Arlington, VA Market Report – 2/22/10

All the prognosticators have been making their predictions as to the state of real estate for 2010. On balance, 2009 was a positive year in Arlington. The total dollar volume of sales increased by 7% and the total units sold increased by 11%. The average sales price decreased by nearly 4% and the days on market dropped by 8.5%. This shows that while prices dropped, more properties were sold in a shorter period of time. January 2010 statistics point to some interesting things to keep an eye on in Arlington County, Virginia.

There’s good news and bad new for buyers and sellers in Arlington this month. The average sales price for single family detached homes increased by nearly 14%, good news for sellers, and actually good news for buyers knowing that values are going up. Of the 132 sales in January, nearly 70% were condos and townhouses. The average sales price for these attached homes decreased by 16% from the same period a year ago. As the prices on these units dropped, more sales occurred because of the affordability factor.

The Federal Housing Tax Credit is still in place but there are just two months left to act. It seems like we’ve been snowbound for most of the winter so far, but as the weather improves I predict the ready buyers will be unleashed into the marketplace and sales of affordable homes will rise as the incentive deadline approaches.

Interest rates have remained steady but indications are that the Federal Reserve will consider rate hikes as the year progresses. If you are in the market to purchase or sell, now is absolutely the best time to act. Inventory is still low but the shadow inventory (pending foreclosures) is lurking and could be released anytime. List your home now while competition is limited. Buyers, have your agent prepare a rent vs. buy analysis to show you the benefits of home ownership. Don’t wait too long and miss an opportunity.

Market data and commentary by Charles J. Carroll, Managing Broker at Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for homes in Arlington, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Out and About: Bistrot Du Coin (Washington, DC)

In the heart of the District, a small piece of France exists within the walls of Bistrot Du Coin. Located in bustling Dupont Circle, just across the street from the the famous Russia House, Bistrot Du Coin touts an authentic French experience with a focus on “good food at a fair price.”

The restaurant itself is not very large, though it does sport upstairs seating. However, what is large is their wine menu, which features fine wines from France and includes a list selected by one of the co-owners.

Bistrot Du Coin has a robust wine list and Hoegaarden is available on tap.

Ordinarily a popular hangout, the Bistrot was filled to the brim when I went for dinner on Valentine’s Day. I was able to secure a 7pm reservation by simply calling a week in advance. But with that phone call I could already tell that Bistrot Du Coin wasn’t exactly the silent library of restaurants. Upon arrival I could see why, as the bar was more or less in the middle of the dining area, but the cocktail of noises added to the Parisian feel. The sounds, the decor, the bar, the food–everything down to the table settings, gives the establishment its character and makes for an enjoyable experience.

Bistrot Du Coin is located at 1738 Connecticut Avenue, NW – Washington, DC 20009, just blocks away from the Dupont Circle Metro station on the Red Line. There are parking garages available and street parking is limited. It’s open seven days a week. Visit their website for hours, menus, and more information: www.bistrotducoin.com

Commentary, image and information provided by David Tra, Social Media Editor.

Search for homes in all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Google Buzz Part 2

Last week I wrote a post about Google Buzz questioning its long-term viability in the Social Media space. A week into it, I think I may have to eat my words.

Chomp. Chew. Gulp.

In one short week, Google Buzz has already received over 9 million posts and comments, amounting to about 160,000 posts per hour. Buzz is also averaging over 200 mobile check-ins per minute, or 300,000 per day (source: Mashable).

Buzz already has a larger user base than Twitter (although I am still of the mind that Twitter’s long-term viability is dubious at best). While it will take a truly robust social media offering to dethrone the current king, Facebook, Buzz has a huge advantage over Facebook – its parent company, Google.

Google doesn’t want to own just the social media space, it wants to own your entire on-line behavior. Google’s doing it, and doing it effectively.

Consider this:

You fire up your computer. Using Google’s Chrome browser, you log-in to Gmail and check your email. While logged in, you update your status on Buzz, and touch base with a few friends in your network. You make some edits to a document you’ve been working on with Google apps, and check your web stats with your analytics account. While on the go, you stay in touch with all of your clients and on-line assets using your Android phone, and use Google to find the closest coffee shop. While at the coffee shop, you use you Google Maps app to map a route from the coffee shop to one of your listings that you need to check on, and Google voice routes a phone call to your mobile phone that you answer while sipping your coffee…

Wow. Double WOW.

Google seems well on its way to creating an absolute one-stop destination for anything on-line, desktop, laptop, or small screen. Google is even offering  ultra-high speed Internet access with its experimental fiber network. And to top things off, with its ready made advertising platform available across all of the Google-verse, advertisers have a one-stop shop to spread their message.

Instead of checking 25 different accounts and logging into 25 different sites – Google is aiming to make your on-line experience easy, quick and Google-riffic.

And they are succeeding.

Apple has cool devices. Facebook and Twitter have great Social Media sites. Microsoft has E-Mail, Productivity Software and a Browser. Wordpress does blogs. Mapquest and Bing does Maps and Directions. Verizon and Comcast have high-speed Internet and broadband wireless.

Google has all of these things. In one place. Under one login. And usually for a lot cheaper than their competition (if not free).

Google is a force. A huge force. In much more than Social Media.

With everything becoming more complicated and fragmented daily, Google is addressing the one need missed by so many others: simplicity and ease of use for all of our applications in one place. With so many different applications, advertising mediums, software platforms, contract applications, etc. used in Real Estate by all of us, this is something for all of us to consider, and keep an eye on.

-Amit

Find your Home, Plan Your Life: www.averyhess.com

Rockville, MD Market Report – 2/15/10

Rockville serves as the county seat and is close to the geographical center of Montgomery County. The City and County have done a fabulous job of reinventing Rockville into a high-density and high-energy urban center that is focused around the Rockville Metro Center. A diverse selection of retailers, dining and housing is available in the Rockville area. It is a highly desirable place to live with numerous festivals and activities.

Real estate market conditions in Rockville, Maryland are as follows:

• Homes for sale: 425
• Closed sales: 69
• Average sold price: $375,938
• Average days on market: 53

In January, there were 425 homes for sale in Rockville, which is a 9.7% decline when compared to last year. However, the number of homes sold increased 64% from December’s totals as 69 units were sold in January. The average price of homes in Rockville is holding virtually steady at $375,938–up $10,000 from one year ago and down $10,000 from last month. The amount of time it takes to sell a home also remains stable, as homes averaged 53 days on the market in January, which is down by more than half from one year ago.

Market data and commentary provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President and Managing Broker.

Search for homes in Rockville, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Bristow, VA Market Report – 2/12/10

As we have said before, almost everything in Bristow is less than ten years old. Therefore, it’s a good place to buy a home and not have to worry about a lot of repairs, as long as the previous owner did their regular maintenance. If you’re unsure about a home, think about getting a home inspection to fully understand the systems of the house you’re buying. Also ask for a warranty so you can be protected from costly, unexpected repairs.

Here is a complete analysis of last month’s housing market in Bristow, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 166 (up 8% from last month)
• Closed sales: 35 (up 9.4% from last month)
• Average sold price: $350,374 (up 13.4% from one year ago, and over 10% from just last month)
• Average days on market: 30 (virtually unchanged for the last three months)

Bristow’s prices have moved up rapidly from the low $300s, which was way underpriced, to the mid $300’s which is still underpriced, just not as ridiculously so. Bristow remains an affordable and in-demand place to live. The average sales price of $350,374 is way above 2008’s average, but still very affordable. Bristow hit its statistical price bottom in December 2008 and has risen slowly and steadily almost every month since then. A year ago it took 69 days for a house to sell, more than double last month’s 30 days. With interest rates remaining around 5%, consumer confidence rising, and inventory at such a low level, high buying activity is creating an upward drift in prices.

Market data and commentary provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President and Managing Broker.

Search for homes in Bristow, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

What’s all that Buzz about Google Buzz?

So what’s all the buzzing about?

Google’s big news yesterday was their introduction of “Buzz” – Google’s twitter and facebook-like social media stream. This is not Google’s first foray into the Social Media space – see their Orkut product that has taken off and been successful internationally in locales such as India and Brazil. However, Google has yet to make significant headway into the Social Media category here in the United States.

In it’s current offerring, Buzz doesn’t seem like the product that will help Google make significant headway here domestically. While it integrates seamlessly with Gmail, and integrates with existing popular Social Media platforms such as Twitter, Picasa, Blogger and Flickr, there is a HUGE hole in what it doesn’t integrate with.

And that’s Social Media’s current reigning champ, its 800 lb. Gorrilla, Facebook.

Sure, Google does get some instant Social Media cred by boasting 150 Million Gmail users, but that pales in comparison to Facebook’s whopping 400 Million users. In fact, Facebook is far and away the most relevant player in the Social Media space by user base alone. Lets take a look:

• Facebook: 400 Million Users
• Buzz (Assuming Gmail’s entire 150 Million users use Buzz): 150 Million Users
• Twitter: 18 Million Users

And Facebook is by no means sitting on their hands – Facebook is beginning to move straight into the Googleverse by launching its very own internal mail client. With 400 Million users (and growing), Facebook is poised to become an immediate player in the E-Mail space the second they launch their product.

So What does Buzz Mean for Real Estate?

Right now, nothing. Or everything. Or somewhere in between.

Social Media should be one facet of an overall marketing and brand strategy for Agents and Brokers alike. Social Media is a conversation – a conversation among groups of people who share a common interest.

If your constituency resides on Buzz, begin a dialogue on Buzz. If your constituency uses Facebook, utilize that. Bear in mind that there is no magic social media bullet – there are always going to be competing platforms, technologies and outlets for you to utilize. The key is figuring out which ones make sense for you and utilizing them effectively (that word is in bold for a reason).

Stay tuned, 2010 is going to be an interesting year for Real Estate, and the many technologies that service this industry.

-Amit

Search for Homes: www.averyhess.com
Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AveryHess