Selling Stats for Arlington County, Virginia - Priced Well and Selling Fast!

My Falls Church Selling Statistics blog inspired me to run the same stats for Arlington County since the beginning of 2009. The stats below are for any listing in Arlington County (condo, townhome, or single family):

Since 1/1/09:
265 properties have sold
38 (14%) sold in 7 days or less101 (38%) sold in 30 days or less
287 properties are currently under contract and waiting to close

53 (19%) went under contract in 7 days or less
110 (38%) went under contract in 30 days or less

I am seeing activity pick up as many first-time buyers are looking to take advantage of the new $8,000 tax credit (FYI - if you haven't bought anything in 3 years, they look at you like a first-time buyer and are eligible for the credit). In this market, every buyer is looking for a good deal on their purchase....giving them a great price is a great way to solicit offers from buyers.

Falls Church, Virginia - Selling Fast and with Multiple Offers!

This weekend when I was out with some new buyers in Falls Church looking at homes, we had to opportunity to see a brand new listing, 1 day old, on a great house. The listing agent had under priced the property by about $30-$40k in order to sell the house quickly...and that he did.
The house, sold "as-is" by the current owners, had 6 contracts in 2 days (1 on the first day).

This inspired me to look at some of the neighborhood numbers for Falls Church:

Of the 187 Sold listings since January 1st:
25 (13%) sold in 7 days or less62 (33%) sold in 30 days or less

Of the 252 listings currently under contract:
44 (18%) sold in 7 days or less98 (39%) sold in 30 days or less

Those are HIGH! I heard a great analogy for this market, and since I didn't come up with it - I can't take credit for it. Selling in this market is like:

"A price war in a beauty market"

What does your house have to offer a buyer? How much value does that give them over the competition? How quickly do you need or want to sell your house? Those are all important questions when getting ready to sell...

Thinking of Investing in Arlington or Falls Church? Some Tips!

Real estate investing, a great way to diversify your portfolio for long-term planning. Especially now.

With rates low, and prices hit, it's like we're having a "Real Estate Sale." Meaning - it's a great time to invest! Arlington was voted one of the best places to live during a recession, since Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area is in it's own bubble. Since real estate is local, each market has individual characteristics that make investing smarter. Some of them are:

1. Real Estate Type. You'll get faster and greater gains by investing in a single-family home, versus a townhouse, and even more so than a condo. Condos make for great living, but high condo fees eat into cash flow. Also, single-family homes appreciate at a faster rate than condos

2. Location, Location, Location! Staying along the orange line corridor (Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, VA Square, Ballston, East Falls Church, West Falls church, and Vienna) will warrant higher prices than those outside of walking distance to the metro.

3. Comps. Have your Realtor run rental comps for the neighborhood and similar properties. Your safest estimate for rental income should be the lowest rental comp. If you end up getting a higher rent - GREAT! - but better to estimate low, than estimate high and have to shell out additional money to cover your mortgage.

4. Fixer-Uppers. Sweat equity is great potential for a higher return on your investment, especially if you intend to hold it for a few years before you flip it. For example, many of the Falls Church properties up for sale now are in the $300k range - rewind to 2005, and they were in the $500k's (there's an example of where the market went wrong!). Look for the potential to knock down a few walls, redo a bathroom, etc. to improve market value.

5. Intangibles. Look for the intangibles of a property that will make it more appealing to buyers and tenants. Charm? Character? Or better yet, the possibility to add some.

There are so many great books on investing in real estate, but if you're curious to see how you can become an investor in your local market, talk to a local Realtor. We're always willing to help!

Falls Church, VA - How Starbucks Is Their Shameless Claim to Fame

Wikipedia has just brought the following to my attention:

"Falls Church was ranked as having the highest number of Starbucks stores per capita, with 7.7 stores for every 10,000 people, or 8 stores."

Considering the very small city of Falls Church has about 11,000 residents, and is only about 2.2 sq miles - that's quite an achievement.

If you're looking for a shorter line for your next caffeine fix - take a drive to your nearest Starbucks in Falls Church!

**Fairfax was ranked 16th, and Vienna was 17th. Northern Virginia appears to be a VERY caffeinated community! :)

Falls Church, VA School Information - Public, Private, Fairfax - oh my!

We have a very interesting set up here in Northern Virginia. We have Arlington County, Fairfax county, the cities of Falls Church, Alexandria, Fairfax, and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.

You mean the city of Fairfax isn't within Fairfax county? Or Vienna? And Alexandria isn't part of Arlington County? HUH????

Let's attack Falls Church today.

Falls Church is located along 495, 66, 267, Rt 50...you can get there from any major road. Falls Church CITY has it's own Public School System made up of 4 schools:

Mount Daniel Elementary(pre-k through 1)
Thomas Jefferson Elementary (2-4)
Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School (5-7)
George Mason High School (8-12)

HOWEVER, the property location will determine whether you are located within the boundary for Falls Church City schools, or Fairfax County Public Schools.

For agents, you can use this boundary checker for the school information for your listing also. I spoke to a FCPS rep this morning, and she said they go by the Boundary checker so it's the most accurate we can get!

Falls Church School Identifier