Real estate

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.

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.

Healthy Housing Market For Home Buying And Selling in Northern Virginia

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The Northern Virginia real estate market continues to remain stable. Recent numbers show that houses are selling, prices are raising slightly, and inventory levels are increasing slightly. All of these numbers are at healthy levels in my opinion. 2015 Interest Rates Home Prices in the Northern Virginia Real Estate MarketThis news is making now a good time to both sell and buy a property.

One thing that has been a wild card is interest rates. Increased rates can hamper the steadiness of our market and right now they are near 2015 highs.  Over the past 3 weeks, there have only been two days where rates managed to improve even a little bit.  Four out of the past six days have seen uncommonly big moves higher.  These are the sorts of moves that we’d normally only see 2-3 times per month, so to see 4 of them in just over a week is alarming. It is definitely an area we need to pay attention to moving forward.

Going forward, I see more of the same out of our housing market. There will be a good home selection for buyers to choose from, reasonable prices and rates remaining in the 4% range. As good homes come on the market that are priced right, they are selling because there are buyers in the market looking to own. Houses that have been on the market because the owners “pushed” prices, didn’t have them in the right condition or just had bad timing (putting them on the market at the end of October) will continue to sit. Buyers want fresh listings, not old, tired listings that have been lingering on the market. Therefore, it remains critical to have your house staged, in the right condition and priced right to get it sold if you are looking to put your house on the market.

If you have any questions or concerns about your situation, feel free to call me today 703-652-5777 . I am happy to discuss how we can help you.

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

Real Estate Success: How To Excel In 2015

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You either rise to the challenge or you don’t.

HIGH PERFORMANCE success tips from Basketball to Business

Which will you do – rise and excel?

Will you do nothing or the same things you have always done and get what you have always received or get even less?

What will you become if you do act?

You need to make the decision to accept the challenge of achieving your goals. 

You have set them for yourself.  Act accordingly to make them happen.  Put the action items in your calendar, plan each day the night before, have a to do list of high priority activities in place to accomplish your goals and do them.  Get a routine in place and make it a habit.  If you want time, you need to make it – you won’t find it.  Your calendar is gateway to success.

Too often I hear excuses of why something cannot be done.  Stop with the excuses and start making things happen.  It is a choice.  It is easy to do nothing it is hard to make a change, accept the challenge and become better.  You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.

The critical thing you need to realize is you have to start.  Whatever you need to do to take the first step to success and achievement.  Put down the fork, go to the gym, make the call, go to the networking event, hold the open house, blog, do videos, visit with your past clients, just do the activity.  Whatever the goal you want to attain needs to start with “a first step”.  What is your first step?  Why?  What happens if you don’t take it?  More importantly, what happens if you do?  Life is full of choices – make the right ones to get you moving in a positive direction and get you out of your rut.

Important things to remember are to not overestimate the competition and do not underestimate yourself.  You are better than you think.  By doing the activities required for success, you will develop the skills, mental toughness and ability to forge ahead when things get difficult.  By taking action you gain confidence in your abilities, you stretch outside your comfort zone and you learn. 

Will you make mistakes?  Yes. 

Will it be difficult at times?  Yes.

Will it kill you? NO. 

So stop wasting time and move forward and grow from what you have learned.  Go out and make your own luck.

You have set your goals – do what it takes to make them happen.  You wouldn’t have written them out if you didn’t expect them to happen.  Life is changing rapidly, daily and you need to adjust to become better and make your dreams come true.  It is so important to increase your level of commitment so you can overcome the frustrations you have had with your previous results.  Doing nothing to change to improve yourself is actually regressing.  Regression is not an option.  Take the appropriate action required.  Now is the time.  Procrastination is over and 2015 is the time to start to make something more of yourself.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

 

How To THRIVE IN 2-0-1-5

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Happy New Year Gateway Agents,

Now that the holiday season has come and gone, it is time to get geared up for 2015 and make it your best year ever.  In order to achieve all you desire, you will have to make sacrifices, develop more willpower, practice more discipline, have more consistency and continue to grow personally and professionally.THRIVE IN 2015

The sacrifices you will have to make will come in various areas. 

One is time.  Time with family and friends will be limited.  As you will be busier than you have been before, are you ready to make this sacrifice and are they?

Another area is investing in yourself and your business.  Do you have the money and resources available to you and are you willing to allocate them appropriately this year to realize the success you are planning for in 2015.  Lastly, committing yourself to working more efficiently, effectively and focused is a huge sacrifice – are you ready to make the sacrifice for your success?

Developing willpower – the ability to say no to unproductive, time-wasting activities is huge.  You will have to say no to coffees, lunches, happy hours, and ball games with family and friends to keep you focused and on point.  Do you have what it takes to develop this necessary ingredient to high levels of achievement?  Get willpower do to the hard things and get successful.

Practicing and working on discipline is critical to getting the results you want for yourself.  Getting up earlier, staying at the office a little later, developing a morning routine that gets you on track the rest of the day, sticking with a structured schedule – daily – and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone are the pieces of the puzzle that will get you further, faster.  Be disciplined in your activities, work smarter not harder and achieve great things in 2015.

Accomplishing tasks, making things happen and doing them regularly, with consistency is a key ingredient to success.  The important thing to keep in mind here is to not let a few disappointments slow you down.  Consistently set a schedule – with top priorities the night before you leave the office, consistently call your database, consistently attend networking events, consistently grow your database, consistently review and adjust what your plan is according to how the market fluctuates.

Growing personally and professionally is another success factor.  Start an exercise program, eat healthier, drink less alcohol and sodas, stop smoking, and take time to think.  Grow professionally by attending trainings, get involved in mastermind groups, obtain a designation, get a mentor or coach and meet with an “expert” in the business to get their perspective on what is happening and what they are doing to be successful.

Here are a few more tips to consider – stay positive, stay focused, talk to yourself and stop listening to yourself, read more and watch less TV, stop complaining, hang around people more successful than you, volunteer your time, learn something new every day and take action.

Don’t just survive, it’s time to thrive in 2-0-1-5!  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

New Year Sparks Hope and Much Anticipated Home Sales As Early Spring Real Estate Market 2015 Approaches

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The beginning of the year always brings about hope, excitement and anticipation of good things ahead and 2015 is no different.  We believe that this year will be a much better year for real estate in Northern Virginia.  There are many reasons for this optimism – great rates, new financing programs, lower inventory levels, positive consumer confidence and pent-up demand.

Let’s review each of these areas.HOPE SPARK IN 2015 REAL ESTATE MARKET

  • Great rates. Although there has been a very slight uptick in rates recently, rates remain very low historically.  Additionally, the interest rates will remain low through 2015 perhaps not reaching 5% until later in the year.
  • New financing programs. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have both begun to accept 3% down payments for first time home buyers.  There will be guidelines such as a minimum 620 credit score, borrowers will have to take an educational class, and they couldn’t have owned a home in the last 3 years to qualify.  With 45% of renters delaying a home purchase because of available funds for a down payment, this should increase the number of home buyers in 2015.
  • Lower inventory levels. In September of this year, we reached a 7 year high in inventory in Northern Virginia with 9,163 houses for sale.  Since that time, the number of available homes has declined each week.  We now have just 5,944 homes for sale which resulted in a brisk sales month for December.  Some of these properties will come back on the market this upcoming spring, but many sold.  As long as we have a moderate winter weather-wise, inventory will slowly enter the market and we won’t have the accelerated inventory levels we experienced in May of 2014 due to the weather.
  • Positive consumer confidence. Many more people today believe that the economy, their personal situation and the real estate market are all going to be better in the future.  These optimistic expectations are leading indicators to people purchasing in the upcoming months – including housing.  Additionally, Freddie Mac and builders also have high expectations of the housing market.  These expectations will have a positive impact on housing in 2015.
  • Pent up demand. As previously mentioned, December experienced a brisk sales month here locally.  We continue to receive calls, emails and internet requests on our homes for sale.   This shows us that there are many people ready to buy the right home that suits their personal lifestyle needs.  Also, many people who went through distressed sales just a few years ago are able to purchase again.  Job growth coupled with population growth locally will also increase demand for housing.

One other area to see home ownership grow in 2015 and beyond is the Millennial homebuyers.  They believe in home ownership as a wealth building opportunity and an overwhelming majority of them will be buying in the next 5 years.  Lastly, rising rental rates will push more people into ownership as a cost savings measure.

All of these positive influences in our region will strengthen our housing market in 2015 and beyond.  As we see our local economy continuing to rebound after 4 years of stagnant growth, this will have a positive impact on housing.  To see what this means to you, please feel free to contact me.

Cheers in the New Year!

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

Happy New Year 2015 _ ScottyMacsBlog Real Estate Market

 

Get out of your comfort zone!

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As you grow and develop it is necessary to experience discomfort. You will need to break out of your comfort zone and create a new comfort zone that will help you expand yourself and your business. In some cases in can be referred to as expanding your box – get out of your box and experience exponential success. Let’s review how this can be broken down into manageable steps:

D – Decide that you need to do more than you are doing to get you more results than you are receiving today. Being satisfied with your results today won’t advance your future. At the same time, getting fewer results than you desire is going to put you further behind. Decide to do more today.

I – Implement the strategies required to make you attain the success you need to grow. It could be building more relationships, making more calls, attending more events, or whatever it takes to get you in front of more people. Relationships are the key to success. Build relationships deeper, make new ones and make them count for you and them!

S – Strategdiscomfort blog picize the what, how and benefits of what your actions will do for you and others. It will be necessary to adapt to the changing environment and make yourself relevant. Technology is rapidly changing all aspects of our lives and you need to make sure your strategy is in alignment with these changes.

C – Create the vision to make it happen. Write down what is necessary for your success, visualize your success in these undertakings and the results it will bring you and others – and they will happen.

O – Ownership of the ideas, thoughts and necessary tasks to get you to where you want to go will enable you to achieve your success. If you don’t buy into the end result, you won’t leave your comfort zone and make it happen.

M – Mastery of stretching yourself beyond your comfort zone through repetition, role playing and rehearsal will make you more comfortable in doing what is necessary to take yourself to the next level. Become a master of what steps you need to take to make it take place for you.

F – Find people who will help push you out of your comfort zone and want to see you become successful. Having others hold you accountable, help you grow and have your best interest at heart is vital to your growth.

O – Opportunities will become available to you as you make yourself expand and grow outside your comfort zone. You will be able to direct your future and take advantage of these opportunities. Luck is preparation meeting opportunity – be ready by experiencing discomfort.

R – Reward yourself for your new found comfort zone. If you don’t take the time to pat yourself on the back with small, medium or large rewards for your efforts, you won’t continue to put forth the effort. Rewarding yourself is a critical piece to keeping you motivated to do more.

T – Track and measure your results so you know how far away or how close you are to your goals and what you need to do to expand yourself to make these dreams a reality. What can be measured can be improved. Tracking what needs to be done for your success is imperative to receive results.

Discomfort allows you to grow and become better in the end and it is necessary for your success in all areas of your life. As the saying goes, if you aren’t growing, you are dying. Step up your efforts, step up your activities, grow outside your comfort zone – with baby steps or by leaps and bounds – and get where you want to go faster and perhaps even further than you expected. Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell something!

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

A Stable Real Estate Market and Great Interest Rates – That’s Something To Be Thankful For

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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.  STONE BALANCEWe 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

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

Stable Real Estate Market Dispite Increase In Distressed Properties

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Stable Real Estate Market SEPT 2014The word this past month used to describe the real estate market would be stable.

Although we are at an 8 year high in inventory levels, we didn’t see the rapid increase in inventory like we have experienced since May which is a good thing.  One area that we saw an increase in was in distressed property inventory.  Even though nationwide there are fewer foreclosures and short sales, we have more of them on the market here locally.  They are nowhere near previous levels but they are up 22% since the last week of June.  We will continue to monitor this for you and let you know of opportunities that are available.  We also did see a slowdown in sales which we don’t like to experience.  It was the fewest amount of sales for a month since January of this year but their numbers were virtually identical week to week so they were stable.  So, when you have high inventory levels coupled with fewer sales, we have seen more stable prices which is good for buyers.  It helps to keep housing affordability levels high for our buyer clients.  Owners are seeing the need to properly price their houses to make them competitive with the rest of the marketplace.  In addition to these market conditions we saw rates decline which helps keep the market stable as well.  Lastly, one area of surprise we experienced was the past week at our listings.  We saw an uptick in showings and buyer interest in our listings on line and in phone call inquiries.  This is good news as activity leads to sales.

FALL 2014 prognosis SOLID REAL ESTATE MARKETOn another note, we have a group of agents from different companies in our area that meet monthly.  These agents are in the top 5% of agents across the entire country in regards to sales.  We discuss the local market, inventory levels, buyer preferences, seller expectations, listing activity, and many other real estate related topics.   In this Platinum Club group meeting this past month we discussed the fall market and what our expectations were about the upcoming season.  The sentiment is the fall market will be a solid market in regards to sales.  We were all optimistic about what the market is going to bring and seeing activity at our listings pick up this past week may be the start of the momentum our region needs.  We will keep you posted.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you or if you know of someone who may need our help.  We are here for you. Feel free to call me directly (703) 652-5777.

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway

Hey, Why Is It Taking So Long To Sell My Home? Theme Park: Northern Virginia Real Estate Market

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July 2014 REAL ESTATE MARKET is like a carnival rideThe summertime real estate market is a lot like a theme park – ups and downs like a roller coaster with sales, activity and interest rates and a lot of unknowns like a haunted house.

There are a lot of questions around what is happening in the market from sellers and builders we are working with to sell their houses.

It is an interesting dynamic where we have extremely low interest rates – at or near 4% – and a high home affordability index yet sales are not as strong as we expect them to be considering this situation.

July 2014 REAL ESTATE MARKET for sellers is like a haunted house
What are the reasons for this?

One potential reason is price appreciation along with the multiple offers earlier this year. Many potential homebuyers naturally paused to wonder: is it a new bubble? Or can I afford these prices? But price appreciation has greatly moderated as we have seen inventory rise dramatically since the beginning of the year.

Therefore, potential homebuyers will no longer face the sticker shock and can now make rational decisions about whether or not it makes sense to buy a home.

Along with the increase in houses on the market, we will be creating new buyers as these homes sell. So demand will increase as more sales happen in many instances.

Another reason is the economy isn’t growing as quickly as was expected and consumer confidence is not extremely strong. Once buyers gain confidence in the economy, housing will follow suit and grow with the economy. Until then, we will see moderate house sales as well as price appreciation.

We also are still experiencing tight lending guidelines and underwriting policies on mortgages. It is still hard for many potential buyers to obtain loans. The “qualification pendulum” is still too far to one side and needs to be moderated to allow more buyers into the marketplace with sound lending practices.

So, in order to be a seller in today’s market, you need to be patient. Good houses, properly priced, in the right condition will sell. It will just take a little longer.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call me (703) 652-5777 so we can discuss your personal situation in more detail. We are here to help.
Happy 4th of July!

Scott MacDonald

RE/MAX Gateway