Prince William County, VA Market Report – 10/31/11

People talk about the national market like it’s some static thing, like a toaster. The thing is, there is no national housing market. Just like there is no national weather forecast.

That doesn’t mean national averages don’t have their place, but you don’t grab a raincoat and an umbrella in Miami based on the weather in Seattle. Like the weather, all real estate is local. As we embark on the fourth and final quarter of 2011 let’s take a look at our local forecast.

New Listing in the Prince William County region decreased 6.85% to 715. Pending Sales were up 12.66% to 534. Inventory levels shrank 17.41% to 1200 units, a positive supply-side trend that should bring additional stability.

Prices were still soft. The Median Sale Price increased 5.60% to 254,500. Days on the Market increased 19.51% to 49 days.

A dash of uplifting economic news was overshadowed by debt clouds form the ongoing turmoil in Greece and the threat of bank contagion. Manufacturing activity, construction spending and overall job growth all picked up in September, temporarily calming fears of the dreaded double-dip storm. As for the lending climate, the Fed’s recent “Operation Twist” helped push mortgage rates to record lows- under 4.0 percent for the first time ever. Despite the cheap money,  “jobs, Jobs, Jobs!” should still be the battle cry.

Market data and commentary provided by Maryanne Moyers, Managing Broker, Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for homes in Prince William County, and all the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Silver Spring’s Fillmore Takes The Music Scene By Storm

If you thought you heard the sounds of heavy bass and thumping beats emanating from near Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night, you weren’t mistaken. One of the largest acts in electronic music history took the stage at one of the best venues in the area.

But he wasn’t spinning at the 9:30 Club or Merriweather Post Pavilion or Jiffy Lube Live. No, Moby, one of the best-selling artists in music history, was not playing at a traditional Washington, D.C. venue. He spent Wednesday night in Silver Spring.

What could attract a mainstream act to go outside this city’s confines and popular spots? One of the biggest and best music venues to hit the scene in decades.

On Thursday, September 15^th, just a little over a month ago, the Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland burst on to the scene with a raucous Mary J. Blige concert. Ever since then, it’s been packed with acts, household names that have sold out the place even on weeknights. The Fillmore is making what was once a quiet suburb bordering Northwest, D.C. the place to see music in the area.

If the name rings a bell, it’s because the Fillmore takes its cues from one of the most historic sites in music history. In the early 1960s, the original Fillmore opened in downtown San Francisco in the midst of the burgeoning Bay Area music scene. There, it played host to some of the most famous names of the Woodstock-era, with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Sly and the Family Stone all taking the stage.

As its popularity grew, the owner opened a sister location in New York, and eventually the Fillmore name became synonymous with showcasing top draws. Later on, the brand was purchased by concert behemoth LiveNation, and they’ve been opening a string of Fillmore’s across the country. The Silver Spring location is their Fillmore foray into Washington, D.C.

They couldn’t have picked a better location than 8656 Colesville Road. The spot is barely a mile past the D.C. border, just off of 16^th Street. And the area around the concert venue is one of the D.C. metro area’s developing spots.

The venue itself, if traveling down Colesville, is impossible to miss. The Fillmore is inside an old J.C. Penney’s, which developers spent nearly a decade attempting to get permission to renovation into a concert hall.

When they finally secured the permit, they went bold. The exterior channels an art-deco homage, with a giant, sparkling Fillmore sign, 20 yards wide and 15 feet of the ground, screaming to passersby. Next to the marquee is a constantly flickering tower of lights that represents the bars of an equalizer. It’s a spectacle, but one that doesn’t seem out of place.

The inside recreates the atmosphere of the original Fillmore in San Francisco. Dancers groove on hardwood floors with gigantic chandeliers—a Fillmore trait—hanging over them. Along the walls hanging burgundy curtains, just like the original spot. The hallways pay tribute to the amazing acts that have passed through the original Fillmore, with concert posters from shows by Tom Jones, the B-52s, Joan Jett and hundreds of others. Above the dance floor is a tiered-balcony, typically reserved for VIP access, which calls to mind the balcony at the 9:30 Club.

The size of the Fillmore already makes it one of the largest concert halls in the area, capable of holding over 2,000 people for a single show. And while they’ve already seen some of the most popular acts in music pass through their doors in just a brief month, they have no intentions of slowing down. The next few months the Fillmore will host Kid Rock, Ziggy Marley, LMFAO and, in December, 80s sensation Cheap Trick.

Since it only just opened last month, the odds are that you haven’t visited the Fillmore yet. So check the schedule and be sure to visit the most happening spot in Silver Spring.

- David

Frederick County, MD 10/26/11

Looking at these Statistics for Frederick County Maryland, the picture of September 2010 vs. September 2011 does not look favorable.  The only gain seems to be in Days on Market, and no one wants to see that, except for the savvy real estate buyer/investor.

The Real Estate Market is very cyclical.  It goes up and it goes down, but it is always doing something. The question is how much farther will it go in Frederick County?  I don’t have a crystal ball but the signs I see indicate the bottom has hit: Low interest rates, low prices, and an ever increasing population.  Buyers can’t keep holding out for much longer – the time to buy is NOW!  Not only in Frederick County Maryland but everywhere!

According to Inman News™, US Census and the Mortgage Bankers Association: A housing shortage is coming in the not so distant future:

There are two primary factors that will contribute to a home shortage in the not-too-distant future:

1. The size of Generation Y (those born between 1977 and 1994), which is estimated to be approximately 80 million, or 25 percent of the U.S. population. They are now entering their prime time for starting their careers, their families, and for buying a home.

2. Supply. There has been very little new construction, despite the predicted explosion in population growth. To illustrate the severity of this problem, the 2010 census put the U.S. population at approximately 309 million. By 2050, the prediction is that the U.S. population will be 439 million. That’s an increase of 130 million people in just 40 years. Regardless of whether they own or rent, they will still need housing.

Buyers it’s time to WAKE UP – there is only a finite amount of housing out there and our population growth is not slowing down.  The time to buy is NOW! Not only in Frederick County Maryland but everywhere!

Market data and commentary provided by Kathy Fleskes & Serena Toro, Rockville Regional Office.

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

McLean/Tysons Corner, VA Market Report – 10/24/2011

If you have driven around the Beltway through Tysons Corner recently you may have had plenty of opportunity to observe the degree of construction as you crawled along through narrowing lanes and gridlock, and changing exit ramps.

The work on the HOT lanes continues as the landscape once so familiar turns more and more to concrete and fewer trees. Simultaneously the Silver line extension of the Metro moves along despite the reported $150 Million over budget. How has all of this disruption impacted the real estate market in Fairfax County’s downtown?

The total revenue and average sold price was down slightly from a year ago but was down significantly from the previous month.

It is best left to the professional prognosticators and economist to examine the causes for the flux in the market. In the meantime the real estate professionals continue to serve their clients in the best way possible in this ever challenging environment.

Market data and commentary provided by Charlie Carroll, Managing Broker, Avery-Hess, Realtors.
Search for homes in McLean, Tysons Corner and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Halloween Haunts Abound in Washington, D.C.

There’s just a week and half until to the spookiest season of the year. Halloween is one of the few times where both kids and adults get to act like children, and in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas, there are an unlimited number of activities to indulge your ghoulish side. From pumpkin patches and haunted houses to corn mazes and ghost tours, there is no reason this year to not go out and enjoy the fright.

To begin the season, everyone needs a jack-o-lantern. What’s Halloween without a big orange pumpkin placed outside the front door? Anyone can walk to their local Harris Teeter and grab a gourd, but this year, visit a farm for a bigger selection and better time.

Homestead Farm, in Poolesville, Maryland, is only a few miles west of the Beltway and has everything one wants in a fall farm: apple picking, corn mazes and pumpkins that cost just 59 cents a pound. The farm is open seven days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., so swing by anytime to pick up a pumpkin.

In Virginia, Ticonderoga Farms and its Fall Pumpkin Festival, is the spot to visit. Just south of Dulles, pumpkins may be the least exciting part of your visit. Among the attractions at Ticonderoga are hayrides, hillside slides, Native America Teepees and the longest swinging bridge in Virginia. And Ticonderoga is also open every day of the week, from 9 a.m – 5 p.m.

Since farms are only open during the day, what’s there to do with the nights?

This weekend is one of Washington’s biggest Halloween events, Boo at the Zoo, which runs all three weekend nights, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the National Zoo. For the event, the zoo transforms into a giant Halloween haunt for children, with decorations, spooky trails and opportunities to see your favorite October animals, like spiders and bats. There will also be volunteers in costumes, passing out candy to kids at 40 different spots within the zoo.

Tickets for the event cost $20 for Friends of the National Zoo and $30 for non-members.

While Boo at the Zoo will provide scares to children, this area is replete with places for adults to get the chills while walking around.

Inside Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square Park is known as the most haunted spot in the area. Washington Walks puts on a tour that takes people around some of the most cursed locations in Northwest, telling tales of murder and intrigue. The tour cost $15 dollars, and is held Thursday-Saturday. Tickets can be bought online, but reservations don’t need to be made in advance. You can just show up and pay.

In Virginia, the spot to go for ghost tours is Old Town, Alexandria. Alexandria Colonial Tours, during the Halloween season, takes people through a lantern-lit graveyard tour. For just $12, on any night of the week, you can be led through the cobblestone streets of Old Town by a local dressed in traditional Colonial garb, while he or she tells murder mysteries that are nearly 300 years old.

In Maryland, the place to go for Halloween haunts is Annapolis. Annapolis Ghost Tours leads nighttime walks through the maritime port. If you’re without children, the company’s haunted pub crawl is one of the most fun activities the area has to offer. A $20 ticket takes you to three of the most haunted pubs in Annapolis, where you hear stories of ghost and ghouls who still frequent their favorite watering hole. Starting at 9:00 p.m. on both nights of the weekend, the trip is not to be missed.

So make this Halloween the most haunted yet, and visit many of the great attractions Washington, D.C. has to offer.

-David

Leesburg, VA Market Report – 10/19/11

Ending the 3^rd Quarter, the Leesburg Market has seen a resurgence of the average sales price, up nearly 16% over September of last year.

2010 saw this market hit extremely hard with foreclosures.  Many of these homes had been totally abandoned and sat vacant for months at a time.  With the decrease in the number of homes on the market in substandard conditions the average sales price has recovered very nicely.

Let’s look at the statistics for zip codes 20175 and 20176:

All indications show that the Leesburg market will continue to enjoy a steady increase in value.  While Loudoun County has seen a slight decline in the average sales of $405,895 year over year, this is a refreshing highlight for the Leesburg Market, hit so hard by the distress property sales of last year.

Commentary and analysis provided by Jim Agnew, Avery Hess, Realtors, Dulles/Westfields Regional Office
Search for homes in Leesburg, VA and the entire DC Metro:www.averyhess.com