Northern Virginia Real Estate Podcast with Mike and Melana Wilson

As always, I want to sort through some market data to illustrate what's going on in the Loudoun County market. We have about three months of supply. A balanced market would have six months, so Loudoun sits in a strong seller's market. New listings are also high; far above five-year averages. Lots of new homes are a big part of this.

As a seller, days on market is a good indicator of expectations. Median days on market is 28 days, which is fast, but the average days on market is more than 70. These two figures are so far apart because some houses sat on the market for a long time.

What this tells me is that the best houses sell quickly, but just because it's a seller's market doesn't mean your home will sell quickly. Even some specific areas have an extremely strong seller's market while other areas have more of a balanced or buyer's market, if you drill down to the subdivision level.

If you have any questions about your specific situation or you just want to know your home's value, reach out to our team today. Give us a call - we look forward to talking to you.

There are many reasons why you might choose to purchase a brand new home rather than a resale home. Here are the top five reasons to purchase new construction:

1. Energy efficiency. Brand new homes are much more energy efficient than older homes. Not only are energy efficient homes environmentally conscious, they will also save you a lot of money in utility bills.

2. Lower insurance premiums. Everything is new and up to the latest codes, which gives you peace of mind while saving you money on insurance premiums.

3. Lower maintenance. Again, since everything is new and up to code, you don’t have to worry about making a lot of repairs in a brand new home. You will also have a better quality of life because you don’t have to stress out about making repairs.

4. Warranties. Builder warranties are 10 years for structural items, one year for everything else, and 3-5 years on systems. These warranties give you peace of mind.

5. Resale value. If you’re thinking of moving in the next 3-7 years, you won’t have to do much work to prepare your home for the market.

Finally, there’s one more reason to purchase new construction over a resale home. Buyers can get really good deals from builders right now. Inventory is tilting just enough that builders in our area are offering great incentives.   

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out as we'd be happy to help you with any real estate needs!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report I have some important news for anyone and everyone that's planning on entering the real estate market soon. There are changes coming to the market in order to make buying a home easier for the consumer and for the lender, but until everyone figures out how to handle these new scenarios we'll have to be patient and utilize good communication. On October 3rd, changes coming to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) will affect everyone involved in the real estate industry, from consumers to Realtors to lenders.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule amending regulations the Truth in Lending Act as well as the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. So, what does this mean for you? The TILA-RESPA rule consolidates four disclosures for closed and credit transactions secured by real property into two different forms. One of these forms is a loan estimate that must be delivered or placed in the mail no later than the 3rd business day after receiving the consumer's application. A closing disclosure must be provided to the consumer at least three business days prior to consummation. These new disclosures must be provided by a creditor or mortgage banker that receives an application from a consumer for a closed end credit transaction. However, creditors will still be required to use the current Good Faith Estimate, HUD 1 and Truth in Lending forms for applications received prior to August 1, 2015. After that date, these forms will no longer be used. One thing that WILL NOT change is your loan approval process. These changes are really only going to affect you during the closing period. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions about this issue. We understand that it may seem a little confusing or overwhelming. We would be happy to clear up any misconceptions that you may have!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home searchSelling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report Today we'll be discussing an important distinction among home buyers in Northern Virginia. A pre-qualification and a pre-approval are two entirely different documents. A pre-qualification is a much more basic certification, and it can be obtained in a few hours. You only need a few pieces of information, none of which is really double-checked, and you can then get your pre-qualification letter once a lender has looked over your numbers. A pre-approval letter is much more desirable, and I highly recommend it to all of my home buyers. This is more time-consuming, but it will designate you as a serious buyer if you can acquire it. You will submit tax returns, pay stubs, insurance information, and more. Once the lender has an opportunity to review these items, you will then be issued an approval letter. Both buyers and sellers like to see letters of pre-approval, and this is especially true when the real estate market is as hot as it is in Northern Virginia. If you would like to be put in contact with a great local lender, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home searchSelling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report Get my free home selling guide! Click Here Recently, someone came to us and asked why asking price is so important when selling. This is a great question, and a crucial one for home sellers to think about. In today's competitive marketplace, if a home is on the market for too long, it gets stale. Right now, the average days on market sits at 45 days - by the time a home has been on the market for 60 days or so, people start to wonder whether there is something wrong with it. This can have severe consequences. If the initial asking price of your home is too high, you will drive buyers away who would otherwise be very interested in your home. As the days on market grow, you'll probably have to bring down your listing price. However, even if you lower the price to something more reasonable, the home will still have trouble selling because it has high days on market. Bottom line: if you overprice your home, you take it right out of the market. You need to get a thorough evaluation of your home so you can put the right price on it and attract the highest volume of buyers. If you have any questions about pricing or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to hear from you!

I’m often asked this same question, and it goes like this: “How much of my savings am I going to use to buy a new house?” You might also wonder about how much you should save and how long it will take you. Today, I’ll start with a short answer. You need less than you think for a down payment.

There are a lot of loan programs today. For example, FHA loans require as a little as a 3.5% down payment. Many people think they need 10% to 20% down when in reality, that’s not at all the case. Even so, these numbers are especially big for first time homebuyers. If these are too large and overwhelming for you, maybe it’s not the time for you to buy a home.

However, explore other loan options and programs. If you’ve been involved with the military, don’t overlook that! You may qualify for a VA loan with 0% down.

If you want to know if now is the right time to buy a home in Northern Virginia, pick up the phone and call us or send us an email. We can also put you in touch with one of our preferred lenders as well. We look forward to hearing from you!

We have recently released market reports from November 2015, and I think it will allow us to get a better pulse on what's happening in the local market.

I've made a chart of the inventory available, shown as days-on-market, and I've divided it by zip codes. The market is becoming more balanced, but there are areas where we're seeing more higher supply of homes than others. Sterling, Ashburn, and Chantilly are seeing low days on market (low inventory compared to demand), so SELLERS are going to be put in opportunistic positions in those micro markets.

On the flipside, days-on-market is high in Aldie and Purcellville so buyers will have a variety of homes to choose from, and more leverage in those areas. The major trend we're seeing throughout the market is that inventory is actually down from last year.

Another thing to take away is that real estate is very local. Even within our area, there are very different looking micro markets.  Sterling is behaving like a Seller's Market while Aldie is behaving like a Buyer's Market!

Lastly, there is a lot of new construction going on in Northern Virginia. Aldie is experiencing a dramatic uptick in construction, and it's forming two different micro markets right in the same zip code.  

It's important to know the market, and have the right strategy for the market, whether you are Buying or Selling.

If you have any further questions about our real estate market here in Northern Virginia, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Today I just wanted to talk about a couple of key factors that you should take into account when buying a home and choosing a lender.

Recently, there have been some changes in our industry that have affected mostly lenders and title companies. As a result of these changes, that took effect on October 1, homes are taking longer to close. If you are looking for a home right now, it would be wise to not only evaluate lenders based on the rate and terms of their loan, but also on the capability they have to close the loan on time.

Recently, we’ve seen several home buyers have to go through delayed closings because their lender wasn’t able to close in a timely manner. Some people went through the entire process correctly, hired the movers and had everything ready to go, only to see the closing get delayed. They weren’t able to take possession of their house when they wanted to, which caused headaches, lost time, and money. It can be an extremely stressful situation.

In today’s world it makes sense to put lender capability to close near the top of your wish list. To find out how successful a lender is at closing on time, simply ask them. Ask them how long it has taken them to close since these changes happen, and they should be able to give you a no-nonsense straightforward answer.

If you have any questions or need a recommendation for a good lender, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send a quick email. We would be glad to help in any way possible, and we look forward to speaking with you!

Today we are going to be talking about how you can get the most accurate valuation for your home. We get questions all the time from potential sellers about what their home is worth. Today we are going to explain exactly how to find out for yourself. There are really two ways that you can get your home’s value, the automated way and the professional way.

The automated way involves using a website like Zillow, Trulia, or one of the thousands of other automated home value websites. They rely on algorithms and easily gathered data to come up with their figures, and don’t take into account the specific features and benefits of your home, while relying on a ton of assumptions. These estimations vary wildly; we have seen them as much as 50% off the true value of a property. It’s okay for someone who is just curious, but if you’re thinking about buying or selling, it’s probably not the best route.

If you are serious about selling your home, especially in the near future, the professional version is the much more accurate way to do it. This method involves using a licensed REALTOR®, who can incorporate a lot of different data from your home, including actual condition, and compare it to other homes that have sold in the area. The level of expertise from a licensed REALTOR® crunching the numbers helps increase the accuracy of your home valuation dramatically. Having an on-site assessment is best, because only then can they truly get an accurate picture of your home’s value.

I hope this topic was helpful to you. If you have any questions for us, or are looking for an expert opinion on your home’s value, we’ve got you covered. Just give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

The cold is coming - is your home prepared?

Keep your home protected from the cold Northern Virginia winter! Shut off and drain your hose bibs, so they don't freeze and break.

In most houses, you'll find a front and back hose bib by the water heater in your utility room. Both valves should be horizontal or perpendicular to the line the water is flowing through.

Ensure the valves are turned off before disconnecting hoses and draining them separately. Open the valves and drain them before heading back inside. Next, you want to use the bleeder valve, which you can open by hand or with a pair of pliers. Break the seal and let the air in. This causes the water to siphon out through the outside spigot.

This ensures there is no water in the lines and will prevent frozen pipes and a huge mess in the spring! This is a simple task that every homeowner should do to keep their home protected through the cold months.

If you have any questions or need real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!