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Health & Fitness

Snow Doesn't Stall Spring In Real Estate

The first day of Spring is still a few weeks away, and we have a ton of snow on the ground; but if you take a look at home sales in Northern Virginia, you'll see that the Spring market is already in full swing. (We know this anecdotally from our own listings & sales, but let's take a look at the statistics.)

What SOLD In January & February?

The "Sold Price" of a home is not usually released until the home goes to settlement & the sale is recorded at the courthouse, So when you see articles about home "sales", the data lags a bit. Homes that sold in January & February probably went under contract somewhere between November & January. How many homes settled and what was the average sales price? 

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In McLean, 76 homes sold and the average sales price was $926,662. A full list for all of Northern Virginia can be found on our blog.

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What Went UNDER CONTRACT in January & February?

In every jurisdiction, a LOT more homes went under contract in January & February than sold during the previous few months. Buyers are NOT waiting until "true Spring" to buy homes. In McLean, 76 homes sold in January/February, but 98 homes went under contract! A full list for all of Northern Virginia can be found on our blog.

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How Fast Are Homes Selling?

Not only are more homes selling, but with the exception of Great Falls & McLean, they are selling faster now than they were over the past few months. (Dunn Loring is also an exception, but the statistical pool is too small to call it a trend.) Keep in mind, these are averages. Many homes are selling the same weekend they go on the market. We listed one Thursday, a contract came in over the weekend and was ratified today. (Note that there are a variety of conditions in the marketplace - with some homes languishing and some getting multiple contracts. We had one listing in our office last month that received 17 contracts!) (Note: DOM = "days on market")

In McLean, average DOM was 86 days for homes that sold in January/February - and 96 days for those that went under contract in January/February. A full list for all of Northern Virginia can be found on our blog.

Moral of the Story?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Sellers: If you have been waiting for the market to improve so you can sell, NOW is the time. Call Terry Belt or Kevin Kleifges at (703) 242-3975 to schedule a Seller Consultation. Not only will we discuss the market conditions of YOUR neighborhood, we will consult with you on staging, preparation, marketing, pricing strategies & more. (If you call this month, we will also pay for a consultation with our Professional Stager - a $195 value). You can also set up a FREE daily update (or weekly or monthly) so you find out what homes are selling for in your neighborhood.

Buyers: The market is tight. Be prepared to move quickly. You may need to compete. And in order to do so, you may need to lower the price range you are looking in. (If you can only afford to go to $700,000 for example, you may want to only look at homes up to $650,000.) You also need to make sure you work with Realtors who are proactive, seek properties on your behalf that are NOT yet on the market and utilize the most state-of-the-art home search web site (not sites like Zillow or Trulia that are NOT updated as frequently.) Contact us at (703) 242-3975 to schedule a FREE Buyer Consultation. No obligation. We will discuss market conditions, strategies for competing, the entire homebuying process including how much cash you will need, financing options and more. Interest rates are low, so you might be surprised at what you can afford. And since prices are rising, you don't want to wait!

The Belt Team's mission is "Changing Lives For The Better". If it's time to change YOURS, call us TODAY at (703) 242-3975. It would be a pleasure for OUR family to help YOUR family make the RIGHT move!

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