A Mountain Biking Epic in Montgomery, Maryland

The weather in the DC Metro area has been dreary for the past few days, but this weekend is supposed to bring sunshine. That means cooped up adults and families alike will be anxious to head outside, especially in what is usually best month for outdoor activities.

If you really want to get up and go this weekend, Montgomery, Maryland may have the outing you are looking for.

This Sunday, October 16^th, the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE) holds the second annual MoCo Epic, a day of off-road biking throughout the area.

If you are not familiar with Epics, they are the International Mountain Biking Association’s list of what they consider to be epic bike rides. For mountain biking enthusiasts, these trails are the ones that shouldn’t be missed. Among the amazing rides listed are famous trails in Whistler, British Columbia; Boulder, Colorado and Park City, Utah. Also on that list is a 62-mile ride in Maryland know as the MoCo loop.

The MoCo Loop twists and turns through parks in Montgomery County and surrounding areas and, to showcase it, MORE holds the Moco Epic.

The Epic is five different rides, all on Sunday, designed for people of varying skill. Even as a novice, there’s an opportunity to see what local mountain biking has to offer. There’s a 2-4 mile ride for kids. Then the trails move up in length and degree of difficulty, with opportunities to ride a 25, 35, 45 or 62 mile loop. The 62 mile ride, known as a century ride since it’s 100 kilometers, goes through nine different state parks in the area.

The MoCo Epic was created to show that despite being in the middle of suburbia, there is still an astounding amount of nature to see. The trails are not too difficult, with some small hills, streams and rough patches. Among the parks visited during the ride are Schaeffer Farms, Hoyles Mill Conservation Area, Black Hill Regional Park, Great Seneca Stream Valley Park and the Seneca Ridge Overlook.

Sunday’s rides begin at Schaeffer Farms, with the 62-mile loop kicking off at 7:30. The rest of the rides are staggered by distances, staring every hour after that. Schaeffer Farms is located a few miles west of the town of Gaithersburg, abutting Seneca Creek State Park.

Registration for the Epic closes Friday at midnight, and spots are filling up fast, so to sign up now, visit the registration page.

However, missing the deadline isn’t a huge deal, since these trails are open year-round at a cost much cheaper than the cost to participate in Epic.  Anyone, anytime, can go mountain biking on the MoCo Loop for free. The Epic is just one way for people to try out the Loop. There’s no reason, if you miss out this weekend, to not visit on any other day of the week or any other weekend. A map of the 62-mile loop is available here, but riders don’t have to limit themselves to just the beaten path. There are plenty of mountain biking trails in and around the Schaeffer Farms area.

So when the rain finally cuts off this weekend, grab your sturdy mountain bike and see exactly how adventurous you can be in the Washington, D.C. area.

-David

Spotsylvania County Market Report – 10/12/11

Rain, rain go away, come again another day!  Boy has this last month been rainy!  I don’t ever remember a fall quite like this one!  I am hoping that the weather has had something to do with our statistics because the numbers are a bit dreary too!

Our new listings have decreased since this time last year.  This is such an amazing fact considering that our interest rates have been hovering at a historical low and that there are still so many Buyers out there!  Our supply and demand is not going to change, and the fact that we are in a Buyers’ market is not going to change, until new inventory starts to saturate our market.  This number in Spotsylvania and the surrounding counties shows that we really do need to have more listings come on the market!

Our closed sales have not changed but our new pending sales are slightly up compared to this time last year.  Our days on market have decreased (this is a good sign!) and our sold dollar volume has increased.  One of the most interesting parts of this month’s stats is the fact that the sale of attached units have increased (this would be townhomes and condos) and the amount of detached units have very slightly decreased.  This shows the amount of first time homebuyers we have in our market place as well as the desire by many to downsize.

Please read on for more stats:

As we start moving from the fall and heading into the winter, just remember that our market is still busy!  Don’t let the doom and gloom you hear all over the news discourage you!

Real estate is LOCAL and locally we are far better off than many other regions of our great nation.  We have many Buyers in the market place who are just waiting for that right place to come on the market.

We have Sellers who can finally afford to sell and want to take advantage of the numerous Buyers out there.  We have some banks that are more willing to work with Sellers rather than let them foreclose.  We do see some positives in this glass less than half full atmosphere!  Sometimes we just have to look harder to find them!

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

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

Arlington County Market Report – 10/06/11

As the old saying goes, “real estate is local.” This certainly holds true as we listen to the evening news and read about the market conditions throughout the country.

Most of the major markets are still suffering the effects of the downturn in the economy fueled by the unprecedented number of foreclosures and short sales. However, there are a few bright spots and Arlington can be considered to be one of them.

Although still not back to the pre-2005 levels, Arlington has seen more of a recovery than most locations in the DC area. While the end of the summer did show a slight decline in many statistical areas from the early summer, August numbers remained relatively consistent with the previous year.

Nearly 75% of all the sales were conventional financing. Because the average sales price exceeds the FHA guidelines, the buyers tend to be more qualified and financially secure, able to put 20% down thus having a bigger stake in home ownership. This will lead to a continuing rise in property values and stabilization of the market.

Sterling, VA Market Report 10/03/11

Moving into Fall of 2011, the Sterling Market has seen a great resurgence of the average sales price — up nearly 16% over August, 2010.  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.

Statistics for zip codes 20164, 20165, and 20166 -

All indications are that the Sterling market will continue to enjoy a steady increase in value.  While Loudoun County has seen the average sales price hold steady year over year, this is a refreshing highlight for the Sterling Market, hit so hard by the distress property sales of last year.

Information obtained from statistics supplied by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, and analysis and comment by Jim Agnew, Managing Broker, Avery Hess, Realtors, Dulles/Westfields Regional Office