My New Blog

So now that we are just about 10% through 2008, I wanted to provide a factual update on the real estate market for Montgomery County MD. You can find stats for the complete Year of 2007here. So what has really happened thus far in 2008? Let’s take a look at these numbers and see both what they really are and some of what they mean. Currently, there are 4,928 homes for sale in our MLS for Montgomery County MD. The most expensive property in the residential section of our MLS currently for sale is priced at $13,499,00 & the average price of all the listings combined is $563,873 while the average days on market is 98 and the longest is 883. The oldest residential listing was built in 1760 and there are homes for sale all the way up to homes still under construction for delivery in 2008 & into 2009. There have been 1,841 homes put up for sale since 2008 began, that is about 42.8 homes coming available each day of the year thus far.

Now onto the sale and contract properties, the WINNERS thus far. The part of the equation that the media does not talk about & that is equally as important to be aware of in this opportunistic market. Since the year began, 496 homes have closed. I do not mean they got a contract and are scheduled to close, I mean exactly what it sounds like, they have closed & title has been conveyed from one owner to the other. These homes range from $59,000 all the way up to $2,900,000 with the average price of the sold homes being $532,769. Now, these homes ranged in days on the market from zero (received and accepted an offer the same day it came on the market all the way up to 426 days on the market with the average being 83 days on the market. Taking the average list price of all homes at time of contract the average sales price for those homes was $509,047. This means that overall, the average list price to sales price ratio using these stats was 95.54%. We will discuss what this means to both buyers and sellers in brief later and anyone can always call or e-mail us anytime to go into more depth about what it means to each and every buyer or seller in the marketplace specifically for it means different things to each and every buyer depending on the submarket they are in including price range, style and location.

So for the properties that are currently under contract, there are currently 1,029 homes under contract in Montgomery County MD. These homes ranged in asking price from $66,000 all the way up to $6,750,000 & the average asking price at time of contract was $544,115. These homes were on the market for anywhere from zero days up to 349 days with the average of all of them being 73 days on the market.

I share this information for I believe that this information is critically important for all buyers & sellers to know. Understanding that all of these numbers are either ranges or averages overall it means that for sellers, You have the option to decide which side of the range of days on market you will fall. Deciding where in this range a seller will be is accomplished by ensuring that when You hire a real estate agent to represent You, you hire the right agent to do the job.

An agent that has a proven and detailed marketing plan to ensure that You get the appropriate exposure for your home as well as an agent who understands what pricing is in this market.

For buyers, ensure many of the same things. Make sure that Your agent understands pricing and how it can affect you. That they are willing to tell You the truth if a property is overpriced as well as that they will tell you when a property is priced effectively. Not only that they will tell you the truth, as well that You as the buyer have a level of respect for them professionally that You will listen to them. These numbers let us know a variety of things such as:

There are a lot of homes on the market.

 Homes priced right from the start, still sell in a very quick time.

Homes can be priced right from day 1 & they will sell.

Hire an aggressive agent who will actively work for you rather than passively wait around.

Ensure Your agent is up to date with the right technology to ensure a smooth successful transaction.

Ensure your agent is plugged into the market so that they can be very effective for you.

It is important to hire the right real estate agent when you are getting ready to sell your home. Most importantly, once you hire your agent, listen to them! Remember that You hired them for a reason and they have a fiduciary responsibility to watch out for your best interests. Most of us would not tell our attorneys or doctors they are wrong because we hire them for their expertise, treat your agent the same & You will be satisfied with the results! There are sub markets in every market that are holding value & even increasing in value in today’s market.

There are opportunities for most folks in the market today that can be capitalized on as long as you hire the right listing agent, for understanding the overall demographics of the community as well as the school districts and what schools your children may be going to are important factors in choosing the right home.

Remember, whether You are planning on planning on buying or selling real estate in Montgomery County MD or any of the surrounding areas, including Northern Virginia, be sure to contact us for a no cost/no obligation appointment to see how we can help you accomplish Your real estate goals.

In todays real estate market much, if not all of the focus has been on price and the REALITY that buyers can certainly purchase homes at incredible prices. When you combine that with incrediby low interest rates and phenomenal loan programs available to buyers, at least in my market (The Washington DC area), I have started to notice that many of the truly important reasons that we all buy homes and select the homes and locations we do are not being discussed as much and they are not on the forefront, where they need to be. One of the biggest reasons many of us live where we live is due to the sense of community that the neighborhood provides us. That we live in a safe and nice community. That if we have children, there are good, if not great, schools for our children to get educated in. For me, that is one of the most important factors in choosing a home & community as well as in assisting my clients. At the risk of being a bit controversial i share some of the following thoughts regarding the market in the hopes that whether you are a lender, real estate professional, home owner, or potential buyer or seller, these thoughts help you in some way. Many of us are where we are in life due to decisions we made and in some cases perhaps the decisions that were made for us by our families. What schools we were able to go to in our upbringing, how diverse was our neighborhood, how safe was the community we lived in? These are all factors that for most of us helped mold us into who we are. If you are not one of those people, then great! what I am writing is not for you. However if you are, I encourage you to look at a few different thoughts. Quite often, to get into that better school district, better community & better neighborhood, to provide a better life for our family and a better upbringing for our children, we have to pay a price & it is usually financially. The good news to that is that when we look at interest rates today & I am taking rates from one of my preferred lenders page, the rate for a conforming loan is 5.75& with no points. So the difference in the payment on a home that is $20,000 more comes out to about $128. a month. Now, I am not negatiing the value of $130, whatsoever for it is money and money is money (many of us can always use more) however, I am suggesting that depending on your situation, that may be a sacrifice worth making to be into that better community & better school district or perhaps even to be closer to work, places of worship or family. All are very important factors to look at when purchasing a home. So for anyone who is interested and wants to take these factors into account I have made it very simple. To compare schools and communities in the Washington Dc metro area click hereCommunity & School Reports and if you are interested in seeing the difference in living 5 or 10 miles further out, consider clicking on this link for some very interesting and eye opening information about living further away Buyer Cost Calculator. Should anyone have any questions on any of this information or need assistance in Montgomery County MD or anywhere of the surrounding areas, please feel free to contact me. As you can see, I truly believe that while getting a great price is immensely important, sometimes there are other factors that are certainly worth looking at and we need to take those into account.