Silver Spring, MD Market Report – 4/28/10

Silver Spring is a suburb in the north side of Washington, D.C. in Montgomery County with both urban and suburban areas.  Its borders go as far north as Burtonsville, south to the dividing line with the District of Columbia and west to Chevy Chase and Rockville.   Silver Spring is serviced by the Red Line of the Metro system and the Silver Spring stop is the most used station in Maryland.

Much of what is selling in Silver Spring are the lower priced units. First time buyers and investors have had a huge impact on the market  They see the price gains of those who bought over the previous 15 months and they realize that the down cycle in real estate has reversed and the next up cycle has begun. Increasing consumer confidence in the DC area, low interest rates, and warmer weather is feeding more urgency into the marketplace. Note the steady decrease in days on market.

Here are the market statistics for Silver Spring, Maryland:

• Homes for sale: 1,293 (up from 1,085 last month, and up a bit from 1,245 one year ago)
• Homes Sold: 188 (up from 121 last month, and up from 158 a year ago)
• Average sold price: $325,417 (down from $334,529 last month, and down from $334,1283 one year ago)
• Average days on market: 76 (down from 88 last month and down from 128 one year ago)

Silver Spring is filled with historic places such as the National Park Seminary, Acorn Park and the actual Silver Spring for which the city was named; many parks and recreation centers and the newly revitalized City Place in the heart of Silver Spring. The renovation of City Place has brought new life to downtown Silver Spring with the opening of fine shops, restaurants an outdoor shopping plaza where musical and ethnic festivals are held.

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

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

We “Like” Facebook, and Here’s Why

I can think of a lot of things that I like. Pizza. Dogs. Virginia Tech football. Tecmo Bowl (the original, not the SNES remake). I also think I like the Facebook “Like” option.

I actually think I REALLY like the “Like.”

Admittedly, I was a bit fuzzy about the transition from “become a fan” to “Like this” on Facebook until I read this great piece on WellcomeMat. I agree with a lot of what was written in the WellcomeMat piece; I think Facebook has really nailed how to serve up relevant ad content to consumers who are in the market for a particular product or service offering.

What does this mean? Talk sense please.

About a month and a half ago, Facebook eclipsed Google as the most heavily trafficked place on the web. Even if that event manifested itself as a one-time occurrence (which while I do not have the data at hand, I doubt is the case), it certainly signifies a shift in web browsing habits from a linear paradigm of “input query >> get results” to a more conversational paradigm weighted towards opinions, shared experiences and user insight.

Facebook has figured out a way to deliver terrific, focused content that is tailored to you. Content that satisfies your every need with the insertion of a 4 letter verb in the form of a button. “Like.”

The creepy idea of silent data aggregation/privacy notwithstanding, the Facebook platform is a boon to advertisers and companies of all shapes and sizes. Facebook gathers data about what each one of their users “likes.” Facebook creates a consumer profile for each of its users based on profile comments, data and “likes.” Facebook delivers ad content to user based on this algorithm – creating a very highly targeted, and presumably effective, ad campaign. This model is not terribly dissimilar to many other behavior-based models out there in the advertising stratosphere, but Facebook is taking this one step further.

By allowing the usage of the “Like” button on websites, blogs etc., Facebook delivers visitors directly to advertisers tiny slice of revenue heaven – their owned media assets – complete with an inferred recommendation from their peer group. Facebook has created an advertising platform that ROCKS.

Great. So what does this mean for me?

This means a lot for you, so I am glad you asked. Here are a couple of ideas:

1. You have a listing, freshly minted and new on the market. You have a website specifically created to market that listing for your seller. Now you can incorporate a “Like” button onto your listing site and share that with the Facebook universe that is 400 Million strong and growing.
2. You have a unique skill set and specialization in assisting homeowners through the short sale process. You can place a “Like” button on this section of your website or associate the “Like” button with posts about short sales on your blog, and share all of your knowledge and content with your sphere on Facebook.

And best of all, when interested parties decide that they want to learn a bit more about your product or service, they go straight to the on-line you, your website, blog, etc., not some 3rd party “lead aggregator.” When coupled with Facebook’s burgeoning “Facebook Ads” platform, you have a recipe for a tremendous, highly targeted advertising platform on the social web.

With other content and advertising platforms gathering content from users, and selling advertising on it, Facebook is taking a GIANT step in the right direction by leveraging its users/advertisers contributions to help the original publisher. I think this model is setting up Facebook to become an advertising platform behemoth in the mid-to-long term, and certainly something all of us here in Real Estate need to be cognizant of.

Real Estate is a social business. Facebook is a social network – the largest in the states. Seems like a match made in heaven, a match that I think I really, REALLY “Like.”

-Amit

I Like Avery-Hess, and I think you should too: www.facebook.com/AveryHess

Ashburn, VA Market Report – 4/27/10

Here’s a quick snapshot of the market in Ashburn, Virginia

• Homes for sale: 458 (up from 420 last month and down from 479 one year ago)
• Home sold: 109 (up from 70 last month, up from 87 in March 2009)
• Average sold price: $405,379 (almost unchanged from $402,345 last month and $402,019 one year ago)
• Average days on market: 49 (down from 59 days last month and down from 75 in March 2009)

After rising steadily from the bottom of the price cycle in December 2008, Ashburn, based on these statistics, is the rock of stability.

It’s that time of the year when more houses come onto the market and this year is no exception. Ashburn has a great selection of homes and almost all of them are under 15 years old–the approximate age of the entire area.  The greatest thing about Ashburn is that it is flush with such a huge diversity of homes, an individual or family can keep trading up or down in size and style without ever changing grocery stores!  You can have change and stability at the same time.

Market report provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President, Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for Homes in Ashburn, VA: www.averyhess.com

Germantown, MD Market Report – 4/22/10

Germantown is located in the northern part of Montgomery County and contains a wide range of housing styles and price. It is easily accessed from either Route 355 or Interstate 270. In addition to numerous roads and I-270, the MARC Train has a station in Germantown and bus service feeds into the METRO system in at Shady Grove.

The following conditions reflect the market in Germantown, Maryland during March:

• Homes for sale: 451 (up from snowy February’s 410)
• Homes sold: 88 (up from 65 last month and up from 84 one year ago)
• Average sales price: $228,124 (down from $211,975 last month and down from $248,415 one year ago)
• Average days on market: 63 (similar to the last few months, but down from 112 days a year ago)

After showing stabilization, the statistics, being heavily influenced by the large number of lower priced sales, is showing a lower average price. This is not concerning to me because the reduced number of days it takes to sell a house tells me the demand is strong. If demand is strong a balanced market is either here or nearly in hand. First-time buyers and investors still make up the majority of the buyers in the Germantown market over the past few months.

One of the great features of Germantown is South Germantown Recreational Park is a 736-acre park that includes hiking trails, picnic facilities, an indoor sports complex, 22 soccer fields with a lighted stadium, baseball and softball fields, a playground, archery range, golf driving range, two miniature golf courses, a splash playground, model boating lake, a tot lot, and an indoor aquatic center.

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

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

Spotsylvania County Market Report – 4/22/10

Spring time is here!  The market in Spotsylvania is very active right now with low priced listings selling super fast, median sales price slightly up over last year at this time, and inventory quickly shrinking! 

While it appears we have a good amount of listings that came on in March, we are down 29.9% compared to last year for single family homes and down 52.2% for town homes/condos.  We are down 4.8% in new listings for the year.  In the low price ranges, this means stiff competition for first time home buyers seeking to find that new home in a good location and in good condition.  Multiple offers are typical and prices are escalating to win those homes!  In higher price ranges, activity is good, days on market have decreased and percent of sales price received at time of offer has increased!

Here are our latest stats for Spotsylvania County:

Remember, there are only 9 days left to write a contract and be eligible for the first time homebuyers’ tax credit and the move-up tax credit!  There is still time to find that great house!  It is also a great time to list your home (especially if it is a regular sale) as there are many Buyers out there who are looking for that very thing!  Happy Spring!

Commentary and market stats provided by Amy Cherry-Taylor, Business Manager, Stafford Regional Office.

Search for Home in Spotsylvania County: www.averyhess.com

Bristow, VA Market Report – 4/19/10

 Bristow has a four month supply of homes for sale. Six months worth of housing inventory is considered a balanced market by economists.  This low level of inventory keeps pressure on prices in an upward direction..

Below you’ll find a report of the previous month’s housing market in Bristow, Virginia:

• Homes for sale: 157 (up slightly from 148 last month, way under the 192 of one year ago)
• Homes sold: 39 (very stable over the past 12 months)
• Average sold price: $308,271 (down from $338,808, but up from $295,510 one year ago)
• Average days on market: 56 (has climbed from 21 days in January 2010 and 42 days in February, but still under the 65 days of one year ago)

Bristow’s prices bottomed out around December 2008, moved up steadily during 2009 and have started to stabilize in the first three months of 2010. At under $350,000 and selling in an average of 56 days, Bristow homes continue to offer good value for buyers which is why the number of transactions have been so stable. Bristow remains an affordable and in-demand place to live. With interest rates remaining in the 5% range, rising consumer confidence, 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