it’s over – so let’s get back to the business of buyers needing to buy homes to live in whether or not someone gives them something.  We all need shelter – a roof over our heads – if you can afford it, if you’ll be around the area for a while and, well, you can afford it, now is a perfect time.

So wherever it is that interests you, whether it’s Arlington or McLean or Alexandria, Reston or wherever, let me know if I can help out.  I have some excellent resources who can help make your buying experience exceptional!

Happy Tuesday

Jennifer

Yes I realize it’s an odd topic coming from me, a top-notch real estate agent, but sometimes we find ourselves in a position where we don’t really know where we stand with a client.  Let me clarify – sometimes we don’t always know where we stand with our BUYER clients.  It’s pretty obvious where we stand with a seller because 1) we have a listing agreement 2) we usually have a lockbox on the door, a sign in the ground, a listing in MLS and 3) we are usually in pretty close contact with our sellers.

Buyers are a little different!  Even with a signed buyer agency agreement, our name is not tattoo’d on our buyers’ foreheads – they are not wearing an ankle bracelet that emits some sort of signal if they are approached by another agent OR if they approach another agent for whatever reason – we are in the dark!!!

Why might this happen?  Well, a myriad of reasons beginning with an agent’s lack of competency, lack of market knowledge, lack of responsiveness all the way through things that are beyond their control – perhaps they are geographically less than desirable; or perhaps the buyer has just decided now is not the right time for them to be in the market.  There are  hundred more reasons why a buyer *might* want to end their relationship with their buyer agent.

My advice to you, as a consumer, is this.  IF you would like to end your relationship with your buyer agent, please please please be up front and direct.  Be polite (unless the agent really has been unprofessional, dishonest, irresponsible, etc…), be direct, be honest – try this:

“Agent X, I want to thank you for the time that you have invested in us but at this time we have decided to work with another agent because we feel you don’t really have the knowledge of working short sales that we really need to guide us through this transaction.”

“Agent Y, we want to let you know that at this point we will be ending our contractual relationship with you and will no longer require your services as our buyer agent” (you may want to use this one if you feel your agent truly has wronged you and you just need that clean break)

“Agent Z, we really love your market knowledge and your responsiveness to our needs – but we feel we really need someone who is a neighborhood specialist to help us be successful in this competitive market and you live and work 45 miles away.  Best of luck to you”

The bottom line is DO SOMETHING – don’t just go dark…  I have experienced this as an agent and when a prospective client just goes dark, it’s unclear whether I should continue working for you, providing listings, valuable insight, etc…  OR whether you’ve moved on…   Also, something very important to consider, if you just stop communicating you could be liable for compensation to that first agent when/if you make a purchase based on the language of your buyer agency agreement – the last thing you’d want to find out is that you actually owe double commission on a transaction simply because you didn’t formally end your relationship.

So… carry on…  there’s a lot of great homes to buy – if you’re looking for one – give me a call!

Happy Wednesday

Jennifer

I had a few different producers call me earlier this week because they found my blog (just like you did) and were intrigued by my reach.  If you’ve been reading for a while, you know I’ve been at this for over 3 years now – but enough about me…

So if you live close in – I’d say Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, or DC and you’re thinking of selling soon – give me a call – I can get you an application and I can even apply for the job of your listing agent!  (I sell a lot of homes, you know)  Now you don’t have to use me, you can choose your own agent but if you’ve always imagined yourself on one of these shows – now’s your chance!  They want to film from as early on in the process as possible – so if selling is on your radar anytime this summer or fall – your timing could be perfect!!

So whatever type of property you live in, condo, townhome, row house, bungalow, cape, whatever…  give me a call or drop me a note!

Happy Thursday!

VALUE

A few phrases come to mind:

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”

It’s true – I had a showing on one of my listings this week and when I asked for follow up, I was told that it was severely overpriced because it only had 4 bedrooms and 3 baths upstairs and this family had 4 children.  Well, to them, maybe it is not the perfect house and to THEM they couldn’t justify the value.  This same house I’m referring to has a master suite on the main level, which is hard to find in Arlington – but if you’d rather have that as “living” space, it’s actually a negative.  However, if you have an elderly parent living  with you or you’d prefer single level living, it’s invaluable – see… it’s in the eye of the beholder.

The same can be said for just about any aspect of real estate…

renovations vs. original condition – one buyer wants move in ready another wants to get the sweat equity and make their own choices

location – one buyer wants idyllic cul-de-sac, one buyer sees parking nightmares

staging – some buyers NEED to see a home with furnishings similar to their own or to those that they enjoy to actually envision themselves living in it, thus raising their perceived value

landscaping – some buyers see this as serene, others as a maintenance nightmare

The list could go on and on and on and on…  we do our best to help sellers understand that there is a buyer out there for every home, and we try to show buyers homes that meet their criteria for value – sometimes we miss and sometimes we hit a home run!  (I like the home runs!)

Happy Friday
Jennifer

So it made me start thinking – what’s really going on?  Through the tax credit incentive have we created a monster?  Have we set ourselves up for NEEDING some sort of man-made incentive to get in the game?  What happened to the basic need for housing?  Or the fact that interest rates are STILL AMAZINGLY LOW?  What happened to examining value in these ways?  Home sellers have heard the message loud and clear (at least most of them have) over the past few years and for the most part, they are realistic.

What other conditions are necessary for prospective home buyers to feel comfortable getting in the market?

I’ve seen rates under 5% again this past week

I’ve seen 77 new listings in Arlington County in the last 7 days (11 of which are already under contract)

It’s widely believed that property values will not continue to soften but that we are now on the upward trend…

Tax credit, schmax credit – I say if you’re considering buying, don’t be shy – give me a call if you think I may be talking to YOU…

Happy Thursday

Jennifer