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Julie Nesbitt
Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.
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Enjoying Winkler Botanical Preserve
We had a great time walking the trails.
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Don’t take chances with real estate.
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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 -
Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services
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…
Are Underpriced Homes Fueling Bidding Wars?
The number of homes for sale is at the lowest point in more than 10 years, but with buyer demand still high, many markets are seeing bidding wars. A TIME magazine article recently asked: “Are buyers being manipulated into overbidding for the relatively few attractive homes on the market?”
Some real estate professionals say that homes are being underpriced in order to ignite a bidding war.
“Most people are not pricing at market value,” a real estate professional told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Even in this market, you don’t want to overprice.”
For example, the San Francisco-based agent said a two-bedroom townhouse in the area was priced at $659,000 recently, even after a similar townhome had sold a year ago for $675,000.
“We priced it intentionally to get multiple offers and sell quickly,” the agent says. The townhouse attracted nine offers and sold for 15 percent above the asking price — $755,000.
Bidding wars have become commonplace in markets like Denver, where half of the new homes on the market are selling in less than 30 days. In Northern and Southern California nine in 10 homes are attracting bidding wars, as well as two-thirds of the homes for sale in Boston, New York City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., the TIME magazine article notes.
“The only question is not whether a new listing will get multiple bids but how many it will get,” says a Sacramento, Calif.-based real estate professional.
Source: “Forget Lowballing: Bidding Wars Return in Hot Housing Markets,” TIME (April 30, 2013)
The home ownership rate dropped to 65 percent in the first quarter, down slightly from 65.4 percent a year earlier.
Housing analysts say tight credit conditions, constrained inventories of for-sale homes, and an increase in single-family rental homes have caused the home ownership rate to fall.
Paul Diggle, a property economist for Capital Economics, says he predicts the home ownership rate will likely fall for the remainder of the year.
The home ownership rate peaked in June 2004 when it stood at 69.2 percent.
Source: “
What isn’t speculation is that 
Fannie Mae economists predict that existing-home sales will rise by 10.5 percent this year, and by 6.2 percent in 2014. The economists made even bolder projections for new single-family home sales -- growing 15.1 percent this year and 44.1 percent in 2014.
"We expect home prices to firm further amid a durable housing recovery, continuing to boost household net worth, gradually diminishing the population of underwater borrowers, and reducing incentive for strategic defaults," according to Fannie Mae’s report.
Fannie Mae projects that mortgage rates will stay low by historical averages this year, but the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will rise from an average of 3.5 percent during the first quarter to an average of 4 percent during the final three months of 2013. During the fourth quarter of 2014, mortgage rates are projected to tick up to a 4.5 percent average.
Mortgage applications for purchases are projected to increase by 16.8 percent this year and by 17.1 percent in 2014. However, a decline in applications for refinancings will likely cause mortgage originations to be down 14.5 percent this year and by 31.4 percent in 2014, Fannie economists predict.
Source: “
Last year, the Fed committed to holding short-term interest rates near zero for as long as unemployment remained above 6.5 percent. In February, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent. Many economists don’t expect unemployment to drop to levels around 6.5 percent until 2015.
However, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke noted Wednesday that there is not consensus among the policy-making committee on how much longer to continue quantitative easing.
The committee recognized progress in the economy and job growth in recent months, noting “a return to moderate economic growth following a pause late last year.”
Bernanke has testified to Congress that quantitative easing has helped revive the housing market. Mortgage rates have fallen near all-time lows, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.63 percent on March 14, according to Freddie Mac. In November 2012, 30-year rates fell as low as 3.31 percent.
Housing is “coming back, it’s real, and it’s going to be a positive driver,” said Jeff Fettig, the chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corp., the world’s largest appliance maker. “For every 6 percent increase in existing-home sales you see a 1 percent demand increase in appliances.”