Item # 1:  MARKET UPDATE

 If you missed reading our outlook for the 2012 market in the Newsletter last month, please click on this link to read the R&R Team Real Estate Market Outlook for 2012. Here are some additional updates on the Northern Virginia real estate market:

·         Real estate values appreciated overall during the past year in the Dulles Market Corridor (DMC). Data indicate that property values appreciated a net of +3.7% in 2011 and we expect a continued upturn in property values this year. Most experts agree that the real estate market downturn has ended in the Capitol Region and that our local market is now in solid recovery.

 

·         Market Absorption Rates provide one of the best measures of the health of the local real estate market. Consequently, our Team tracks market absorption rates for each single-family detached (SFD) homes, townhomes (TH) and condos as housing types. Market absorption rates measure how long it will take current market demand to buy up existing inventory levels by housing type. The pundits regard a market as a normal market if the market absorption rate indicates that there is a 3-/4-month inventory for that housing type (in economist terms, the market is considered to be approaching equilibrium and is neither a buyer nor a seller market). Currently, the market absorption rate for SFD homes represents a normal market with approximately 4 months of inventory. Market absorption rates for each the TH and condo housing-types represent a seller market with approximately 2 months of available inventory. Even though inventory levels for each housing type are expected to increase starting in January 2012, we also anticipate that buyer contractual activity will become quite robust beginning in January 2012 and that we will have a seller market for all housing types. We expect this seller market to continue through at least May 2012.

 

 ·         Mortgage interest rates set a new 60-year low at 3.91% for a 30-year fixed loan mortgage rate in December and we are starting 2012 at this same rate. The 30-year fixed rate has stayed below 4.0% for 10 consecutive weeks now. At the same time, housing is more affordable than it has been in decades. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that a comparison of housing prices versus yearly rents, when combined with existing mortgage interest rates, suggests that housing, in many market areas (including the Washington Capitol Region), is a better investment than stocks and bonds (click on this link to read the Wall street Journal article). However, the mortgage market is credit-squeezed and qualifying for a mortgage loan remains the biggest challenge in the current market. If you are thinking of refinancing your existing home or buying a home, you also may wish to read this recent article on myths and facts about mortgage loans.

 

 

Item # 2:  IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME for Me to Buy a Home?...or To Sell My Home?

 Should I Buy Now? Only you can determine whether this is the right time for you to buy a home. However, you may not wish to wait in hopes of a worsening housing market. It likely is not going to worsen here in Northern Virginia. In fact, all indicators point toward an upswing in local housing prices. You may wish to consider the wisdom offered in the CBS News article, 7 Reasons Why Now Is a Good Time to Buy a Home, when making that decision.

Should I Sell Now? There is no right or wrong decision here either but, in making your decision, there are a number of factors to consider. A Realty Times article, Choosing to Sell, offers helpful insight and guidance as you determine the course of action that is in your own best interest.

If you are thinking of buying or selling now, one of the first things you should do is give us a call. We on The R&R Team will provide you with professional assistance that is to be expected from reputable realtors.

For sellers, The R&R Team will list and sell your property at a discounted listing commission rate…and still provide the very best pricing analyses and very best marketing support in the business. Our pricing analyses are provided at no cost or obligation to you.

Every buyer client who purchases a home through The R&R Team will get cash-back at closing to help them with their down payment or closing costs. The amount will depend on the specifics of the purchase transaction.

If a client is a bundled seller and buyer who is doing both listing and purchase transactions through The R&R Team, the discounted listing commission will be even more and the cash-back will be even greater for that client.

 As our past clients will tell you, our services to our clients are simply unmatched. We epitomize FULL SERVICE. And, we live up to our motto: HONESTY! INTEGRITY! EFFECTIVENESS! That is what you get when you hire The R&R Team!

Please tell your neighbors, family, friends and associates about our services. Each client who provides us with a buyer or seller referral that goes forward will receive a $100 gift card in recognition of their support. Please keep those referrals coming! We need, want and appreciate the business!

Item # 3:  PREPARE NOW If You Are Planning to Sell or Buy in Spring 2012!!!

 If you are thinking of selling your home and/or buying a home in 2012, now is a good time to begin your preparations for the spring 2012 market. If the upcoming market is normal, the spring market will begin by mid-January and will run through May (Memorial Day weekend). The spring market is the primary period for the most robust real estate selling and buying activity each year here in Northern Virginia. Regardless, if you are going to be a seller or a buyer in the spring 2012 market, you will need to PREPARE NOW!

For sellers, we recommend first reviewing our Getting Started steps for sellers under The Resource Center tab on our Team web site. This includes contacting us now to get an expert pricing analysis and marketing plan completed for your home (at no cost or obligation). This is a critical first step in determining what your home is really worth in the market today and, once completed, we can easily update your pricing analysis prior to placing the property on the market. This way, you will be assured that your home is properly priced for the market on Day 1. Likewise, we can view your home with you and make recommendations on preparing your home for the market (including staging).

At minimum, we recommend completing the inexpensive steps of decluttering, painting and cleaning (normally completed in this order) in preparing your home for the market. These steps will give you a leg-up on the competition and will reward you significantly for the time, energy and expense of properly preparing the home for the market. First, declutter by packing, storing, selling, giving away or throwing away those items that you do not plan to use in the next 30-90 days (or ever). Then, get a good handyman to help fix all the little things that need to be repaired in the home, such as wood-rot, cracks, holes and leaks. With repairs completed, you or your handyman can repaint rooms where needed (more expensive) or roller-blend the lower walls in halls, rooms and near doorways that only need to be freshened up (less expensive). Finally, do a top-to-bottom cleaning of the house (including windows inside and out) and end with professional carpet cleaning just before going on the market. All these preparations take time if done properly, so plan ahead and allow time to complete these steps prior to placing the property on the market.

For buyers, we recommend that you first review our Getting Started steps for buyers under The Resource Center tab on our Team web site. If you have a home to sell first, we advise you to review and follow our recommendations for sellers noted immediately above.

As a buyer, you must realize that getting a mortgage loan is probably the toughest part of buying a home today. You will want to review and correct any errors in your credit record that lower your credit scores. Your credit scores are very important to qualifying for a mortgage and also for getting a preferred mortgage rate. Correcting most errors on your credit record can be time consuming and can easily take up to two to three months in most cases.

Besides ensuring your credit record is optimized, you will want to make formal application with a mortgage lender to get mortgage pre-approved. Your application must be fully accurate and totally complete to the minutest detail. If you know of any red flags in your file that might surface, please disclose this to your mortgage loan officer upfront. Lenders have many tools to find red flags and you do not want them surfacing during the final underwriting process of a mortgage loan. The delays in loan processing could prove quite embarrassing and could cause you to fail in performing on a contract.

Also, simultaneously, you will want to begin to focus your search for your future home. We welcome you to use our Cadillac-quality search engine available on our Team web site to search the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for properties and to refine the list of features required or desired in your home. Our on-line Home Finder Questionnaire could also help you with this. You may also want to contact us to set up a realtor-refined search for properties in the MLS that will auto-email search results/updates directly to you. Our buyer clients have found that this latter step has saved them a lot of time and effort since their search is more focused.

We appreciate your continued support and hope that you find our Newsletters helpful. Please let us know if there is any particular subject you would like us to address in future Newsletter updates. Kindly send your questions or comments in an email to The R&R Team or give us a call at 703-421-1433. Thank you.

The R&R Team, Realtors

RE/MAX Premier

44675 Cape Court, # 110, Ashburn, VA 20147

703-421-1433

TheRandRTeam@mris.com

www.TheRandRTeam.com