Feature

Ask Eli: Impact of Coronavirus on the Real Estate Market, Part 6

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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: What has been the impact of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 on the real estate market?

Answer: In this week’s review of how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting real estate, we’ll take a look at how Arlingtonians think Coronavirus will change their personal finances, how the Arlington market performed over the last seven days, and how the virus is changing the mortgage industry.

Arlingtonians Still Confident

Thank you to everybody who participated in the poll last week, we collected some really valuable information about how Arlingtonians think the virus will impact their personal finances.

Out of 1,055 respondents, 50% feel that their personal finances will either not be negatively impacted or that the impact won’t last more than six months. Over 70% of respondents don’t expect the negative effects to last more than 12 months.

These results reflect a strong local consumer (buyer) confidence and would suggest that local buyers still have enough confidence in their finances/income to make a long-term investment, like buying a home. When you consider the recent McKinsey study (below) on the most vulnerable jobs, you can see why Arlingtonians, many of whom make over $70k/year, remain confident in the face of a global economic crisis. Income/job security is likely the most important consideration for people determining what the negative impact of COVID-19 will be on their personal finances.

Arlington Market Update

New inventory tanked over the past week and we saw the largest week-to-week drop in the number of properties that went under contract. It’s hard to say for sure whether the decline in contract activity is demand-based on a result of less inventory, but it’s likely a combination of the two.

With very little new inventory coming to market and the Coming Soon pipeline drying up, total inventory is dropping quickly, which should keep home values relatively protected, despite declining demand.

Past Seven Days (Arlington)

Seven Days Prior

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As Unemployment Rises, Arlingtonians Turn to Gig Economy

By Vernon Miles

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com,  Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Shirlington Gateway. Say hello to the new 2800 Shirlington, which recently delivered a brand-new lobby and upgraded fitness center. Experience a prime location and enjoy being steps from Shirlington Village, a large retail hub with a variety of unique restaurants and shopping options. Spec suites with bright open plans and modern finishes are under construction and will deliver soon!

As unemployment figures skyrocket in Virginia, lawn care provider Lawn Love says that has translated to a dramatic uptick in Arlingtonians applying to work gigs to maintain an income.

Over the last three weeks, initial filing claims totaled 306,143 which is equal to all of the claims from that period in 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined.

Lawn Love is a California-based on-demand lawn care service — forgive the cliche, but essentially Uber for lawn care. The company connects locals seeking lawn care with independent contractors in the area. The company said applications to work for the service had a dramatic increase in March as the pandemic, and related unemployment, set in.

“Lawn Love has reported a huge increase in applications,” the company said, “with 725% more Arlington residents applying to work with them in March compared to February.”

Lawn Love noted that lawn care services are classified as essential and the service operating entirely over smartphone or computer makes it social distancing friendly.

The average lawn care price listed for Arlington is $61, with the average lawn size being 5,367 square feet.

“If you have lawn care experience, there’s lots of high-paying work available on our platform,” CEO Jeremy Yamaguchi told ARLnow in an email. “We’re focused on helping our lawn care partners stay safe and continue providing for their families by providing a critical service in our communities.”

Photo via Lawn Love/Instagram

Small Business Shoutout: The Sycamore School

By ARLnow.com
1/7

ARLnow is continuing a series of articles to highlight the local businesses that advertise with us and help keep the community informed during these trying times.

Today we’re giving a big tip of the cap to The Sycamore School.

Based in Ballston, Sycamore School is “an independent secondary school helping students find their place… in the classroom, in the community, in the world.” It believes that conventional education focuses too much on standardized tests and rigid standards, and not enough on individuality, innovation, curiosity, emotional development and civic engagement.

If you’re considering education alternatives for grades 5-12, give Sycamore School a look and sign up for a (remote) school information session.

Thank you to The Sycamore School for its continued support of local journalism.

Your Beermonger: Going for a (Beach) Drive with Port City

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway). Sign up for Nick’s email newsletter and also receive exclusive discounts and offers.

Readers of this column caught a hint about Port City’s new Beach Drive Golden Ale last fall, when brewery Founder Bill Butcher mentioned during a chat that “a new Session Ale will arrive for the spring”.

Little did we know then what this spring would be like. With a Brewer’s Association survey released this week showing nearly half of responding breweries saying they would only be able to survive between one to three months under current conditions, what’s it like to roll out a new addition to your core lineup?

I reached out to Port City Director of Sales John Gartner to find out, and to get some details on the beer itself.

Beach Drive has been in the works since July of last year. The concept was “to capture the freedom and beauty of Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park — easy going and refreshing.” Head Brewer Jonathan Reeves aimed to create a low-alcohol beer inspired by the low-gravity desítky style of Czech Lager, with the twist of using Port City’s go-to Ale yeast and a new American-grown experimental hop variety with spicy, floral characteristics reminiscent of classic European Noble hops.

Gartner says with Beach Drive, Reeves “was looking for the dryness of our Oktoberfest and the bitterness of our Helles”, and the finished product nails that perfectly. What surprised me was how full-bodied Beach Drive feels for a beer that clocks in at 4% ABV.

The combination of Pilsner, Vienna, and Munich malts with that yeast strain works a minor miracle toward that end, and the experimental hop comes through with just the right amount of bitterness and spice.

Beach Drive also looks great, with a very nice wrap around its 12oz cans — another new thing for Port City. In the fall, Bill Butcher was talking about continuing to use mobile canning as Port City introduced its first 12oz canned beer, but the brewery ended up finding a used canning line to install in its Alexandria brewery.

The sporadic nature of mobile canning created constraints in the brewery’s cellar, according to Gartner. Buying the canning line allows Port City to produce the amount of packaging it needs as it needs and gives it flexibility in packaging future beers (no spoilers, but: look for some new 16oz can offerings from Port City this year; new 12oz cans are likely to appear, but none are planned for the rest of 2020 right now).

I’ll let John close the column out this week with some words on the experience of introducing Beach Drive now, how Port City is weathering the pandemic,and what you can do to support your local brewery.

“Launching this brand in our current environment has not been easy… the health and safety of all of our co-workers and customers is the most important thing — so there has been a lot of changes around the brewery to be proactive about internal and external safety, which has caused things to slow down.

“Overall, our staff, distributor partners and customers (like Arrowine) have been extremely helpful… during these times, we are proud to be able to launch new brands, and hopefully create a little joy in the world.

“(L)isten and follow the guidelines of the CBC — and support your local businesses. And not to be greedy, but when you do support your local businesses and you see a Port City product — maybe be so kind and include it with your purchase!”

Until next time.

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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:

3465 N. Emerson Street
6 BD/5 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: McEnearney Associates, Inc
Listed: $1,995,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Saturday 1-2 p.m.

 

1201 N. Nash Street #302
2 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: Re/Max Distinctive Real Estate Inc
Listed: $1,499,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Saturday 1-2:30 p.m.

 

1565 21st Court N.
3 BD/3 BA, 2 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Keller Williams Capital Properties
Listed: $1,025,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

2504 4th Street N.
3 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: D.S.A. Properties & Investments Llc
Listed: $799,900
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

1321 N. Adams Court #308
2 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: McEnearney Associates, Inc
Listed: $599,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Saturday 12-1 p.m.

Just Listed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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.

Despite the gorgeous, warm weather, things have cooled off a bit this spring in the housing market.

This spring in Arlington is a bit more subdued than last year and years prior — no surprise considering a stay at home order. By no means, however, has the Arlington market to come to a halt. You may have heard showings are down — this is true.

That means buyers look at fewer homes before they actually buy, and that casual “lookie-loos” have probably stopped for the time being. You may also see real estate signs in yards for longer — another product of fewer showings and fewer ratified contracts.

As things cool off, just a bit, inventory is starting to creep upward. With this week’s numbers, we now have 1.57 months of inventory — about double from the lows of early February but still way below the national average. Not to worry sellers, that number would need to quadruple before the market was considered to be in equilibrium — something Arlington hasn’t seen in over a decade.

A lot of conversations are centered on the thought that prices in Arlington will go down. I do not believe this to be likely at all. Sellers are holding off on listing their homes and this will actually keep prices steady — supply would need to increase substantially in order to be in line with, or even outpace, demand.

If that happens, then one could reasonably expect prices to be either holding steady or declining slightly. Unlike the stock market, this does not happen overnight, or even in the period of a few weeks — it’s a gradual trend over the course of months and even years.

There are currently 239 homes for sale in Arlington (204 last week). 128 are detached homes, 26 are townhouses/semi-detached and 76 are condos. Average days on market (DOM) is 51, though median DOM (a much more reliable measure for this data set) is only 23.

Sellers listed some 60 properties for sale this week, one more than last week. Buyers ratified 38 contracts, 25 of which were homes that had been on the market one week or less. Activity this week is down on both the supply and demand sides of the equation.

The median list price of available properties is $­­­1,009,998, while the average is $1,153,264. Last year for the same week, sellers listed 75 homes and buyers ratified 54 contracts.

Click here to search currently available Arlington real estate. Call the Andors Real Estate Group today at (703) 203-1117 to talk more about buying or selling Arlington real estate. Below are eight homes that are new this week that I think you might like to check out.

Boring Title: Don’t Want to Leave Your Home For a Real Estate Closing?

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Title insurance is boring, but Allied Title & Escrow is here to decode the jargon and make it (somewhat) more interesting. This biweekly feature will explore the mundane (but very necessary!) world of title insurance while sharing interesting stories of two friends’ entrepreneurial careers.

Are you ready to buy a property or refinance, but don’t want to leave your residence? There is a great option now available that allows you to close on your home without leaving your home.

Borrowers can now appoint the title company as a limited power of attorney, which allows the title company to sign the closing documents on their behalf. All the borrower needs to do is sign a limited power of attorney (which gives the title company authority to sign for the borrower), and then they can close on their home over a Zoom meeting with the title company.

For this week’s edition of Boring Title, CEO of Allied Title & Escrow Latane Meade speaks with Brackton Pratt, Senior Vice President of First Savings Mortgage Corporation. First Savings has rolled out their FSMC SAFECLOSE program which uses the newly regulated LPOA signings.

Check out this 2 minute video on the new program and how you may be able to benefit from this!

Have questions related to title insurance? Email Latane and Matt at [email protected]. Want to use Allied Title & Escrow when you buy a home? Tell your agent when you buy a house to write in Allied Title & Escrow as your settlement company!

Introducing ARLnow’s One-Click Local Takeout and Delivery List

By ARLnow.com

It’s been one month since Arlington’s first coronavirus case was announced, and part of adjusting to stay-at-home life for many has eating a lot more meals from the grocery store.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Arlington’s restaurants are open and ready to serve you delicious food in the comfort of your home.

That is why ARLnow, in partnership with our friends at Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, has compiled the ultimate Arlington takeout and delivery guide.

The list includes one-tap links to menus, delivery apps and the phone number for more than 150 locally-owned Arlington restaurants.

So go ahead — indulge a bit while supporting a small local business and its employees. You’ll also be helping to reduce food waste in the process.

See anything that needs to be updated? Email ARLnow’s Turquoise Jackson at [email protected]. Happy dining!

Arts Focus: Arlington Arts Sews Masks in Partnership with Department of Human Services

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/7

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

(Updated 04/13/2020) Utilizing existing resources and equipment from another program, for the last week Arlington Arts has been sewing masks to be distributed through Arlington County Department of Human Services and the Arlington County Police.

The basic, non-medical grade cloth masks resulting from this effort are being supplied to high-risk populations ranging from homeless shelters and the County jail.

The initiative was conceived and coordinated by the Director of Arts Enterprise, Joan M. Lynch. A professional costumer who formerly ran the Arlington CostumeLab, Joan has many stage and film credits to her name. Working at a safe distance from one another, she and sewing partners Andrea Blackmon and Sharon McDaniel of Arlington Weaves, and Tessa Luque of the Washington Opera started turning out about 50 masks per day. In the week since first posted to social media, the program now has over 100 volunteers.

More volunteers are welcome, and they will be supplied with instructions, fabric, elastic and thread for pick-up, and arrange to drop them off for weekly distribution.

Interested volunteers or those with elastic or fabric to donate toward the effort may email: [email protected].

Arlington Arts is grateful for the outpouring of support from the Community. While there is currently an abundance of volunteers, we still welcome donations of elastic or all-cotton fabric.

Just Reduced Properties in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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.

These are uncertain times and we’re starting to see volatility in many aspects of our lives.

The stock market, oil prices and several financial indicators have all endured their own forms of roller coasters in recent weeks.

In our own little nook of the online world, our Just Reduced numbers have spiked big-time in the past week, more than doubling to 20-plus reduced-price homes in Arlington County alone.

Could this be a sign of even more uncertain times ahead? Is it now a buyer’s market, given sellers appear more willing to budge up front and, perhaps, down the line?

What about for sellers? Is now the time for a stellar bargain? Folks have questions aplenty right now and we certainly don’t blame them.

As we have been there for our clients throughout the decades, we know that each unique real estate scenario is different. When you’re ready to talk about your situation and what may be ahead, the team from Arlington Realty, Inc. is ready to roll.

As of April 6, there are 137 detached homes, 25 townhouses and 82 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 21 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week:

Please note that 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.

Ask Eli: Impact of Coronavirus on the Real Estate Market, Part 5

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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: What has been the impact of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 on the real estate market?

Answer: I hope this column finds everybody in good health. If you need to replenish your cooking oils and haven’t tried The Olive Oil Boom before, I highly recommend it. It’s a local shop in Courthouse that my wife and I love. My personal favorite is the Harissa olive oil.

If you have some local favorites that you’d like to help stay in business during tough times, please give them a shout-out in the comments section and note a personal favorite product/dish!

Financial Confidence Poll

Buyer confidence drives real estate demand, so I’d like to do a reader poll this week to measure the confidence of Arlingtonians. Thanks for participating!

Arlington/Regional Market Update

Regionally and locally we’re seeing the pipeline of new inventory dry up and sellers lose confidence. The two charts below reflect market activity in Arlington over the past seven days (top) and seven days prior to that (bottom).

While the total Coming Soon and New Active for each seven-day period is almost identical, the Coming Soon pipeline was cut in half. You’ll also note huge increases in the number of price reductions and properties pulled off market (Temp Off, Withdrawn, Canceled and Expired).

Demand is dropping, but homeowners are experiencing it in different ways. For example, the markets that were hyper-competitive prior to the COVID-19 crisis, such as the $600k-$900k single-family starter home market that was seeing double digit offers, are still getting strong offers, and in some cases, multiple offers. For those homes, even a 60-70% decline in demand means a few offers instead of 10+.

I inquired on five homes this weekend for two separate clients. Each was a move-in-ready detached single-family home in Arlington, Falls Church, or Alexandria priced from $695k-$875k. All five had at least one strong offer, four were expecting multiples, one had two pre-inspections scheduled and one got seven offers.

However, the number of price drops and listings being pulled from the market shows that many homeowners are experiencing something different. If your home was likely to get one strong offer before the Coronavirus lockdown, a significant drop in demand can easily mean no offers and a longer wait for the right buyer to materialize.

To gauge the odds of a successful sale (quick sale, at/near asking price), homeowners should be conscious of the profile of the buyer(s) most likely to purchase their home and try to understand how their motivation and financial security has been impacted by COVID-19.

For example, dual-income families are likely feeling more financial security than single-income buyers. Buyers with kids are often more motivated because they likely have fewer alternatives than somebody buying a 1-2-bedroom condo who can more easily find a comparable rental apartment until the economy is back in order.

Further, families with kids are generally buying with a longer ownership horizon and thus able to outlast whatever economic recession/depression is brought on by the virus.

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