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Survey: Americans Dream Big About Home Ownership

Eighty-seven percent of Americans recently surveyed say that owning a home is something they dream about, according to a survey by JPMorgan Chase. "Owning a home is at the heart of most Americans' dreams," says Kevin Watters, CEO of mortgage banking at JPMorgan Chase. "And people are saving as much as possible to achieve home ownership." Sixty-six percent of Americans surveyed say that they believe home ownership is a good financial investment. Seventy-five percent say it’s a crucial part of raising a family. First-time home buyers are getting more optimistic about being able to achieve home ownership too. The number of potential first-time home buyers who say they are optimistic about being able to put money down on a home over the next six months doubled in the last six months, compared to previous survey results. "First-time home buyers are crucial to the housing market and the overall economy—and to their communities," says Watters. "As families buy their first home, they are investing in their communities and enable other families to move up. That will eventually spur more new construction, generating additional jobs." Source: “Survey shows homeownership is still the American Dream,” HousingWire (March 15, 2013)

  • Julie Nesbitt

    Julie Nesbitt
    Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.

    Read More

  • Enjoying Winkler Botanical Preserve

    We had a great time walking the trails. 

    Read More

  • Don’t take chances with real estate.

  • REDUCED: 7202 Churchill Rd, McLean

    Open House, Sunday, 1-4 BIG PRICE DROP! 7202 CHURCHILL ROADMcLean, VA 221016 Bedrooms5.5 Bathrooms6,752 SF $1,695,000

    Read More

  • Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services

    Fairfax County
    Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…

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Demand Soars as Homes Are Selling Faster

Homes are selling faster as buyer demand picks up, leaving a very low supply of homes  left for sale, according to the latest February MLS data figures from Realtor.com. Homes in February sold faster than in any February since 2007, according to the site.
Julie Nesbitt
Julie sold another!
In February, homes were on the market for a median of 98 days—that’s down from 123 days in February 2011. In some markets, homes are spending even less than a month listed for sale, most notably in places like California. For example, in Oakland, Calif., homes spent a median number of 14 days on the market in February before they were either sold or removed from the market for other reasons, according to the Realtor.com data. Sacramento’s median number of days on the market was 21. A total of eight metros in the top 10 for fastest selling times were in California, with only Denver (median 28 days) and Seattle (median 33 days) rounding out the list. The median number of days on the market was also less than two months in places such as Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. With home sales picking up pace, buyers and sellers are less likely to see price reductions on homes and to see more multiple offer situations, Curt Beardsley, vice president with Move, which operates Realtor.com told USA Today. Source: “Homes selling faster as buyers outpace supply,” USA Today (March 17, 2013)

  • Reviving A Stale Listing In 22314 In Alexandria In 22314

    Do you have a abode similar to 124 Roberts Ln #201 in Alexandria that hasn't sold? Did you know that in Fort Ellsworth:

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  • What Has Recently Sold At Lyon Village?

    Do you have a home in Arlington that won't sell? Did you know that in Lyon Village:

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  • Reviving A Stale Listing In Alexandria, Virginia In Alexandria

    Do you have a property similar to 301 N Beauregard St #114 in the City of Alexandria that isn't getting any action? Did you know that in The Fountains:

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  • Residences That Have Recently Sold At Arrowood — But Mine Hasn't? What's The Problem?

    Do you have a place in 22124 in Fairfax County that just isn't selling? Did you know that in Arrowood:

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  • Listings Similar To 10074 Daniels Run Way In 22030 That Have Sold At Farrcroft

    Do you have a home similar to 10074 Daniels Run Way in the City of Fairfax that won't sell? Did you know that in Farrcroft:

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HUD Plans 7-Day Shutdown Amid Sequester Cuts

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that it plans to shut down for seven days sometime between May and September due to the forced government budget cuts to reduce spending known as sequestration.  HUD logo During that seven-day shutdown, HUD says it will furlough more than 9,000 of its employees.  It will spread out the shutdown days to limit the impact. It has not yet determined when those days will be. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan told a Senate panel last month that government spending cuts would have harsh consequences for housing programs. “The ripple effects are enormous because of how central housing is to our economy,” Donovan told the Senate panel. Source: “Housing Department plans 7-day shut down due to sequester cuts,” Reuters (March 11, 2013)

  • Home Prices In Arlington Continue To Hike

    Glendale
    The housing market in Arlington County is getting more and more expensive as potential buyers continue to have fewer homes and condos to choose from.

    Read More

  • Inlet Cove is near Fort Belvoir and Potomac Mills

    Inlet Cove outside Belvoir
    Inlet Cove is alongside Route 1 This neighborhood of townhouses is near grocers and eateries Inlet Cove is close to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, and Potomac Mills shops, in the city of Woodbridge Interior to these properties are multilevel Inlet Cove is serene

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  • Pending Home Sales on an Upswing

    home inspector
    Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1…

    Read More

  • A Good Time to Buy a High-End Home

    Station Square
    Some of the best housing deals are on high-end homes, many over $1 million. Some of them need TLC or they aren’t in the most-coveted locations. But there are plenty of desirable properties and lots of sellers who are getting impatient. Buyers with cash have the best opportunities. Buyers who need a mortgage should move…

    Read More

  • Who is today’s homebuyer and why are they buying?

    Nesbitt Realty 703 765 0300
    The National Association of Realtors recently did a study about the characteristics of home buyers. Some of the findings might surprise you. Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a home with one or more parents and grandparents together with adult children. There were several reasons given for purchasing a multi-generational home. Cost savings; Children over the…

    Read More

 

Top-10 Wealthiest Counties in the U.S.

3 of Top 10 Wealthiest Counties Are In Northern VA

Will and Julie

The nation’s wealthiest counties are all suburban retreats outside of large cities, according to an analysis by Forbes magazine. The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, which examines the average incomes in 1,889 counties. Of the top 25, 19 of these counties are on the East Coast – just outside of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Williamson County, outside of Nashville, Tenn., and Forsyth County, outside of Atlanta, are the only Southern counties on the top-25 wealthiest list. California has only two of the wealthiest counties, Marin and Santa Clara. Here are the top-10 wealthiest counties on the list:

Loudoun County, Va. Fairfax County, Va. Howard County, Md. Hunterdon County, N.J. Somerset County, N.J. Fairfax (city), Va. Morris County, N.J. Douglas County, Colo. Arlington County, Va. Montgomery County, Md.

Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (03/04/2010)

  • Julie Nesbitt

    Julie Nesbitt
    Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.

    Read More

  • Enjoying Winkler Botanical Preserve

    We had a great time walking the trails. 

    Read More

  • Don’t take chances with real estate.

  • REDUCED: 7202 Churchill Rd, McLean

    Open House, Sunday, 1-4 BIG PRICE DROP! 7202 CHURCHILL ROADMcLean, VA 221016 Bedrooms5.5 Bathrooms6,752 SF $1,695,000

    Read More

  • Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services

    Fairfax County
    Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…

    Read More

Essential Negotiating Skills

Will Nesbitt angry1. Be prepared. This works for negotiators just as it does for Boy Scouts. Be sure all facts are available and verified before you begin. Postponements for fact-finding can bog down the negotiation. 2. Present a united front. You might not agree with your clients’ position but don’t share that with the other side during the negotiation. Privately, you can try to get your clients to change their mind. 3. Leave your attitude at the door. Don’t let your personal opinions of the parties or the situation cloud your judgment; that could endanger the transaction. Treat everybody with respect; if you disagree, disagree with an idea, not with the person. 4. Hold something back. Plan beforehand what concessions your clients are willing to make and then use them when the bargaining gets under way. 5. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Never let a negotiation bog down over a minor point. If you can’t agree, put the point aside and come back to it later. Concentrate on getting agreement on major points like price and terms. 6. Get all the decision makers together. Nothing is more frustrating than to think you have an agreement, only to find that somebody else must sign off on it. 7. Avoid distractions. Choose a location that’s pleasant. Ask everybody to turn off phones and pagers, and don’t accept calls until the negotiation is complete. 8. Don’t share information unnecessarily. Knowledge is power in a negotiation, so giving the other side extra information may weaken your position. Conversely, learn as much about the other parties as you can. 9. Just keep quiet. Greeting an offer or concession with silence undermines the other side’s power and often prompts an immediate reaction.Will Nesbitt Happy 10. Leave something on the table. Remember that a successful negotiation is not the same as grinding the opponent into the ground. No one should leave a negotiation angry; you never know when you might have to negotiate with the same people again. For more information or to set up an appointment call Nesbitt Realty at (703)765-0300.

4 Reasons Your Listing Might Not Be Selling

Do you have a home lingering on the market? MSN Real Estate recently polled real estate professionals to find some of the most common reasons why some properties won’t sell, besides trying to overcome a poor location. Here are four common reasons listings don’t sell in a timely manner, according to the MSN survey:
Closet Connected to Bathroom at Park Place
Closet Connected to Bathroom at Park Place
  1. Unreasonable price: “It’s always price for condition or price for location,” says Kathy Opperman, a broker-owner with Century 21 Alliance in Philadelphia. “That’s one of the main reasons [homes] sit.” Some sellers are just unrealistic about what their house can truly fetch, or they may be underwater and just unable to lower their price tag. “In my market, the only reason a property would stay on the market for longer than three months would be that the price is too high,” Ron Redfern, a real estate professional from Greeley, Colo., told MSN Real Estate. “Price will overcome any objection.”
  2. Bad decor: Loud patterns, bold colors, and dated decor styles can distract home buyers. For example, agents say that mirrored walls, cheap wood paneling, and 1970s kitchens can be turn-offs. To try to appeal to the widest buying pool, agents advise clients to stay neutral with their design, give buyers a “minimalist canvas” for them to project their own tastes on.
  3. Awkward floor plan or missing necessities: Strange or dated floorplans may also make a home linger, such as older homes where you have to walk through a bedroom to get to a second bedroom, MSN Real Estate notes. One home in Catskill, N.Y., has lingered on the market for more than four years because it’s missing a driveway.
  4. Awful photos: If your listing has yet to sell, you may want to revisit the photos you're using to present it on the MLS. For example, one Chicago listing showed dirty clothes and clutter in the photo, which may prompt buyers to question the hygiene of the rest of the home, as well as assume it has a lack of storage. Be choosy about the photos you upload to the MLS, and remember that less can be more, Opperman says. Have photos showcase the best rooms and features of the home. "If a buyer isn't excited about a home after seeing it online, they won't want to see it in person," Opperman says.
Source: “Listing Losers: 8 Reasons Your Home Isn’t Selling and What to do About It,” MSN Real Estate (March 13, 2013)"

  • Julie Nesbitt

    Julie Nesbitt
    Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.

    Read More

  • Enjoying Winkler Botanical Preserve

    We had a great time walking the trails. 

    Read More

  • Don’t take chances with real estate.

  • REDUCED: 7202 Churchill Rd, McLean

    Open House, Sunday, 1-4 BIG PRICE DROP! 7202 CHURCHILL ROADMcLean, VA 221016 Bedrooms5.5 Bathrooms6,752 SF $1,695,000

    Read More

  • Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services

    Fairfax County
    Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…

    Read More

Global Luxury Market Is Booming

The international luxury real estate market appears to be relatively immune to economic headwinds, according to a report by Christie International Real Estate, a luxury real estate affiliate network. Christie’s International Real Estate Index monitors record sales prices, prices per square foot, among other indicators in the global luxury real estate market. London emerged at the top of the network’s index, boasting a record sales price of more than $121 million for a residential property in 2012. In New York, an $88 million sale allowed it to come in at No. 2. The international luxury market is showing strong momentum, “driven by scarcity of quality inventory and demand from international buyers in many of the world's top destinations,” says Bonnie Stone Sellers, CEO of Christie's International Real Estate. There are more billionaires worldwide now than there were in 2008. What’s more, the percentage of worldwide millionaires has grown by 55 percent since 2000, according to the report. As wealth has grown so has the number of home buyers making housing deals in all cash. For example, the report notes that nearly all of the transactions in Los Angeles above $5 million were cash deals; 90 percent in New York; and 70 percent in San Francisco and Miami. Source: “Global luxury real estate market showing 'strong momentum',” Inman News (March 11, 2013)
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  • Julie Nesbitt

    Julie Nesbitt
    Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.

    Read More

  • Enjoying Winkler Botanical Preserve

    We had a great time walking the trails. 

    Read More

  • Don’t take chances with real estate.

  • REDUCED: 7202 Churchill Rd, McLean

    Open House, Sunday, 1-4 BIG PRICE DROP! 7202 CHURCHILL ROADMcLean, VA 221016 Bedrooms5.5 Bathrooms6,752 SF $1,695,000

    Read More

  • Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services

    Fairfax County
    Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…

    Read More

Foreclosed Home Owners Are Back and Want to Buy Again

Home owners who once lost their home to foreclosure have returned to the market, eager to buy once again.  Foxy and Fred These “boomerang buyers” could make up a large number of the future housing market, considering their numbers. Since the housing crash, 4.8 million borrowers have lost their home to foreclosure and 2.2 million did a short sale, according to RealtyTrac data. As these borrowers get their finances in shape, repair their credit scores, and save up for a down payment, they’ll be looking to buy again, but their struggle will be over when they’ll be eligible to buy again. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require those who once defaulted on their mortgages to wait five years and have a minimum of a 680 credit score and a 10 percent down payment. If they don’t have all that, they’ll have to wait seven years to qualify again. By seven years, a foreclosure is removed from a person’s credit report. But if a defaulter can show the foreclosure was due to a hardship -- like losing a job or illness -- the wait may be reduced to three years, CNNMoney reports. And some home owners have even be able to buy again after just two years of losing their home to foreclosure. For example, one Palmdale, Calif., couple says that after losing their home to foreclosure due to an illness that made it difficult for one spouse to work, they were able to buy again after two years. During those two years of being sidelined by the housing market, they made sure to pay all their bills on time, repair their credit score, and get their finances back in shape. They were able to qualify for a Veterans Administration-backed loan. "[After bankruptcy], foreclosure is one of the things that hits your credit score the hardest," says Anthony Sprauve, a spokesman for FICO. For example, foreclosures and short sales can decrease a credit score by anywhere from 85 to 160 points. Source: “Boomerang buyers return to market after foreclosure,” CNNMoney (March 11, 2013)
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  • Julie Nesbitt

    Julie Nesbitt
    Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.

    Read More

  • Enjoying Winkler Botanical Preserve

    We had a great time walking the trails. 

    Read More

  • Don’t take chances with real estate.

  • REDUCED: 7202 Churchill Rd, McLean

    Open House, Sunday, 1-4 BIG PRICE DROP! 7202 CHURCHILL ROADMcLean, VA 221016 Bedrooms5.5 Bathrooms6,752 SF $1,695,000

    Read More

  • Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services

    Fairfax County
    Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…

    Read More

 

Condo Markets Remain Strong

Builders and developers are reporting growing optimism in the apartment and condominium market, according to the latest Multifamily Production Index, released by the National Association of Home Builders.
Condos
Condo Alexandria is Northern VA's condo expert
"The apartment and condo markets continue to improve as new household formations generate demand," says W. Dean Henry, CEO of Legacy Partners Residential in Foster City, Calif., and chairman of NAHB's Multifamily Leadership Board. "However, there are certain issues facing builders and developers that may impede their ability to keep up with this demand, such as the rising cost of building materials, labor shortages, and the price of land." The Multifamily Production Index has been strengthening since the middle of 2010, and multifamily starts has been increasing since the end of 2010 to coincide with developers’ increased confidence, says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. NAHB is projecting a 30 percent increase in multifamily starts in 2013. Source: National Association of Home Builders condominiums in Northern VA Condo shoppers might want to check out these resources:

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  • Home Prices In Arlington Continue To Hike

    Glendale
    The housing market in Arlington County is getting more and more expensive as potential buyers continue to have fewer homes and condos to choose from.

    Read More

  • Inlet Cove is near Fort Belvoir and Potomac Mills

    Inlet Cove outside Belvoir
    Inlet Cove is alongside Route 1 This neighborhood of townhouses is near grocers and eateries Inlet Cove is close to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, and Potomac Mills shops, in the city of Woodbridge Interior to these properties are multilevel Inlet Cove is serene

    Read More

  • Pending Home Sales on an Upswing

    home inspector
    Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1…

    Read More

  • A Good Time to Buy a High-End Home

    Station Square
    Some of the best housing deals are on high-end homes, many over $1 million. Some of them need TLC or they aren’t in the most-coveted locations. But there are plenty of desirable properties and lots of sellers who are getting impatient. Buyers with cash have the best opportunities. Buyers who need a mortgage should move…

    Read More

  • Who is today’s homebuyer and why are they buying?

    Nesbitt Realty 703 765 0300
    The National Association of Realtors recently did a study about the characteristics of home buyers. Some of the findings might surprise you. Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a home with one or more parents and grandparents together with adult children. There were several reasons given for purchasing a multi-generational home. Cost savings; Children over the…

    Read More