Proper Representation

Our belief – one of our CORE beliefs – is that  consumers are   best served through proper representation from a licensed  professional.

For most, buying or selling a home is an infrequent transaction with  enormous financial and emotional considerations.

It’s stressful,  emotionally-charged and high-stakes. Having a real estate professional central to the process of pricing, listing, selling and purchasing a home is important; real estate is not entertainment, and it’s not a game – bad data, inaccurate “value estimates,” and inflating inventory levels on websites creates confusion about what’s really happening in a market.

We understand that serious consumers want the real facts about a market. And we understand that these consumers also want to find a professional who can clearly articulate what these facts mean to their personal situation.

That’s why REALTOR.com® works tirelessly to be the most accurate site with the largest database of homes for sale. And that’s why we update most listings every 15 minutes.

Consumers know they can trust the data; the quality and accuracy of the listing content is second to none.

But searching for homes and researching the market is just the beginning. Market conditions vary from city-to-city and neighborhood-to-neighborhood. So when consumers move forward and take their search from online to real-life, we help them with the next step:

Connecting with a local real estate professional that can help.

A professional that’s immersed in local trends. Well versed in neighborhood nuances. Someone who can take the science of real data and apply it to the art of local real estate.

For sellers, this professional is someone who can navigate changing markets deftly and help price a home appropriately. Someone that helps ensure a smooth ride all the way from contract acceptance to settlement.

For buyers, this professional is a sounding board during their search, and their advocate during contract negotiations all the way to the first day in a new home.

Ultimately, there is a lot more than search to consider throughout the course of a transaction.

Pricing. Negotiations. Offers. Counter-Offers. Contracts the size of novellas. Addenda. Financing. Contingencies. Walkthroughs. Punch Lists. The list goes on and on and on. Navigating all of this takes skill and determination, and licensed real estate professionals are just the folks that can help.

After all, it’s what they do for a living, 24-7, 365.

Buffett: Single Family Homes Better Long Term Investment Than Stocks

Buffett: Single Family Homes Better Long Term Investment Than Stocks Warren Buffett says along with equities, single-family homes are a very attractive investment right now.

Appearing live on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Buffett tells Becky Quick he’d buy up “millions” of single family homes if it were practical to do so.

If held for a long period of time and purchased at low rates, Buffett says houses are even better than stocks.  He advises buyers to take out a 30-year mortgage and refinance if rates go down.

Northern Virginia Housing Market (Real Estate Market)

Inventory level is 50% less from 14,988 in 2008 to 7,823 in 2011 … WOW!!! If there is no supply what happens to prices?? In Fairfax unemployment rate is 5%. fyi: median sales prices from 2008 to 2009 went up 19.6% from $280K to $335K … 2010 and 2011 about the same. Months supply 3.1 months from 3.8 months (2011 vs 2010) – normal equilibrium 6 months … no Inventory!!! All this information is for Northern Virginia Housing Market.

Market Update: Northern Virginia

http://ahref=

Net Worth vs Income – a BIG Difference

Net Worth has been historically 31 to 46 times higher for home-owners vs renters.

This is the same thing as Wealthy vs Rich. There is folk who think that because they make 200K that it’s money … they rent the BMW, the rent the condo for $3000 and they think that it will be roses a whole way. Even if they set aside 400K in an IRA this is insufficient for 30 year retirement period b/c of higher life expectancy, unkown life expenses, and inflation that we’ll eat through the savings at a much quicker pace that one realizes. The best thing to do is to have multiple streams and squirrel away in various asset classes as much as you can! Owning a bunch of houses is smart because it’s the same as bond payments that keep on coming. Housing can not go bankrupt … people have to live somehwere so you can always rent out your investment properties that’ll appreciate above inflation (new land is not created and there is population growth). US to add 60 million by 2020 and to be 400 million by 2050 from 307 million as of today.

Record High Housing Affordability

Record High Housing Affordability

The relationship between median family income, median home price and average mortgage interest rate is hovering at the most favorable level dating back to the beginning of NAR’s Housing Affordability Index

in 1970. The index is relative, with 100 defined as the point where a median-income family can afford a

median-priced home, with a 20 percent downpayment and 25 percent of gross income devoted to

mortgage principal and interest. For first-time buyers with comparable income but making a small

downpayment, affordability levels are roughly 80 percent of the index level.

Any housing affordability index over 100 is considered favorable. 2009 set a record high with the index

at 172, meaning the typical family had 172 percent of the income needed to purchase a median-priced

home. For 2010, NAR projects the index to remain around that level, meaning there’s never been a

period in American history when home buyers had more purchasing power than they do today.

Abnormally Low Housing Construction and Household Formation

There is a clear relationship between household formation and housing starts. The U.S. population is

growing by about 3 million people a year, which would normally result in 1.0 to 1.4 million additional

households being formed each year, but it’s been weak for the past few years and totaled only 398,000 in

2009. On the supply side, we lose about 300,000 old housing units per year through obsolescence and

demolition, which translates into a long-term underlying demand for 1.3 to 1.7 million housing starts per year.

We clearly overbuilt from 2002 through 2006, but have fallen notably below historic averages since 2007.

In fact, construction activity in 2010 is only one third of the long-term average demand of about 1.5

million. The construction slowdown will help to support home values, which will become very clear

once the available housing supply eventually diminishes to more normal levels.

Ironically, if construction doesn’t return to normal levels within a few years, we could be looking at future

housing shortages and abnormal pressure on home prices. In the meantime, household formation is

constrained with kids moving back home, never leaving home in the first place or doubling up with

roommates. Much of the slowdown in household formation is tied to weak confidence resulting from

insufficient job creation, which impacts both home sales and apartment rentals.

 

http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/533fdd0044f5bbdea94aeb5d6aeab3b5/ValueofHomeownership_white_paper_rev1110.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=533fdd0044f5bbdea94aeb5d6aeab3b5

HomeOwnership and School Accomplishment

A very interesting read …

The decision to stay in school by teenage students is higher for those raised by home-owning parents compared to those in renter households.  Furthermore, daughters of homeowners have a much lower incidence of teenage pregnancy. The authors point to certain behavioral characteristics required of homeowners that get passed onto their children. First, a home purchase naturally involves one of the largest financial commitments most households will undertake. Homeowners, therefore, tend to minimize bad behavior by their children and those of their neighbors that can negatively impact the value of homes in their neighborhood. Second, homeowners are required to take on a greater responsibility such as home maintenance and acquiring the financial skills to handle mortgage payments. These life management skills may get transferred to their children. However, the causation link between homeownership and improved schooling performance is not completely clear. It could very well be that homeownership brings residential stability, and it is the stability that raises educational attainment. Such an interpretation would be consistent with a study by the New York Federal Reserve Bank which found that, though homeownership raises educational outcomes for children, neighborhood stability further enhanced the positive outcome.8 In addition, a study by Hanushek, Kain, and Rivkin showed that changing schools negatively impacts children’s educational outcomes particularly for minorities and low income families.9 Aaronson found that parental homeownership in low-income neighborhoods has a positive impact on high school graduation.10 But he cautioned that some of the positive effects may arise due to the greater neighborhood stability (less residential movement) and not necessarily to homeownership alone.

http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/ca3a708048be35b9b1e2ff0c8bc1f2ed/Social+Benefits+of+Stable+Housing.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ca3a708048be35b9b1e2ff0c8bc1f2ed

Northern Virginia Population Growth

Between 2000 and 2010, the Northern Virginia Region added more than 500,000 people. Total of 2.62 vs 2.12 million an increase of 23.9%. This growth represents 50% of population growth for the state of Virginia!!!
The fastest growing county was Loudoun County where population grew by 84.1%.
Prince William grew by 43.2%