Ask Eli

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

Where is it?

Douglas Park is a large neighborhood in South Arlington bordered by Columbia Pike to the north, S. Four Mile Run Drive to the west, S. Walter Reed Drive to the east, and ends at the intersection of each of those roads to the south.

It hosts multiple parks and Randolph Elementary School, although households in the southern portion of the neighborhood go to Hoffman-Boston Elementary and students in the northwestern corner are districted to Barcroft Elementary School. The majority of households are districted to Jefferson Middle School, but the Barcroft Elementary households in the northwest corner end up at Kenmore Middle School. Every household in Douglas Park ends up at Wakefield High School.

Douglas Park is a blended neighborhood of mostly residential housing, ranging from affordable multi-family buildings for rent or purchase along the northern and eastern borders, a few pockets of town homes built in the 1960s and again in the 2000s, but mostly single family homes build in the early/mid-1900s many of which are cape cods and bungalows that are popular targets for renovations and expansions.

About the interviewee:

Anne and her husband, Horacio, met in Colombia (the country) and moved to Shirlington in early 2015 before buying their home, where they’re raising two young children. They weren’t in a hurry to move, but found a home with potential on a street they loved, and bought their Douglas Park Cape Cod in late 2015.

They spent about three months renovating the kitchen, refinishing floors, and giving the house new life while trying to maintain the original charm as much as possible. Just after moving in, they dealt with some pipe issues that required them to tear up a lot of their front yard, but turned a bad situation into a positive by introducing some beautiful landscaping and hardscaping out front.

What do you love about Douglas Park?

We’re part of an incredible community here. Being a bi-lingual family, we love living in a bi-lingual neighborhood. An added plus that we hadn’t thought to be so important before experiencing it, is the cross-generational interaction. The young families who just moved in hang out with neighbors who have lived here for decades.

It’s also very front-yard focused, so in the evenings and weekends, you’ll see most of the neighborhood out front, spending time together, not tucked away privately in their backyards (note: this was highlighted in the Claremont Neighborhood Spotlight and a trend in many South Arlington neighborhoods). It’s a beautiful, engaged, diverse community.

We also have great access to public transportation, despite not being near a Metro station. Whenever I can, I take the bus to work in Courthouse. Also, despite not having sidewalks, the streets are wide enough for kids to safely ride bikes and walk without being in danger.

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

Question: We installed an in-ground pool when we bought our house and now that we’re considering selling it, we’re wondering if it’s better to improve the condition of the pool or fill it in and replace it with more usable space.

Answer:

You Will Lose A Lot Of Buyers…

You will lose the majority of your buyer pool (pun intended) by offering your home for sale with a pool. With limited months of the year warm enough to use a pool, limited yard space, and high maintenance costs, most Arlington home buyers consider an in-ground pool a deal-breaker. You’ll see from the Fairfax County data that this is true for Northern Virginia, not just Arlington.

…But It May Not Matter In Arlington

This does not mean you should spends tens of thousands filling your pool in and covering it with new landscaping. Arlington has so few homes for sale with a pool that despite losing a large percentage of your potential buyers, you’re likely to benefit from the pool because it’s such a unique feature. Remember, it only takes one person/family to buy your home.

Arlington & Fairfax County Data

Since January 1 2012, only 29 detached homes have sold in Arlington with an in-ground pool, while during that same period, 1,548 homes in Fairfax County sold with an in-ground pool.

Arlington sellers with a pool fared well with an average of only 29.3 days on market, compared to about 50 days on market for all other detached homes. 18 of the 29 sales sold in 10 days or less.

On average, those 29 sales were 3 percent lower than the original asking price, with a county average during that period closer to 2.5 percent, but not everybody sold at a discount because 11 of the 29 sales sold for at or above the asking price.

Arlington has so few homes with in-ground pools, that we have to look to Fairfax County to gather some meaningful data:

During this time, detached homes spent an average of about 60 days on market and sold for about 97.5 percent of their original asking price.

As you can see from the table above, it took nearly 40 percent longer to sell a home with an in-ground pool and buyers negotiated an average of 3 percent more off of the original asking price. This supports the idea that most buyers in Northern Virginia don’t want a pool, but the lack of available inventory in Arlington offsets that and can be turned into a positive for sellers.

Take Notes From Fairfax, Timing Matters

The above table for Fairfax County also highlights that if you’re going to sell a home with a pool, you should do so within the spring market so your buyer has the immediate satisfaction of using it for a full season after they purchase.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Question: I live in a building with above average condo fees and am wondering what impact the condo fees will have when I decide to sell?

Answer:

On Average

The average condo fee for a one bedroom apartment in Arlington is $397/month and $530/month for a two bedroom unit. On average, owners pay 50 cents per square foot they own. Looking at my favorite sales indicators, days on market and sold price to original ask ratio, there is a direct correlation between higher condo fees and the number of days on market, as well as between higher condo fees and greater buyer discounts from the original asking price (see first and second data tables below).

Pricing Around Fees

When pricing your condo, you must factor in the monthly fees compared to condos in similar communities.  Since buyers manage their total monthly payment, along with the total sale price, consider that on a 30 year mortgage with a 4 percent interest rate, increasing the mortgage by $21,000 increasing the monthly payment by $100. Thus, as a simple rule of thumb, for every $100/month difference in condo fees on a comparable unit, there should be an adjustment of about $20,000 in market value.

Data Summaries

There’s a lot of important information hidden behind data on condo fees like building services/amenities and the inclusion or exclusion of utilities and/or cable and internet, but the data on condo fees in Arlington is valuable nonetheless.

The following data summary represents apartment-style condo sales in Arlington over the last four years, broken down by condo fee ranges. Of note is that as the fee and fee per square foot increases, so does the time it takes to sell and percentage discount buyers negotiate of the asking price.

Note that of the $1,000+ fee sales, one third are from Turnberry Tower, Arlington’s premier luxury building, and another 15 percent are from Crystal Gateway, a building with expansive floor plans and the largest amenity package of any community in Arlington.

The following table is a cross section of the above data set, limited to sales that closed from $250,000 to $500,000, thus presenting the data within a more comparable sub-market.

How much does a building’s age impact the condo fees?

Most people would say that older buildings have higher condo fees because they have higher maintenance and replacement costs. Let’s take a look at the data for one and two bedrooms sales, by the decade it the community was built.

Of note is that the buildings from the 1950s and earlier have the most limited (or non-existent) amenities and there seems to be a jump in fees per square foot in buildings as they reach the 20 year mark, but leveling off after that, in-line with my expectations because most major systems require expensive repairs or replacement around the 20-30 year mark.

In order to truly understand the impact of condo fees on your condo, it’s necessary to drill down a few more levels within your specific sub-market(s). If you’re interested in exploring condo fee data for your unit, feel free to email me at [email protected] and I’d be happy to provide you with a more customized data summary.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Question: This is in response to recent comments on my columns about what it means to sell “as-is.”

Answer: Selling a property “as-is” in Northern Virginia carries a technical definition as stated in the contract and an intended purpose that should be discussed between the buyer and seller.

Technical/Contractual Definition

In Northern Virginia’s Contingencies/Clauses Addendum you’ll find a section for selling “as-is” which contains the following terms that can be individually selected for the contract:

• Seller will not clean or remove debris. The standard is for the property to be free of trash/debris and broom clean.
• The seller is not responsible for addressing any wood destroying insect/termite issues. The standard agreement requires the seller to pay for any damage from wood destroying insects.
• The seller is not required to fix any Homeowners Association violations related to the physical condition of the property.
• The seller is not responsible for providing working smoke detectors.
• The seller is not responsible for compliance with notices of violation from local authorities.

Implied Definition

When you market a property as-is, you are implying that you will not negotiate with the buyer to fix anything and the buyer should be prepared to take on the full risk of the property in its current condition. Generally, this means a buyer will agree to take the property in the condition it is in at the time of offer and that the contract is not contingent on a home inspection (buyer withdraws the right to negotiate or void based on home inspection results).

However, you may consider accepting a short pass/fail inspection contingency whereby the buyer does not have a right to negotiate credits or fixes, but does have the right to void the contract if they find any major problems with the home during the inspection.

Who Uses As-Is?

It is common to see estate sales and homes that will be the targeted by investors (tear downs or flips) being sold as-is. In the case of many estate sales, the family member(s) who inherited the property may not live nearby, know anything about the condition of its systems, or want to be bothered by negotiations after a deal has been made. It doesn’t necessarily mean the property has problems.

Understand Your Choice

As a seller, you want to make sure you understand the message you’re sending and buyers you’re targeting when you market a home as-is. You also need to be realistic about how this will impact the sale price (discounted). As a buyer, you want to make sure you understand why a home is being sold as-is, what the seller’s contractual and implied expectations are, and be prepared to handle the risks associated with buying as-is.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Where is it? Most people would consider Aurora Highlands to be Crystal City and Pentagon City because to the north, it contains the Pentagon City mall, borders S. Eads Street to the east, Virginia Highlands Park/S. Joyce Street to the west, and the southern tip of Arlington along S. Glebe Road to the south.

It’s a diverse neighborhood with everything from large apartment buildings to residential streets lined with cape cods and brand new Craftsman homes, mixed in with the mall, office space, dining and retail.

Unlike most neighborhoods with single family homes, Aurora Highlands has easy access to two Metro stations and you can’t live closer to Reagan National Airport! Students living in Aurora Highlands attend Oakridge Elementary, Gunston Middle and Wakefield High Schools.

About the interviewee: Lisa Curtin moved from the Chicago suburbs to her apartment at Crystal House in 2015 when she was relocated for her career in Student Tourism. Shortly after the move, she became the COO of an Accounting firm in Bethesda, but loves the neighborhood so much that she’d rather commute every day to Bethesda than move closer to work.

She picked Crystal House because she’d never lived in a city before, loved the larger, renovated apartments, and was located close to the Crystal City Underground. Lisa is strongly considering buying nearby once she’s done renting.

What do you love about Aurora Highlands?

Where do I start? The accessibility to the Metro and major roads for commuting and going out couldn’t be better; we’re a few quick stops to downtown D.C. Within a few blocks there are parks, family-owned bars and restaurants, shopping and trails.

Where do you shop, eat, and hang out?

I love Tortoise & Hare (have to try the loaded tater tots), Crystal City Sports Pub and Freddie’s Beach Bar. I do most of my grocery shopping at the Harris Teeter or Aldi and work out at the new Orange Theory.

I also walk on the Four Mile Run and Mount Vernon Trails, and hang out at Long Branch Park when the weather is nice. I suggest everybody check out Fridays at the Foundation (pictured), if they haven’t already.

Do you have any experience with the school system?

I don’t personally, but my neighbors considered sending their kids to private school and decided to stick with the local public schools and are very happy with their experience at Oakridge Elementary School. They intend for their kids to use the public school system serving our neighborhood through high school!

What sort of identity does Aurora Highlands have?

I don’t think most people understand that Aurora Highlands is its own neighborhood, adjacent to Crystal City and Pentagon City, so we’re doing a lot to identify ourselves with new signage and a strong Civic Association. It’s such a unique pocket of Arlington because it has traditional single family neighborhoods alongside condos, apartments, office space and retail.

It gives the neighborhood a vibrancy that’s hard to match and there’s a great mood walking around because people take care of themselves and the community. You get all of these city-like benefits but at a much more affordable price than other parts of Arlington and D.C.

Thank you so much for your interview Lisa! I’m sure this will help people considering a move into or within Arlington who are looking for the type of community you described.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Question: I’m a bit nervous about moving into a condo and we’re expecting to receive the condominium disclosure documents (resale package) soon. I’ve heard these are pretty large packages. What sort of information can we expect to get and what should we pay the most attention to?

Answer: Fear of condos is real! Last week I had a client tell me he’d been warned against buying a condo because the Board can raise fees whenever and however much they want. First, keep in mind that the Board is made up of your neighbors who also have a vested interest in keeping payments low and the community in good health. Second, this is why the condo document review period is a critical step in the purchase process.

Your Rights As A Buyer

You have a non-negotiable right in Virginia (also in D.C. and Maryland) to receive a Condominium or Property Owners’ Association Disclosure Package (aka Condo Docs or Resale Package) if you are purchasing property that’s part of an Association such as condo ownership or Homeowners’ Association.

These documents can be provided to you as soon as you go under contract (ratification). You’ll want to start your review ASAP because you have three days from receipt to void the contract for any reason, without risking your Earnest Money Deposit.

What You’ll Get

The official list of required documents and statements in a condo resale package can be found here. It includes critical information like the by-laws, budget, rules & regulations, monthly or special assessments, reserve study, proof of insurance, pending lawsuits, unit violations, rental caps and much more.

What To Review

Your purchase binds you to every rule, penalty, and fee detailed in the condo docs so you should take the time to read everything. Is Fido 70 lbs and your new building restricts pets over 25 lbs? Brutal. Spent $1,500 on a fancy new grill in a community that restricts open flames? Craigslist will take it for $400. If reading 300 pages isn’t your thing, here are some of the most important things to check:

• Monthly/Special Assessments: Confirm they’re as marketed
• Budget: Make sure expenses seem reasonable and look for any debt payments (ask questions if you find them)
• Reserve Study: Condos should be inspected every five years with a resulting report (Reserve Study) of projected replacement and maintenance costs compared to projected/recommended reserve fund balances over the next 30 years. Find the financial summary to see if there are any projected shortfalls and cross-reference the current reserve fund balance with the projected and/or recommended reserve fund balance.
• By-laws/Rules: If you have a pet, plan to rent, or anything else important to you, verify the by-laws and rules meet expectations
• Meeting Minutes: Review the latest meeting minutes for any discussion of major expenditures/issues

Sellers should try to produce the resale package as quickly as possible because of the Buyer’s ability to void the contract within three days of receipt. As a Seller, the last thing you want is to delay the delivery of the package for weeks and watch your Buyer walk away close to the settlement date. In Virginia, Associations have 14 days to deliver the resale package from the date of request, although most turn it around in a few days.

Have a question about something you found in your condo or HOA disclosure package? Feel free to send me an email ([email protected]) or give me a call (703-539-2529) for help!

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Question: We are ready to move into a house we’ll raise our family in and are set on Arlington. We want a newer home, but are not sure if it’s better to buy new construction or resale; our decision will ultimately be a financial one.

Can you put together numbers that show how the sale prices of new construction compare to resale?

Answer: Of course I can! When weighing the financial decision of new construction vs. resale, you’ll also want to consider the replacement cost of major systems like HVAC, windows, roof, water heater, appliances, etc. that carry life cycles of 10-30 years (appliances being on the early side, roof/windows coming later) as well as higher efficiency factors of new homes that significantly reduce utility costs. Many new homes also come with extended “bumper-to-bumper” warranties that you won’t get in resale.

As expected, there’s a clear premium to be paid for new construction and buyers tend to negotiate a deeper discount from the original asking price on homes being resold. The dataset is based on sales since January 1, 2014 for detached homes built since 2000 with 4-6 bedrooms, 3-5 bathrooms, and 3-4 levels.

Are these numbers in-line with what you expect to see on the difference in sold price between new construction and resale? Are the prices about what you assumed for new/newish homes by zip code?

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Where is it? Clarendon is probably the most recognizable, well-known neighborhood in Arlington. Those outside of Arlington often refer to the entire Rosslyn-Ballston corridor as Clarendon.

Technically it is bound by Wilson Blvd to the north, 10th St N. to the south, Washington Blvd to the west, and N. Danville Street to the east (eastern border is based on the boundaries of the Clarendon Sector Plan).

Clarendon is known for its lively dining and retail scene, along with being host to a popular chains like an Apple Store and Whole Foods, where the parking line regularly overflows into the street.

From rooftop bars, numerous restaurants and high-end retail, Clarendon attracts people of all ages to its massive condo and apartment complexes, as well as droves of patrons from outside the neighborhood. Depending on your preference for entertainment, it’s either the place to be or the place to avoid on Saturday nights. The neighborhood is built around the Clarendon Metro station, which is located on the Orange and Silver lines.

About the interviewee: Tim Donaldson moved to Clarendon in 2014 after spending eight years in Los Angeles, and chose the area because it provides the walkability of a city, but he can hop in his truck any time and quickly be on the highway, which he can’t do from D.C.

He started as a renter in The Phoenix, a popular condo building at 1020 N. Highland Street, and loved it enough to buy a two-bedroom condo after one year. He loves the amenities, and chose to buy because of how well run it is due to the long tenure of its staff.

What do you love about Clarendon?

I love the balance of being able to walk to everything, but not having to fight through city traffic to get to a highway, which I do often for work and to fish. It’s a big city lifestyle, but more laid back. You also have the convenience and familiarity of successful chains like Whole Foods, Starbucks, Cheesecake Factory and Lululemon, but also some great non-chain places for music and craft beer/wine. I’m sad the record store closed!

Where do you shop, eat, and hang out?

My wife and I have a long list of favorites all within a few blocks. Green Pig Bistro is our date night spot, we’re regulars at Lyon Hall, I go to Fireworks for their great beer menu, Galaxy Hut for awesome music, Ambar’s all-you-can-eat is the best deal around, Texas Jacks BBQ is second to none (I agree), love the classics like Liberty Tavern and Bonchon, and the new Spirit of 76 is a cool, cozy bar! We love being able to walk to Whole Foods or Trader Joes for groceries.

Do you take advantage of nearby parks and trails?

I take weekly walks at Potomac Overlook and Zachary Taylor parks and love biking the WO&D, Four Mile Run, and Mount Vernon trails. I know there are parks closer by, but I love hiking and biking those areas.

How has your overall experience been in Clarendon?

Very positive! I’d love to be able to buy a single-family home in Lyon Park (adjacent neighborhood) so I can stay close to Clarendon. People mostly associate Clarendon with weekend partying, but it’s an incredible community with an art show, crafts fair, and bike race during the year. Most of the businesses put out water bowls for dogs in the summer and there’s always families out pushing kids in strollers, which gives the whole neighborhood a feel of closeness that I love being part of.

Thank you so much for your interview Tim! I’m sure this will help people considering a move into or within Arlington who are looking for a vibrant, walkable community like you described.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Question: How accurate and reliable are online home value estimates like Zestimates (Zillow) and Redfin Estimates? My neighbor used his Zestimate to determine the asking price of his home. Can I trust that number?

Answer: Online estimates, like Zestimates and Redfin Estimates, are similar to doing a Rough Order of Magnitude estimate on a project, meaning it’s a good way to quickly determine approximate value. I suggest that clients only trust Zestimates/Redfin Estimates within +/- 10 percent of the value it provides.

In fact, I think that it’s irresponsible for Zestimates and other online estimates to be listed so prominently on their respective sites without an obvious disclaimer (readers must click for a short disclaimer). The fact that it’s a single number, down to the dollar, not a range or rounded falsely suggests it is highly accurate.

Why It’s Wrong

Zestimates, Redfin Estimates and other online estimates rely on public information like square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms, year built, tax appraisal (inaccurate), etc. and past sales in the area, but have no way of knowing details that drive true market value like quality of lot, natural light exposure, curb appeal, and age of major systems like appliances, roof and windows.

These details are critical to determining the actual market value and cannot be priced in without a full inspection of the home and understanding of their influence on local sales. In fact, there’s currently a lawsuit filed against Zillow for inaccurate Zestimates.

Zillow Admits Inaccuracies, Worse In Arlington

Zillow itself acknowledges that its Zestimates are inaccurate, stating that it has a median error rate of 5 percent (I’m sure the average error rate is much higher), only 53.9 percent of estimates are within 5 percent of the sale price, and only 75.6 percent are within 10 percent of the sale price. These last two stats are probably median error rates, with even worse error rates if you look at averages.

Further, because they’re national stats, they benefit from the large number of communities around the country that are full of nearly identical homes. When housing inventory is homogenous and there’s little variation in pricing by neighborhood (common in much of the country, not in Arlington), it’s much easier for online estimates to be accurate. I’m sure that the margin of error in Arlington and Northern Virginia is worse than the national numbers.

Comparing Popular Online Estimates

Industry spends a lot of money developing these estimate tools, so let’s take a look at how some of the most popular sites for estimates compare to each other. I’ve chosen to compare estimates on a few randomly selected properties in different sub-markets from Zillow, Redfin, and REALTORS Property Resource (RPR, created by the National Association of REALTORS for agents).

Note: there’s less variation between estimates on properties recently sold (recent sale price factors heavily) and listed properties (asking price factors into estimate formulas). Estimates below are rounded to nearest $1,000.

Listed Properties:

• Crystal City, condo: Zillow ($376,000), Redfin ($418,000), RPR ($395,000)
• Fairlington/Shirlington, condo: Zillow ($384,000), Redfin ($429,000), RPR ($231,000)
• Rosslyn-area, townhouse: Zillow ($957,000), Redfin ($818,000), RPR (unavailable)
• Donaldson Run, single family home: Zillow ($1,063,000), Redfin ($1,175,000), RPR ($1,125,000)

Unlisted Property (no recent sale):

• Lyon Village, single family home: Zillow ($3,465,000), Redfin ($1,821,000), RPR ($2,751,000)

How To Price Your Home

With unreliable estimates from online tools and limited or no access to data on sales from 12+ months, it’s difficult for homeowners or anybody without access to your home and historical data to accurately determine the market value of your home. I frequently start with sales dating back 5 years when I price a home in order to capture true market data and trends, as 6-12 months simply isn’t enough in most cases.

If you want historical data on comparable or neighborhood sales for your home or would like an opinion on the market value of your home, shoot me an email at [email protected] or give me a call at (703) 539-2529 and I’ll be happy to help.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, 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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

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

Question: How did Arlington real estate do in the first half of 2017?

Answer: Market indicators at the beginning of the year were very strong. Spring purchase activity picked up earlier than usual in 2017 and all services providers I spoke to (contractors, landscapers, lender, title companies, etc) all said business was thriving.

Now that we’ve made it through the first half of the year, let’s take a look at some key market indicators I like to use to determine how we’re doing relative to years past.

As usual, you’ll see some familiar customized stats from my previous posts:

• Avg Net Close: This is sale price less any seller credits for the “true” sold price
• Avg Discount from Org and Last List: One of my favorites — this is how much of a discount buyers negotiated from the original and last asking prices. A good indicator of who holds the most leverage in the market. 100% = buyer paid full price
• Avg Days on Mrkt: How long it took for the seller to ratify a contract to sell, from the date they listed it for sale. A good indicator of the speed of the market and demand
• Months of Supply (chart): Economists will say that a balanced market has six months of supply. Anything below favors sellers and anything above favors buyers

Highlights

• Arlington real estate prices are noticeably higher in most market segments, except apartments/condos (and in zip codes dominated by condo sales) where prices continue to stagnate
• Nearly all markets show signs of upward pressure on prices with lower days on market and smaller discounts from original and last asking price
• Average net sold price of detached (single-family) homes is way up, which is influenced by more sales of expensive new construction and off-market sales of cheaper tear-downs not showing up in the stats. However, it’s primarily due the overall market for detached homes picking up, as seen by strong numbers in zip codes with few new construction sales

With that, I’ll let you smart folks dig into the two tables and one chart yourselves and draw your own conclusions. Feel free to reach out to discuss anything you’re seeing, ask for more granular data for your home/neighborhood, or for help interpreting the data.

(more…)

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

Question: I’m cheating a bit here and answering my own question this week. I come across so many agents representing buyers and sellers who I don’t recognize that I wanted to know just how many agents have handled a real estate transaction in Arlington over the last couple of years. So Eli, how many real estate agents are there operating in Arlington?

Answer: Like it or not, the residential real estate profession has one of the lowest barriers to entry of any industry. While there are a lot of great agents out there, dedicated to their profession and delivering real value to their clients, it’s easy for just about anybody with a couple of months to study and a few hundred dollars to represent you in a real estate transaction.

That’s why it’s important to ask your agent if they’re full-time or part-time, how much business they do, and about their professional background.

A Lot Of Agents

To answer my question, I pulled data on the last 5,000 transactions (totaling $3.2 billion in just under two years) in Arlington to find out how many agents were involved.

Remember that in each transaction there are usually two agents and for the sake of simplicity, if an agent represented both sides of a deal, they’re credited with two sales in these figures. Here’s a summary of what I found:

• There were 3,139 total agents who worked on the last 5,000 transactions, with 2,287 different buyers agents and 1,904 different listing agents
• 178, or 5.7 percent, of those agents closed ten or more of those deals
• The 2,218 agents who closed one or two deals accounted for over $1.6 billion in sales or about 25 percent of sales volume (the $1.6B has to be divided by twice the $3.2 billion sales volume in Arlington to account for one agent on each side of the deal)
• The top 1 percent of agents by total transactions accounted for just over $1 billion in sales or about 16 percent of sales volume
• Only one agent represented over 100 buyers or 100 sellers (and you’ve probably seen her face on buses around the county)
• Out of the agents who closed five or more deals, 46 of them averaged over $1 million per sale

Some Exceptions

Just because somebody has only done one or two deals in Arlington doesn’t mean they’re not a great agent, in fact, I see a number of solid agents on this list who I know from other markets in the D.C. metropolitan area. There’s also quite a few agents in the industry who transact simply for their own investments.

What Do You Think?

Given this information and the data points above, are you surprised at the number of agents operating in Arlington? Do you think having a low barrier to entry and minimal license maintenance requirements/costs is a good thing for the residential real estate industry or should it be more difficult and more expensive to operate as a licensed agent so that fewer agents are managing Arlington’s real estate market? Discuss!

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.  

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.