How’s the Market? Depends – are you Buying, Selling or Investing?

How’s the Market? Depends – are you Buying, Selling or Investing? by Realestateology.org I regularly get asked, "How's the market?" From a Realtor's point of view, it's ALWAYS a good market! It just depends on what YOU want to do – buy, sell or invest? In today's market, it's actually good for all three classes of clients. Sellers are benefiting from increased home prices; buyers are enjoying some of the lowest interest rates on record and a strong housing inventory; and for investors, if you're getting a mortgage, interest rates are low enough that the payments can be covered by your rental income in most cases. Let me break it down: FOR BUYERS Currently, the Northern Virginia market is at about a 3 months' supply. Traditionally, three months constitutes a "normal" market. Normal is good for buyers because it allows them an ample amount of inventory to look over and then the ability to negotiate on price and terms. For the past several years, buyers in the D.C. metro market have been battling each other with escalation clauses and giving up home inspections to win contracts. Now, there is calm in the market which allows buyers to get a more level playing field. Meanwhile, interest rates are under 4% again! FOR SELLERS Prices have continued their appreciation this year in most zip codes. In October, median home prices increased beyond last year's prices in Fairfax County by 2.3% (+$10,000). The median price for October stood at $450,000 (for all property types). In Arlington, the median price increased 1.6% to $536,000. In Washington D.C., median sales prices moved up 9.9% to $500,000. FOR INVESTORS It's all about cash flow for investors. And in today's market with the low interest rates, investors are able to purchase a condo, and including condo fee and taxes, still walk away with a cash flow (disclaimer: it has to be the right price and the right condo fee – call to start your search). If you're able to strike out the high condo fees, the return on investment is even more attractive. An interesting factor that plays in the D.C. area market is politics and mid-term elections, which have historically placed a temporary damper on the market. This year was no exception. In the two weeks running up to the election pending sales dropped 22% compared to the same two week period last year (a non-election year). In the third week, once all the votes were counted, contract writing increased 6.3% over the same period of time last year. (Source: data from MRIS.com). The market is in good shape for nearly every type of buyer and seller. Until next time… I'm never too busy for YOUR referrals! Until next time… Anthony http://www.AnthonyCarr.net Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Future D.C. Job Growth Boom to Real Estate Market

Realestateology.org posted: "When it comes to the question - "How's the real estate Market?" I always point to the job market first. After all, "Homes are where the jobs go at night." And in the Washington, D.C. area, local economist say we're headed toward a boon of a jobs market in" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on The Realestateology Blog Future D.C. Job Growth Boom to Real Estate Market by Realestateology.org When it comes to the question - "How's the real estate Market?" I always point to the job market first. After all, "Homes are where the jobs go at night." And in the Washington, D.C. area, local economist say we're headed toward a boon of a jobs market in the coming years.  The George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis runs the numbers on job growth and D.C. is growing at a rate ahead of the need for housing. In the next 5 years, there will be more than 295,000 net new jobs in Northern Virginia, D.C. and suburban Maryland. Northern Virginia will garner the most of those with about 100,000 net new jobs in just the coming three years. Another interesting part about this job growth is that the federal government is slipping from being the front runner employer. Private industry is slowly but surely taking the front spot. So what will that do to the housing market? Well, we aren't growing the housing pool that fast, meaning the pressure on the inventory will most likely push price appreciation even more than what we've seen this last year. Want the deeper data? Visit this link for a presentation by CRA Chief Economist Stephen Fuller on what to expect.