northern Virginia

February Market Update

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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 andrrg-logo_small 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…

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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

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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! 5-ps-traditional-marketing

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:

  1. Product
    1. In real estate, you are your product. What are you doing to improve?
    2. Your properties are another product. How are you gaining knowledge of available properties and areas?
  2. Promotion
    1. How you market yourself.
    2. How you market your properties.
    3. How you interpret the economy to your clients and the marketplace.
  3. Price
    1. What is the value that you bring to your clients and the marketplace?
    2. The fees to your clients, whether buyers or sellers.
    3. How you properly price your product (houses).
  4. Place
    1. Where you sell and market yourself.
    2. Where your business is primarily located.
  5. People
    1. The company you are affiliated with and what that means.
    2. The clientele you wish to serve.
    3. 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

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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.

Hot & Sticky… The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market

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The real estate market continues to be hot – just like the weather.independence day  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

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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

 

Northern Virginia Real Estate, Housing Inventory and Snowmagedon 2016

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Scott MacDonald video update about the local housing market statistics and the impact on buying and selling a home in Northern Virginia – even with Winter Storm Jonas and the possibility of Snowmageddon 2016!  click to play video

Scott Market Minute 2016JAN22

Now is a great time to buy and sell a house!

Contact Scott MacDonald 702-652-5777 Broker for RE/MAX Gateway for more information and a personal assessment of your housing goals.

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

Buckle up and hold on tight! 2016 Northern Virginia Real Estate Market Update

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Wow, 2015 flew by in a blink of an eye and I am sure 2016 will as well.  As Happy New Year 2016 from REMAX GatewayI mentioned in my previous market updates, we pretty much enjoyed a stable market for housing in 2015.  I expect things to pick up in 2016 because of all the recent activity.  Many of our agents have been working through the holidays with clients and I too have been meeting with both buyers and sellers looking to make moves in 2016 – more so than any other recent December.  So buckle up, the market will be moving forward in a positive direction.

A few areas in the mortgage arena for us to keep our eyes on are rising interest rates and loan products.  Now that the Fed has raised their rate, mortgage interest rates are now just above 4%.  Still great, don’t get me wrong, but they are just a tad higher than where they have been most of 2015.  The other interesting thing to watch with mortgages are the new programs coming into the market.  Fannie Mae now has a low down payment loan to compete with FHA loans.  These loans compete because the down payment can be a gift so buyers don’t need to have their own money saved for the down payment.  Additionally, I have read there are potentially no down payment loans coming back into the market soon.  These two loan products could help Millennial buyers enter the market sooner as they have not been able to save for their down payments due to high rents, student loan debt and lower paying jobs.  This is important because Millenials will be the largest home buying demographic once they can afford to buy.

Something else to watch is as sales continue to rise, prices too will follow – hopefully at a sustainable rate and not like the San Francisco market or our market from 2002-2006.  Home ownership is extremely important to wealth building and consistent growth in prices help this happen for many people.  We don’t need an escalating housing price market like we had in the past, as no one wins in the end.  I would expect a 3-5% increase in housing overall in Northern Virginia.  Some areas will see more, others less, so please ask me about your home’s value if you are interested.

As always, if you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, I am here to help so please feel free to call me.  Here is to making 2016 one of your best years ever!  Happy New Year!

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway
4090B Lafayette Center Drive, Chantilly, VA 20151
Offices strategically located throughout Northern Virginia.

Economic Forecast for 2016 and what it means to the Northern Virginia Real Estate Market

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Happy Holidays!  Sorry for the delay this month but I wanted to have our Economic Summit with Dr. Stephen Fuller to fill you in on what is coming down the pike for our economy here in Northern Virginia.happy holidays from REMAX gateway

This year sales remained strong and higher than last year indicating we are still in an improving market.  Prices are stable as we wait for higher paying jobs which happened in the last local jobs report.  Higher paying jobs, along with lower inventory will put upward prices on houses in the future.  Next year will be even better than this year but it appears as if 2017 will be the best year of the decade so we have that to look forward to in housing.  Also, new home starts as well as sales are projected to increase in this same manner which will create even more jobs for our local economy.

Additionally, we see no reason that the Continuing Resolution bill will not pass and be implemented which will lead to the first of 8 interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.  Both announcements are due the second and third week of December.  The mortgage interest rates published today already have this rise in rates priced into them so we are not expecting a spike in mortgage interest rates next week when it is announced.  It is projected that by 2018, the Fed rate will be about 3.25% and mortgage interest rates will be around 6%.

Our job market will continue to grow in mostly higher paying jobs but the food and leisure jobs still are the strongest in our economy.  Professional Services and Health Care are coming on strong and this is where the higher paying jobs are for us.  This trend will continue for the next few years.

All in all, a bright forecast for our real estate market just in time for the holidays!  If you would like a copy of the presentation he gave us, please let me know and I will send it to you.

Enjoy this time of year with your friends and family and please be safe!  Until next year, Happy Holidays!

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway
4090B Lafayette Center Drive, Chantilly, VA 20151
Offices strategically located throughout Northern Virginia.

 

Real Estate Market Changes and Challenges November 2015

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Leaves are falling and so is our inventory of homes for sale in Northern Virginia.  It is typical that homeowners who don’t need to sell or don’t have to sell take their homes off the market this time of year.Fall 2015 Real Estate Update  Along with the falling leaves and inventory, house sales are also falling – again, typical for this time of year.  Many potential homebuyers take a break over the holiday in anticipation of the spring market.

All this being said, there are sales happening in the marketplace.  Year over year sales are up in Northern Virginia as are sales prices making our housing market healthy.  If you have a situation which causes you to sell, now is a good time to do so.  With lower inventory levels and serious buyers in the market you can set your house apart from the competition to attract a sale.  Couple this with mortgage interest rates remaining low adds to the allure of home ownership right now.

On an interesting note, the SEC passed a ruling – Title III – which will allow retail investors to have access to invest in private businesses without that company having to register with the SEC.  This could have an impact on real estate as Equity Crowdfunding is a $2.5 Billion market.  These are groups that are forming to purchase properties and rent them out or fix and flip them.  This ruling goes into effect in 90 days and it won’t transform real estate overnight but it is something for us to keep an eye on moving forward.  To learn more about this, please feel free to call me 703-652-5777.

Oh, and we cannot forget, it is that time of year again, when the holiday season comes into full swing!  We have Thanksgiving right around the corner followed by Christmas and New Year’s Day – lots of time to spend with family and friends.  We wish you a happy time this season and hope you have a great holiday season.  And always remember, if you have any questions or concerns about real estate, we are here to help!

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

4090B Lafayette Center Drive, Chantilly, VA 20151

Offices strategically located throughout Northern Virginia.