And while my Hokies sadly under performed in this year’s Orange Bowl, I happily cheered on the Green Bay Packers as they claimed victory over the Pittsburg Steelers this past Sunday in the Super Bowl.

It was a bittersweet day as I cherished the last few moments of this year’s beloved football season.

And now that the last play has been called and last trophy awarded, all that’s left is a massive void in my weekend lineup.  Hours of the day no longer filled with team rivalries, tailgates and lazy time in front of the TV.

I know I’m not the only one suffering from post-season withdrawals, so for the benefit of us all, I’ve vowed to be one of the FIRST to put DOWN the remote, emerge from my off-season hangover and get out and enjoy the city.

But what to do?  DC has no shortage of activities, and even in the frozen tundra that surrounds us, plenty of choices abound.

Here are my top three “Post-Season” picks

1) Get “Iced” with Ovechkin & Washington Capitals

It’s not football, but with a better track record than the Washington Redskins, attending a Capitals game always guarantees a great time and will help you get your sport fix.

Selling out over 89 straight home games and coming off two wins this weekend, the Washington Capitals are on a winning streak that will hopefully continue and propel them into the playoffs for a chance to win the Stanley Cup.

With 12 home games left this season, and 5 of those games on the weekends, there’s no better time to grab your family or friends, throw on your Capitals Red and head to the Verizon Center to watch some of hockey’s best duke it out on the ice.

Hockey not your sport of choice? Fear not, we are extremely fortunate to have a number of professional sport teams right here in DC.  Grab a ticket to the next Wizards game and watch the development of the NBA’s #1 overall pick, and future superstar, John Wall –  or you can dust off your old baseball glove and get ready to catch a fly ball on March 31^st when the Nationals have their first home game of the 2011 baseball season.

2) “Window Shop” at DC’s National Mall

With DC being a hot spot for family vacations and school trips, visiting the National Mall during “tourist season” can be more crowded and stressful than a shopping trip to Tysons Corner during the Holidays!

So take this opportunity during the off-season months to go out and visit some of DC’s finest museums and monuments without having to fight the masses or sweltering temperatures outside.  Not sure where to start?  Visit the Smithsonian website to get an overview of all their museums or take a peek at the map below and come up with a plan of your own.

3)    “Wine” a Little in Loudoun County

Your team might have lost in the playoffs, but instead of sitting at home and sulking, take that sadness, bottle it up and spend an afternoon “wining” at one of the beautiful vineyards located right outside of DC. Loudoun County offers some of the best wines on the east coast and is the perfect destination for a leisurely day trip outside of the city.

One of my favorite vineyards to visit is Notaviva.  With a beautiful blue house that has a warm wooden interior and stretching landscapes around back, it’s the perfect place to sample a new bottle of wine, while enjoying the scenery.  Craving something sweet? For a dollar, they’ll even give you a “smores” kit to make your own in the backyard fire pit!

With so much to do around the city, the list could go on and on, and while it’s hard to put down the remote and pull myself away from ESPN, I’m excited to spend the football off-season exploring the Nation’s Capital and recommend you join me in doing the same!

To share your cures for the “off-season blues,” learn more about MyLife, view pictures, videos, post comments, and suggest adventures “like” MyLife in Metro DC on Facebook!

- Kristin

• Homes for sale: 360 for sale in December (Way down from the 478 for sale at the end of June, July and August and down from 374 in December last year.)
• Homes sold: 77 sold in December. (Down from 121 in December last year when there was tax credit in place.)
• Average sold price: $330,012 (down from $364,091 one year ago.)Average days on market: 56 (way up after having been in the high 30s all year and was 39 days one year ago)

Last year at this time we still had a homebuyer tax credit in place. So the comparisons are hard to match.

Are prices falling? One month does not make a trend so we will see what the rest of January brings. With stable employment and low interest rates, I cannot imagine why prices would not be stable. Sterling is still way above the December lows of two years ago. Sterling has a great housing stock of all sizes, prices and ages. At the present rate of sales and inventory, Sterling has between a four and five-month supply of homes, and six is considered a balanced market.

Commentary and analysis provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President.
Search for homes in Sterling, VA and the entire DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

• Homes for sale: 570 (down a little from 585 in August and about the same as 571 one year ago)
• Homes sold: 87 (about equal to 86 last month and 88 one year ago)
• Average sold price: $410,491 (down from 431,213 in August but up from $400,991 same time last year.)
• Average days on market: 57 (down from 63 in August and down from 66 one year ago.)

One year ago the sales were influenced by the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. This year’s numbers are without benefit of a tax credit. Proof that buyers do not need stimulus from the government to know a good value when they see it and here in Leesburg it can’t be missed!
Interest rates are in the 4s. Is now a good time to buy? You decide.

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

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

• Homes for sale: 478 for sale at the end of June, July and August (compare to 443 one year ago.)
• Homes sold: 86 sold in September. (Down from 98 in August. And down from 132 one year ago when a homebuyer tax credit was in place.)
• Average sold price: $335,573 (similar to the August level of $335,137, but up from $304,717 one year ago.)
• Average days on market: 38 (very stable, been in the high 30s all year and was 49 days one year ago)

Personally I would rather see a stable market than a rising or falling market. A stable market gives a buyer the opportunity to take their time and enjoy the excitement of buying a new residence. No need to be in a rush or have to compete with a throng of other buyers bidding up the prices. No auction or greed mentality. The buyer and seller can each negotiate on the price and terms and each can feel at an equal amount of anxiety wondering if they can come to an acceptable agreement. And both can do so without any prodding or need for incentives from the government.

Commentary and analysis provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President.
Search for homes in Sterling, VA and the entire DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

The figures below reflect the Leesburg, Virginia market during the month of June 2010.

• Homes for sale: 585 (up a little from 576 in July and from 541 one year ago)
• Homes sold: 86 (down from 119 in July and 117of one year ago)
• Average sold price: $431.213 (down from 439,662 in July but up from $412,245  same time last year.)
• Average days on market: 63 (very stable through 2010, and down from 84 one year ago.)

The numbers in Leesburg prove that we do not need tax credits to sell houses. People know a good value when they see it and here in Leesburg it can’t be missed.

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

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

• Homes for sale: 467 for sale at the end of June and July (very stable! 454 in May, 470 in April, 460 in March and down from 491 one year ago.)
• Homes sold: 89 sold in July. (Way down from the tax credit frenzied 133 in June. And down from 135 one year ago when another tax credit was in place.)
• Average sold price: $305,155 (down from $305,155 one year ago.)
• Average days on market: 42 ( very stable, 39 in June and 32 days one year ago)

Note that in the past 13 months prices in Sterling had risen from an average of under $320,000 to over $365,000. Then suddenly with the July closings, we saw an average sales price of only $305,155. This tells me that we had an absence of higher priced units selling and that had the effect of a big drop in the averages. We went from 133 closings to 89. The big difference was the majority of these closing were lower priced houses. Much of the trade up market took the opportunity to buy and close in time to get the tax credit. As the market stabilizes in the absence of any more government stimulus, it is this writers hope that there will be no more government intervention in the market so the market can normalize without stimulus. Stimulus, or even the expectation of a stimulus, distorts the market by influencing behavior. It is also very expensive to our national budget, since in a majority of cases we are paying people to do what they were going to do anyway.

Commentary and analysis provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President.
Search for homes in Sterling, VA and the entire DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

The figures below reflect the Leesburg, Virginia market during the month of June 2010.

• Homes for sale: 621 (almost the same as 618 in May, and close to the 614 one year ago)
• Homes sold: 126 (up from 91 in May and close to the 132 of one year ago)
• Average sold price: $436.670417,479 (up from 417,479 in May and up from $420,963 in April and up from $410,940 same time last year.)
• Average days on market: 46 (down from 59 in May and 55 in April and way down from 80 one year ago.)

No tax credits, but the sales are still good and prices are stable to rising. Please congress, no more intervention in the markets, We need things to stabilize as they are now doing on their own, thank you very much! The real estate market is getting stronger everywhere in the DC Metro area as stable employment, low interest rates and good consumer confidence leads to a trifecta of positives for the market.

• Homes for sale: 467 for sale at the end of June (very stable! 454 in May, 470 in April, 460 in March and down from 488 one year ago.)
• Homes sold: 133 sold in June. (Compared to 132 in May, 121 in April, 111 in March, but down from 159 one year ago when prices were cheaper.)
• Average sold price: $365,113 (way up from $319,844 one year ago.)
• Average days on market: 39 ( down from 43 in May and down from 64 days one year ago)

Note that in the past year prices in Sterling have risen from an average of under $320,000 to over $365,000. This is an increase of 14%. This 14% increase has had the effect of eliminating some lower income buyers from the housing market. Isn’t that interesting? While the media keeps talking about falling prices and shadow inventories, prices in Sterling are up 14% per year for two years in a row. The effect, even with the lowest rates in years, is that some folks are already priced out of the market.

For those hearty souls who had the courage to buy since the market bottomed in December 2008 they have been rewarded with increasing equity from price increases as well as paying down a small part of their mortgage each month with every payment. Not to mention the bragging rights of telling their friends at parties about the great real estate deal they got back in…

Commentary and analysis provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President.

Search for homes in Sterling, VA and the entire DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

The figures below reflect the Leesburg, Virginia market during the month of May 2010.

• Homes for sale: 618 (down from 646 last month, and down from 643 one year ago)
• Homes sold: 91 (down from the tax credit induced frenzy  of 108 last month)
• Average sold price: $417,479 (down just a smidge from $420,963 last month but still up from $385,551 same time last year.)
• Average days on market: 59 (up from 55 last month and way down from 113 one year ago.)

Increasing consumer confidence combined with historically low interest rates have combined to help make it fun to trade up to a larger house again. Homeowners with equity are finding good demand for their homes and are happy with the supply of higher priced houses they have to choose from. Prices in Leesburg reflect this new healthy and stable market.

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

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

• Homes for sale: 470 (up from 460 last month and down from 507 one year ago.)
• Homes sold: 121 (up from 111 last month but pretty stable compared to one year when there were 123 sales)
• Average sold price: $328,097 (up from $318,038 last month and $286,037 one year ago. +14%)
• Average days on market: 23 ( down from 30 last month and very stable so far in 2010, down from 86 one year ago)

Here we are Post-Tax Credit. The predictions of Doom & Gloom seem not to have panned out. Folks are still buying and selling as they have for generations, without government subsidies. Today’s prices are still great values and affordability is at historic highs due to exceptionally low interest rates. Sterling has been an active market and the price increases and reduced selling time are proof of that.

It remains a fact that the market bottomed in December 2008. Buyers who have purchased since then have been rewarded with increasing equity from price increases as well as paying down a small part of their mortgage each month with every payment.

Commentary and analysis provided by David Hess, Executive Vice President.

Search for homes in Sterling, VA and the entire DC Metro: www.averyhess.com