**March Madness** The madness isn’t just about basketball!!! Here’s the latest market update video from Scott about the market in Northern Virginia.
Here’s the link to download the Sponsorship Opportunities/Registration packet for our Charity Golf Tournament: http://www.gateway2realestate.com/upcoming-events
As always, you can contact Scott at 703-652-5777 or scottmacdonald@remax.net
Have a great St. Patrick’s Day Weekend!
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This week in Northern Virginia Real Estate … it’s CRAZY out there… just like the weather!
Interested in putting your house on the market or finding your perfect home? Give me a call 703-652-5777 or scottmacdonald@remax.net
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.
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.
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.
Well, we have good news to report on the market – We have reached a point of stability.
We are now officially into the winter market as we are starting to see things wind down. Our listing inventory is currently at 8,512 houses for sale which is actually down from our 7 year high last month. 
We have a 3.7 month supply of homes which is about the same level as last month. Obviously, we would like to see more sales as would our sellers but we are maintaining our sales levels, not decreasing which is more good news. Additional positive news is interest rates remain low and prices are stable so the opportunity for buyers to lock in reasonable monthly payments is available. From the buyer’s perspective, now is a great time to buy.
I had a conversation with Josh Burruss of MVB Mortgage about payments with rates where they are today versus a situation where they to go up .5% – here is the result of our discussion. Currently the rate on a 30 year fixed conforming mortgage is approximately 4.00% (APR 4.058%) based on a sales price of $500,000 with a down payment of 20%. If the interest rate were to rise just 0.5% (4.50% – APR of 4.562%) from current levels, the principal and interest payments would increase by approximately $117/mo. The difference in the overall finance charge in these two interest rates over the life of the loan is approximately $42,241.94. As you can see, just a half percent in interest rate can mean a huge difference in overall cost over the life of a mortgage. If you want to discuss this with him in greater detail, feel free to call him at 703-727-4239.
Moving forward, we need to pay attention to the end of QE3 and the government’s subsequent completion of bond buying. We are expecting rates to rise into 2015 as a result of this policy. Right now we have great rates so take advantage while you can because the Fed still thinks it will be a “considerable time” before it begins to raise interest rates. The Zero Interest Rate Policy remains in full force, as it has been since it began at the end of 2008. This policy will change because we cannot sustain this type of monetary policy as it just continues to add to our National debt. Plus, we need a market-driven interest rate environment and a more predictable monetary policy to help foster long term economic growth. This will definitely impact our housing recovery moving forward.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your housing situation in more detail so please feel free to contact me via email scottmacdonald@remax.net or give me a call 703-652-5777
RE/MAX Gateway
October took the real estate market roller coaster ride.
Rates went up, rates came down. Sales went down, sales went up. Inventory rose, inventory came back down.
In some areas, the number of multiple contracts went down, then they went back up. Inventory of short sales and foreclosures were down, then they rose but luckily by not too much. The government shut down and the government opened back up – luckily, it was not too long and did not have a tremendous impact on the housing market.
Our emotions went up, our emotions came back down, as there was a lot of concern about delays in closings associated with the shut down because of the reduced number of employees at FHA and the IRS, but we avoided a potential disaster there. Additionally, we were worried about the government defaulting on their debt which would have sent interest rates skyrocketing, and again, fortunately, this did not happen.
Even though there were so many ups and downs, the market in October this year was still better compared to a year ago. There were more home sales, higher home prices and more homes for sale for buyers to choose from, although the uncertainty skewed people’s perception. So now you know why October was such a roller coaster for real estate.
What lies ahead on the horizon as we enter the winter market? My belief is we will be in our typical winter market. Homes will come off the market for the holidays. Motivated, savvy buyers will be out buying homes. Interest rates will remain in the low 4% range. Home prices will continue to stabilize throughout the Northern Virginia area. Houses that are priced right, in the right condition and right location will see multiple offers and our market won’t be as up and down as it was in October. Basically, we will continue to have a robust housing market locally.
To learn more about your situation, please feel free to call me today. Scott MacDonald (703) 652-5777.
RE/MAX Gateway, LLC
Wow, where did September go? It was a very interesting month – kids went back to school, football season started, the weather has changed, the housing market remained strong and the government shut down for the first time in 17 years.
It will be interesting to see how the stock market reacts to the government shutdown, what the impact will be on rates, the housing market and how long it lasts. If it is a quick shut down, we will probably see little reaction in the stock market and as a result, rates and the housing market. If it is a prolonged shutdown of a few weeks or more, the stock market will have a negative reaction, rates will rise as bond yields decrease and we could see a loss of momentum in the housing sector of the economy. What will happen to government backed loans in process and how will it affect settlements? None of these are helpful to our economy since the housing recovery leads the economic recovery as a whole. At this time, it appears as if this could last longer than just a day or two so let’s get prepared for a rocky economic road the next few weeks.
Let’s talk about the real estate market in September. We did see a pickup in sales over last year in Northern Virginia. Inventory increased slightly which gave buyers more choices. As inventory increased, distressed properties made up a lower percentage of this increase which is great for home owners. New home sales continue their strong pace of sales. Interest rates came back down as the government eased off their threat of reducing their purchasing of mortgage backed securities and we still see multiple contracts on properties in certain price points and locations.
All in all, September was a good month for Northern Virginia real estate. We need this trend to continue, so let’s hope the shutdown gets resolved more quickly than it appears it will.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to call me directly (703) 652-5777
RE/MAX Gateway, LLC
Scott's Motivation and Real Estate Market Updates 