Scott’s weekly market update… a boring market? What? Watch the video to learn more!
Contact Scott MacDonald 703-652-5777 Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Gateway for more information and a personal assessment to meet your goals.
Real Estate
February Market Update
So Far This Year…
Nothing can stop the real estate market here in Northern Virginia; not the rising interest rates, not the pull back of the FHA mortgage insurance premium reduction, not lack of inventory, and especially not this cold weather we are experiencing.
Sales are strong and we appear to be headed for a robust spring housing market. In addition to the group of buyers we are currently working with, we are getting lots of online leads from additional buyers asking about houses; both new builds and
resale. Typically, this group will become home buyers in three to nine months – stay tuned for more details as we get down the road with these leads.
Today’s buyers are looking in all price ranges and in all locations throughout Northern Virginia. As you would imagine, the lower price points are in very high demand, but so are higher priced properties in areas like McLean and North Arlington. We have some soft spots (lowering of prices and accumulation of days on the market) in the Great Falls area, but typically, if houses are priced right, in good condition and have been staged, they are selling quickly! Thus, inventory is at a four year low with just over 3,900 existing homes currently for sale. We expect properties to come on the market in February, but with the demand we are experiencing now, they too should sell quickly.
So, what are the lessons we have learned so far in 2017? If you are a buyer, act quickly! If you find a home meets your criteria and suits your lifestyle, make an offer, don’t wait. Many properties are receiving numerous offers; therefore they are selling quickly.
If you are a seller, get your house “right” and get it on the market sooner rather than later – there is a strong appetite for housing today. Buyers are out there and ready to make a move.
If you would like to discuss your situation in more detail, please feel free to call me today. I would enjoy meeting with you to determine which is the best option for you to pursue.
Stay warm!
Scott can be reached at 703-652-5777 or scottmacdonald@remax.net.
A Quick Minute of Motivation…
Are you experiencing a real estate dip (it’s not a rut)? Don’t lose motivation! Here’s some motivation to get you out of that ‘dip’ – a quick minute of motivation message from Scott.
Contact Scott MacDonald 702-652-5777 Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Gateway for more information and motivation!
The 5 P’s of Marketing and Real Estate
At RE/MAX Gateway, we strive to add value to our agents so their businesses flourish and grow. We provide various professional development training classes, mentor programs and we make one-to-one coaching available with our highly experienced, top producing management team. In doing so, we help our agents meet or exceed their goals ever year! 
Here is an example of what we do to help agents with their marketing plans, to give them more focus and get better results.
The ‘marketing mix’ is a foundation concept in marketing that consists of the “5 P’s” – Product, Promotion, Price, Place and People. This is how we relate these fundamentals to real estate marketing:
- Product
- In real estate, you are your product. What are you doing to improve?
- Your properties are another product. How are you gaining knowledge of available properties and areas?
- Promotion
- How you market yourself.
- How you market your properties.
- How you interpret the economy to your clients and the marketplace.
- Price
- What is the value that you bring to your clients and the marketplace?
- The fees to your clients, whether buyers or sellers.
- How you properly price your product (houses).
- Place
- Where you sell and market yourself.
- Where your business is primarily located.
- People
- The company you are affiliated with and what that means.
- The clientele you wish to serve.
- The person you strive to become.
We help our agents use these tangible and intangible “P’s” by incorporating them into their business plans, helping them become top producing agents with balanced lives. Several of our agents have received numerous awards from RE/MAX including the Hall of Fame Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award by incorporating this marketing and mindset into their businesses.
Want to learn more? Please feel free to call me to set up a confidential interview at 703-652-5777 or scottmacdonald@remax.net.
Scott’s Market Minute – 1/27/17
Keeping you up to date on the real estate market in Northern Virginia. Demand is HIGH, supply is LOW. Hear what Scott has to say…now is the time to….
Contact Scott MacDonald 702-652-5777 Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Gateway for more information and a personal assessment to meet your goals.
Understanding Prepayment Penalities
For most of us, the idea of paying off our mortgage well in advance is elating. But before you make this big move, it’s important to understand prepayment penalties, and what they could mean for you.
Simply put, a prepayment penalty means you will have to pay the lender a percentage of the principal, or some other stated amount, if you decide to repay the loan early. While this may seem wild (being charged for making your payment early!?), it’s actually quite common.
Some mortgages have prepayment penalties written into them. However, the prepayment clause is usually in effect for only one to three years and may be waived for special circumstances. Lenders impose the penalty to recover any losses related to your early payment.
If you are in the market for a home loan, ask about prepayment penalties before signing on. If you are applying for a new loan, the penalty should be disclosed in the truth-in-lending statement. Read the fine print and weigh all your options.
If you already have a home loan, call your lender or dig through your paperwork to spot any prepayment penalty clauses you may have missed.
As a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, I have a wealth of real estate and home ownership information that may be of help to you. Feel free to contact me any time to learn more about this important information, and be sure to forward this article on to any friends or family that may be interested as well.
Scott’s Market Minute…
Did you miss last week’s market minute video? Check out my thoughts about the state of current inventory levels….
Contact Scott MacDonald 702-652-5777 Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Gateway for more information and a personal assessment to meet your goals.
January Market Update
Happy New Year!
It is truly hard to believe that a new year is upon us; welcome to 2017! It seems that the years fly by faster as we get older. This is an exciting time in so many respects, so it would be nice to be able to enjoy these great times longer.
Anyway, it appears as if we will have an exceptional year here in the Northern Virginia real estate market. Consumer confidence is at a 13-year high which typically bodes well for housing. Additionally, though the mortgage interest rates have risen slightly since the election, we still have many buyers out in the market looking for and in many cases buying homes today. Online activity as well as calls from our great clients like you have picked up recently. Also, all indications point to the continuation of high paying jobs here in Northern Virginia. Dr. Stephen Fuller of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis shared with us that employment in the Professional and Business services along with Retail Trade and Health/Education will all continue to grow into 2017. He predicts that 2017 will be “the year” of the decade for housing in Northern Virginia.
There is just one caveat … we need houses to sell! Inventory levels on active resales was down to just over 4,100 homes in all of Northern Virginia this past week. We haven’t had this few homes on the market since the first week of February in 2012, when it was barely over 3,900 houses. In speaking with other agents, we will have homes coming up for sale in February, but there is an appetite for houses today! So, it is not a bad idea to put your home on the market sooner than later if you are thinking about it and if your home is in the right condition to sell. The belief is that we will continue to have a demand for houses throughout the year, so if you are considering making a move in 2017, please let me know, we are here to help!
I hope you have a joyful and prosperous 2017! And please remember we are always here to help you and anyone you know with their real estate needs.
Hot & Sticky… The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market
The real estate market continues to be hot – just like the weather.
Inventory levels remain below 7,800 active properties for sale in Northern Virginia. Last year at this time we had over 9,550 – quite a difference. There is pent up demand but we are lacking “really good” inventory. We have buyers that would move up if they found something suitable in a higher price points but nothing seems to be coming on to help with this situation. So here are a few quick stats on the overall market:
- Sales of existing homes reached the highest annual pace in over 9 years at 5.29 million.
- Inventory remains below the 6-month norm and prices are still on the rise, however, this is very hyper-local so ask me for details.
- Interest rates are at a historic low of 3.48%.
Now, just like the weather, things can be a little sticky…if properties get priced too high, they are sitting on the market. They are getting lookers, just no offers which at times has led to frustration for our sellers. It is important to keep in mind proper pricing today is still critical. To learn more about how we can help you with selling your home, feel free to call me.
The big news recently has been Brexit and how it will affect us in the United States. Well, virtually immediately, interest rates on mortgages dropped to three year lows. The good news is they are expected to stay this way for a while. There is speculation that International investors may sell off their holdings in the UK and invest in the US which could be good news for cities like Washington, DC, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles – let’s keep an eye out for this movement. The overall sentiment is we may not see its full impact for years but in the short term it will be good for the US housing market.
As always, we are here to help with any questions you may have regarding the Northern Virginia real estate market and have a safe, fun and enjoyable July 4th celebration.
Scott MacDonald
RE/MAX Gateway
Scott’s Market Minute – Robust Spring Housing Market Expected
Scott MacDonald’s Northern Virginia real estate housing market trends, local statistics and how this can impact your buying or selling a home click to play video
Contact Scott MacDonald 702-652-5777 Broker for RE/MAX Gateway for more information and a personal assessment to meet your goals.
Scott MacDonald
RE/MAX Gateway
Scott's Motivation and Real Estate Market Updates 