Happy Holidays!  As you are out shopping, heading to parties, potlucks and the like, we too are in full holiday mode in the real estate market. Inventory is dropping as sellers who are not in a “must sell” situation are taking their homes off the market, leaving us with sellers who truly “need to sell” staying on the market. This time of year is always a great time to buy as opportunities are available for home buyers. Sellers, don’t despair, there is activity, houses are selling, and, in some cases, multiple offers are out there. Recently, we have had 20 plus people attend open houses as the weather has been cooperating.  Also, with less inventory and houses decorated for the season, you can still sell your house as the festive look appeals to many home buyers. To learn more if you should buy or sell in December, please call me.

What else is happening in our area? Well, Amazon HQ2 and a half is coming to Crystal City. My feeling is this will have some impact in the very local area, but not overall as it did in the Puget Sound area where Amazon built their first headquarters. Over half of the new jobs will be non-tech related and the average salary will be $150,000. This salary is very good, but not enough to escalate prices like Amazon employees did in Seattle. The average sales price in Crystal City today is $565,000 and we may see this increase as investors are looking to buy, but not everyone is going to buy. Also, many prospective employees may already be in the area working at other companies, so this too won’t impact housing to a large extent. Lastly, in our area, we have created, on average, 50,000 jobs per year over the last decade. Amazon is only bringing 2,500 jobs per year over the next 10-15 years for a total of 25,000 jobs. Again, this is a nice boost to employment, but not enough to spike the needle in our local real estate market. It is definitely a good thing for our region as we beat out 238 other cities for HQ2, showing the rest of the country we have reasons why other companies should move here as well. If you have any other questions, please feel free to call me.

Have a fantastic holiday season with your family and friends! We’re looking forward to an amazing 2019!