This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: When should I expect more homes to be put on the market for sale?

Answer: 2020 was an unusual year for housing inventory because we saw so little inventory come out during the spring, when the pace of new listings peaks, and an explosion of listings, especially condos, from late summer through the holidays. You can check out column I wrote that visualizes how unusual 2020 was for housing inventory in Arlington. Even though my analysis in this column and previous columns focuses on Arlington, similar patterns show up and can be applied across the D.C. metro.

It is much more likely that the pace of new listings will follow a more traditional pattern this year, with the number of homes listed for sale increasing steadily from now to the spring, peaking for about mid-March to mid-May, and then dropping steadily through the rest of the year, with a brief post-Labor Day spike.

Weekly Pace of Listings, by Housing Type

I’ve always shared and seen monthly breakdowns of listing inventory, so I thought it would be interesting to break it down a bit further into a weekly chart and see if there’s a noticeable difference in the seasonal pace of new listings of single-family homes/townhouses and condos.

The following chart does just that and pulls data from the five years spanning 2015 to 2019. (I threw out 2020 because it’s an anomaly.) The weekly percentages represent that week’s share of total annual listings. Note that the data for the first and last weeks of the year aren’t always full weeks because of how Excel calculates weeks.

As it turns out, the pace of listing inventory for single-family homes/townhouses and condos is nearly identical throughout the year, aside from a slightly higher pace for single-family homes and townhomes in the middle of the spring and a slightly lower pace for single-family homes and townhomes during the dog days of summer.

What can buyers looking for a home in 2021 take away from this chart? You can expect a significant increase in listings beginning around mid-February, buckle up for the most options in April and May, plan your vacations in July and August, look-out for the post-Labor Day surge, and hopefully you’ve found your dream home by the holidays!

Weekly Pace of Listings, by Year

The pace of new listings remains pretty consistent year-after-year, as shown by the chart below. There were only a handful of weeks with unusually low listing activity, compared to previous years. I’m guessing there was major weather activity during those weeks that caused some homeowners to delay or accelerate their listings by a week or two to avoid the drag of bad weather.

The consistency you see in the five-year chart below is also reflected in longer (10- and 15-year) charts, but those get a little too messy for display.

Weekly Pace of Listings and Contracts

The pace of listing inventory and contract activity is highly correlated. The “chicken or the egg” question is whether more/less listing activity drives more/less contract activity (demand), or does demand dictate listing activity, or do buyers and sellers just have similar patterns of behavior and thus the pace of supply and demand naturally correlate?

I think that it’s mostly due to No. 3, a natural correlation of behavior patterns that cause the pace of supply and demand to move in tandem. This is also supported by data, like the new-listing-to-new-pending ratios not being very seasonal.

Using the chart below, one could even make the argument that the best time to list a property for sale is the last two to three months of the year, when the pace of contract activity (demand) consistently exceeds new listings (competition). However, I’ve analyzed “success metrics” like days on market and sale-to-ask-price ratio based on the month a property is listed and overwhelmingly found that February to May/June produce the most favorable results for sellers.

I hope these charts were interesting and helpful to you! If you’d like to discuss buying or selling strategies, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local Real Estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at 703-539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. 703-390-9460.


Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Shirlington Gateway. The new 2800 Shirlington recently delivered a brand-new lobby and upgraded fitness center, and is adding spec suites with bright open plans and modern finishes. Experience a prime location and enjoy being steps from Shirlington Village.

(Updated 9:30 p.m.) Ballston-based Fluence is ramping up its efforts to tackle climate change with energy storage systems for renewable energy.

The energy storage company was founded three years ago this month as the joint venture of Berlin-based Siemens and Arlington-based Fortune 500 company, AES Corp. It enjoyed torrid growth over the course of 2020: About 100 staff came on, including a new CEO, and it acquired a company in October.

This year is off to a great start, too, with a pledge of $125 million in investment from the Qatar Investment Authority.

“We have been experiencing an enormous growth since the inception of the company,” said Vice President of Strategy Marek Wolek.

Fluence develops batteries that store energy from wind and solar. Since 2018, Fluence had quadrupled the amount of energy storage it has deployed or is working on, from 600 megawatts to 2,400 megawatts. It has deployed or been awarded contracts for storage in 24 countries.

The work is “a little bit more complicated” than just batteries, however, Wolek said. It also makes sure the supply of natural, renewable energy can be converted into enough electricity to meet demands, without leading to surges in electricity or deficits for customers.

“That’s extremely valuable, and makes the whole energy grid stable,” Wolek said.

But to keep up in a rapidly innovating market, the company started seeking out investing partners about six months ago, he  said.

“How we effectively create a grid of future requires investments,” he said. “The mark is moving very fast: We have to make sure the technology is easier and faster, and efficient to use, for our customers.”

With the $125 million from Qatar Investment Authority, a founding member of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund Initiative, which invests government funds into climate change solutions. Fluence will be investing in hardware and software, as well as staff to further develop the battery technology, he said.

In a statement, CEO Manuel Perez Dubuc said tackling climate change requires both technology and investment worldwide.

“We see energy storage as the linchpin of a decarbonized grid and adding QIA to our international shareholder base will allow Fluence to innovate even faster and address the enormous global market for large-scale battery-based energy storage.”

Dubuc came on as CEO in May 2020, after serving on the company’s board. He switches roles with Stephen Coughlin, who now sits on the board, said Director of Communications Alison Mickey.

He and the newly hired 100 staff members grew the company’s workforce to more than 300 worldwide.

In October, the company bought Advanced Microgrid Solutions, which develops AI bidding software for batteries and other tech for storing and generating renewably sourced electricity. The merger will help to improve energy storage, grid reliability and efficiency, Wolek said.

Fluence is headquartered at 4601 N. Fairfax Drive, and has offices in San Francisco, suburban Atlanta, Germany and Australia.


This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.

By John V. Berry, Esq.

We represent many employees in the workplace and individuals in administrative and civil forums. The unthinkable Capitol riot that took place on January 6, 2021, will lead to many serious consequences for the individuals who took part. While the full extent of what happened is still being investigated, there will be many consequences for those identified as being involved in the illegal riot in the Capitol.

These may include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Loss of Employment

Whether or not the individual involved is convicted, charged or just identified as being involved in the illegal activities in the Capitol on January 6, 2021, they can be fired from their employment. Private and public sector employees can be easily fired for their participation in the Capitol riots. There is no First Amendment protection for their actions.

2. Loss of Security Clearance

Aside from the issue of termination from employment, an individual that was involved and identified as being part of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, almost certainly will face the potential loss of their security clearance or a future inability to hold one. Whether the issue is criminal or just misconduct, individuals that hold or plan to hold a security clearance will likely have significant issues.

3. Criminal Charges

A number of the Capitol rioters have already been charged criminally for their actions on January 6, 2021. There is reason to suspect this list will grow significantly in the weeks to come as the FBI continues their work.

Depending on whether the individual is charged with (1) knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without law authority; (2) theft; (3) vandalism; (4) disorderly conduct; (5) violence (the murder of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick) (or assault on a federal law enforcement officer or a member of Congress); or (6) seditious conspiracy, there are major criminal penalties that await many of the rioters.

This is just a sample of the potential criminal charges that could be filed by prosecutors against Capitol rioters.

4. Placement on the No Fly List

Another consequence that individuals participating in the Capitol riot likely did not consider is that some appear to now being placed on the “No Fly List.” The No Fly List is a list created and maintained by the United States Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) of individuals who are prohibited from boarding commercial aircraft for travel within, into or out of the United States.

Already it looks as if some individuals have had difficulties returning home from Washington, D.C. after their participation in the Capitol riot. It can be extremely difficult to ever be taken off this list after being placed on it.

5. Lawsuits

For those Capitol rioters who engaged in violence or other actions that hurt others, they are likely to face civil lawsuits when they are identified. Insurers will be unlikely to defend them so rioters will face significant legal and liability costs. Others who did not participate in violence towards others but were present may also be called as witnesses and be dragged into multi-year litigation.

Conclusion

This is just an interim list of consequences for Capitol rioters as there are a number of other potential consequences they may face in the days and months to come as a result of their actions.

The Capitol riot was a horrific event that caused at least two police officers to tragically lose their lives, more than 50 other police officers to be injured, in addition to a number of rioters who lost their own lives. Those who participated in the Capitol riot are going to face a number of legal consequences as a result of their actions.


This regularly-scheduled sponsored column is written by the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy team (AIRE). This county program helps you make smart energy decisions that save you money and leaves a lighter footprint on the environment.

Late last year, the Arlington County Board adopted sweeping updates to the Community Energy Plan, setting ambitious targets for transforming the county’s energy sector.

Some highlights of Arlington’s Community Energy Plan (CEP) include:

  • Set goal of a carbon-neutral Arlington by 2050
  • Government operations to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2025
  • Community to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2035
  • Consider energy equity during implementation

County staff are working to finalize the Implementation Plan to reach CEP goals. We need your input on the draft Community Energy Plan Implementation Framework.

Visit the Implementation Framework engage page to provide your feedback. There, you’ll find background videos, additional information and a button at the bottom to provide input directly on the draft Implementation Framework.

Comments are being accepted until February 1, 2021.

Thank you for all of the community effort to update the Community Energy Plan.

We look forward to finalizing the Implementation Framework to help reach Arlington’s ambitious goals in the coming years.


Looking for a home? There are plenty of houses and condos open for viewing this weekend.

Check out the Arlington Realty website for a full list of homes for sale and open houses in Arlington. Here are a few highlights:

1700 Clarendon Blvd, #158
2 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: KW Metro Center
Listed: $1,599,000
Open: Sunday, 2-4 p.m.

 

3232 7th Street S.
5 BD/5 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate
Listed: $1,350,000
Open: Saturday, 1-3 p.m.

 

1331 19th Road S.
4 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed: $1,199,000
Open: Saturday, 1-3 p.m.

 

2022 N. Westmoreland Street
4 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath townhouse
Agent: eXp Realty, LLC
Listed: $1,040,000
Open: Sunday, 1-4 p.m.

 

6142 Lee Highway
4 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Redfin
Listed: $850,000
Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m.

 

5109 11th Street S.
3 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: RE/MAX Allegiance
Listed: $725,000
Open: Sunday, 2-4 p.m.

 

2528 S. Walter Reed Drive, #3
2 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: Bluestone Realty
Listed: $619,000
Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m.


Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Andors Real Estate Group.

Good morning Arlingtonians, and Happy New Year!

I’m excited about the housing market in 2021, and I know we’re going to have a fast-paced, inventory-starved, low-interest-rate-driven frenzy for homes across all price points.

We got some very big and interesting news from Amazon yesterday. A $2 billion commitment to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable homes in the locales where Amazon has a presence will go a long way to combat the impacts many are concerned will result from Amazon sharing our wonderful Arlington community. This fund will not only be in Arlington, but also in the Puget Sound region of Washington and the Nashville area as well.

Crystal House was recently purchased to provide affordable housing, creating close to 1,300 affordable units over time. Without this investment, it would have likely been converted to luxurious condos with huge price tags because of the incredible proximity to D.C. and National Landing. Additional money will be available at below-market borrowing rates to those earning below $79,600 in the D.C. region.

You can read more in the press release from Amazon.

Arlington is getting off to a quick start in 2021 with plenty of new homes coming online, ratified contracts keeping pace and a substantially shrunk (20% less) inventory than where we left off in 2020.

We’re going to see more price escalations than ever before in 2021. Waived contingencies, cash purchases and heavy showing traffic will be a main part of the story… but wait, James, that sounds like last year, and the year before that…

Yes — the frenzy for a piece of the pie will continue, with an emphasis on single family detached homes and new construction.

For this first week of January, sellers have listed 49 homes for sale, and purchasers ratified 42 contracts, seven of which were on homes listed within the past seven days.

Available inventory across the county for all property types is 404, 90 of which are single-family, 39 are townhouses/semi-detached properties and 275 are condos. It was just a few weeks ago that I wrote about condo inventory being up to 370!

Currently available homes across all property types have an average list price of $753,142 and a median of $549,950.

A quick note about mortgage rates: We’re at the lowest ever this week, a 2.65% average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. That’s 1.10% lower than where we started in 2020!

Now, for the Pick of the Week: 1515 S. Arlington Ridge Road, #504, Arlington, VA 22202 — $399,000

Perched high on Arlington Ridge, overlooking Washington D.C. with a Washington Monument view from a private balcony, this condo enjoys unparalleled convenience to Arlington and D.C. This 892-square-foot 1 BD/1 BA condo has plenty of room to work from home, comes with a separate storage room, underground parking space and has a private pool, gym and community room.

Find me, in person, hosting this lovely condo open from 1-4 p.m. this Sunday, January 10.

Click here to search currently available Arlington real estate. If you see a home you’re interested in purchasing, give us a call.

Call the Andors Real Estate Group today at 703-203-1117 to talk more about buying or selling Arlington real estate. Below are eight new listings I think you might like to check out:


This sponsored column is by James Montana, Esq. and Doran Shemin, Esq., practicing attorneys at Steelyard LLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Arlington, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact James for an appointment.

(Authors’ Note: The civil unrest and accompanying curfews yesterday are obviously the first thing on our minds, but we’re going to focus on our usual topic — immigration — because we know, from talking with clients, that these informational posts have a long life on Google, and we’d like to do some good. Stay safe, everyone.)

Congress frequently deadlocks and fails to pass meaningful immigration legislation. However, as we reported almost exactly one year ago, Congress authorized an amnesty for many Liberian nationals, allowing them to apply for lawful permanent residence in the United States.

The amnesty, known as the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act or LRIF, was passed as part of a large spending bill. The original LRIF Act imposed a deadline of December 20, 2020, for eligible applicants to apply, and sadly, data showed that many eligible Liberians did not apply before the deadline.

To our surprise and excitement, Congress has come through again for Liberians! In late December, Congress passed a bill which extended the deadline to apply for residency under LRIF to December 20, 2021. The bill was part of an appropriations package that President Trump signed into law.

As a reminder, here are the baseline eligibility requirements to apply:

  • You must file an application for a green card by December 20, 2021.
  • You must be a citizen of Liberia.
  • You must have been continuously present from November 20, 2014, to the date of filing the green card application.
  • You must not have been convicted of a serious crime.
  • You must not have persecuted others for their political or religious convictions.

We encourage any Liberian who has been in the United States since November 2014 to contact a lawyer to see if he or she qualifies for LRIF benefits. Applying for residency under this program could be your way to becoming a permanent resident and later, a U.S. citizen.

We welcome any comments and will do our best to respond.


This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

New Year’s resolutions can be challenging to keep, but resolving to invest in your arts career is a good idea at any time of year.

Building upon the successful fall season (for which many sessions were at capacity), Arlington Arts continues its latest series of skill-building sessions with The Arts Enterprise Institute Spring Classes offered through our Arts Enterprise Institute, which run from Jan. 19 through March 2. (All classes are virtual.)

The Arts Enterprise Institute program exists to provide resources for artists and deepen their skill set to withstand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Workshops, trainings, seminars and events integrate strong business skills, knowledge, life-long learning and artistic development with peer-to-peer learning and engagement with the community. A cornerstone of these programs is artists teaching artists.

Christine Searle is the instructor for Business Skills for Artists: Record-keeping.

Christine (CIA, CRMA, EA) is an internal audit and tax professional with over 35 years of experience helping nonprofits, businesses and individuals get control over and understand their finances and taxes. Christine specializes in helping entrepreneurs make informed financial and tax decisions and achieve their objectives. Christine started Searle Business Solutions, LLC in 2014. She has lived in Arlington since 2001 and has been engaged in community-based volunteer service for over 20 years.

Sharmila Karamchandani is the instructor for Smartphone Photography: How to Use Your Phone to Take Great Photos and Online Shops — A Dozen Ways to Sell Your Art During the Pandemic.

Sharmila, a local graphic designer and artist-entrepreneur, has a passion for working in arts education and community nonprofits. Sharmila has a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a master’s degree in graphic design. Sharmila is extremely passionate about art and teaching. She teaches graphic design in a private college, and she has been an entrepreneur coach for Empowered Women International for the past 15 years and has taught many women how to start their businesses. She is also a certified Therapeutic Art Life Coach and facilitates visual art workshops for Heard, an Alexandria based nonprofit that works with a vulnerable population.

Sushmita Mazumdar is the instructor for Community Engagement for Artists.

Sushmita is an Arlington-based artist, writer, educator and founder of Studio Pause, her art studio and community space for art and stories, where she invites everyday people to make time to explore creativity and celebrate the art and stories in the community.

After a 15-year career in the advertising industry in India and the U.S., Sushmita taught herself writing and book arts to create unique storybooks about her childhood in India to show her American-born son how different yet wonderful lives can be.

Since 2010 she has participated in programs at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Glen Echo Park’s Popcorn Gallery. She has designed and taught projects for the Smithsonian Institution and its museums, Arlington Arts, DC Public Libraries, National Building Museum and Alexandria Black History Museum. In 2018, Sushmita was awarded Arlington County’s Woman of Vision award for her work at Studio Pause, and in 2019 she was appointed one of 13 Arts Commissioners for Virginia.

Several classes in the fall session were at capacity, so sign up now for the Arts Enterprise Institute Spring Semester, from Jan. 19 through March 2. (Again, all classes are virtual!) The fee is just $20 per class.

Class recap:


Meet Arlington’s newest Pet of the Week, E.T. and Sheba.

Here’s what E.T. and Sheba’s humans had to say about them:

E.T. is a 10-year-old Siamese and was named by his now 15-year-old human who was fascinated with space when he was 5. He has lived in Arlington for eight years and loves it here. He spends most of his time sleeping and sitting on his humans’ keyboards.

Over a year ago, E.T.’s sister, Sheba (gray shorthair), was adopted from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. She was 2 at the time and full of energy. Her favorite pastime is “how to bother E.T.” — sit on him, chase him around, eat his food, etc.

Sheba has another amazing skill: She knows how to wake up her 15-year-old human. (I know!) She follows a few consecutive steps:

  • Step 1: Jumping on his chest and getting very close to his face. Sometimes he wakes up, or sometimes Sheba needs to move to…
  • Step 2: Bitting his fingers. This works most of the time, but she still has a last step…
  • Step 3: Kneading his face (out of love, of course!) — with her nails! This ought to do it.

E.T. and Sheba are not too bothered by COVID-19 work- and study-from-home restrictions. They like the option to be able to leave their beds and crash Zoom meetings.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos — they don’t fit in our photo galleries!


Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Arlington Realty, Inc. Maximize your real estate investment with the team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6000 today!

Please note: While Arlington Realty, Inc. provides this information for the community, it may not be the listing company of these homes.

We made it, friends! A happy 2021 to our readers and neighbors that have stuck with us through the years.

And, if this is your first time checking out the Just Reduced column, a warm welcome to you. Each week, we take an important temperature of the local market — assessing the total current inventory as well as the volume of homes that have been reduced in price during the prior week. And, of course, we give a snapshot of the specific homes whose price tag has been reduced.

A friendly reminder — to our loyal readers and the newbies — that more often than not, these reductions are only the beginning in terms of negotiating a final figure. So, if your New Year’s resolution is to snag the home of your dreams at a fair and/or stellar value, the time-tested team at Arlington Realty, Inc is ready to advocate on your behalf. We’ve got your back.

In the meantime, here’s to another great year for our community! And now on to this week’s Just Reduced figures…

As of January 4, there are 101 detached homes, 40 townhouses and 270 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 12 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week, including:

Please note this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Arlington Realty, Inc.


This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Do you expect mortgage rates to increase in 2021?

Answer: Happy new year everybody! Historically low mortgage rates in 2020 were one of a few factors that drove real estate prices up across the country (except in the condo market). This time last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association and Freddie Mac each predicted that rates would remain near 2019 levels through 2021, with an average 30-year fixed rate hovering around 3.7% to 3.8% through that period.

As it turns out, rates averaged about a full percent less than those projections. Rates fell consistently throughout the year, except for a brief but sharp increase in mid-March when markets went crazy with the first news of COVID-related shutdowns, until the Fed stepped in with liquidity.

Below are some charts from Freddie Mac showing average mortgage rates over the last 50, 10 and one year.

Average Mortgage Rates Since 1971

Average Mortgage Rates Since 2010

Average Mortgage Rates in 2020

Rates in 2021+

The Mortgage Bankers Association and Freddie Mac each predict that 30-year fixed rates will increase slightly in 2021 and hover around 3% to 3.2% in 2021. Beyond 2021, the Mortgage Bankers Association sees rates averaging 3.6% in 2022 and 4.1% in 2023.

An increase to 4% or higher mortgage rates will likely cause the rapid appreciation we’ve seen over the last couple of years to slow down, but I don’t think it will lead to a pull-back in prices unless it is combined with a migration from the DC Metro due to major changes in telework policy.

If you’re considering purchasing in 2021, I wrote a column in 2019 about my favorite mortgage programs that you might find helpful. If there’s anything I can do to help you prepare for a purchase, don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local Real Estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at 703-539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. 703-390-9460.


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