Real estate

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.

Understanding Prepayment Penalities

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penaltyFor 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.

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.

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