real estate

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Worker Rescued from Memorial Bridge — A man working on the Memorial Bridge rehabilitation project was injured this morning and transported to the hospital via fireboat and then ambulance. The injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening. [Twitter, Twitter, Twitter]

More Worries About Real Estate Prices Post-Amazon — “Amazon’s possible arrival in Northern Virginia and Queens, New York, has already sent shockwaves through surrounding real estate markets. Mara Gemond, a longtime Arlington, Virginia, realtor… Crystal City — until news broke that Amazon might be splitting its 50,000-employee second headquarters between there and Long Island City in New York. All of a sudden, the two-bedroom condo in a 1980s-era building that had been sitting on the market for nearly three months with no offers, even after a price cut, had a flood of interest.” [CNN, Washington Post, ARLnow]

Metro Closure Causes DCA Gridlock — The closure of the Crystal City and National Airport Metro stations prior to Friday’s evening rush hour, amid a rush to get out of town for the holiday weekend, caused gridlock around the airport, the GW Parkway, Route 1 and other nearby roads. Arlington County Police were dispatched to the area to help with traffic control. [NBC 4, Twitter, Greater Greater Washington]

Chamber Welcomes Amazon — Among those welcoming Amazon to Arlington is the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. “This addition to Arlington is a significant step toward enhancing and maintaining the strength of Arlington’s commercial sector and diversifying our economic base,” the Chamber said in a statement. [Arlington Chamber]

Restrictions for West Glebe Road Bridge Traffic — “A routine inspection of the bridge on West Glebe Road at South Four Mile Run has uncovered deterioration, which will require a vehicle weight restriction of 5-tons, and closure of the sidewalks in both directions. Because safety is the priority, the restrictions are effective immediately.” [Arlington County]

Marymount U Prez Dances with Local Stars — “Dr. Irma Becerra has many accomplishments to her name. Dancing is not one of them, but D.C.’s Dancing Stars Gala could soon change that. Marymount University’s new president is one of eight local celebrities who will vie for $10,000 [this past] Saturday when the annual fundraising competition is held at The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner.” [Fairfax News]

Arlington Resident Buys Airline — Sanford Rederer, a resident of North Arlington and Sarasota, Florida, has purchased Florida-based Island Air Charters. [Business Observer]

Pictured above: Crystal City as it once was — building and wayfinding sign in 2011 (Flickr pool photo by Chris Reed)

What’s New in Old Town? Walkable Luxury Apartments

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Sophisticated and elegant, to be sure; contemporary, modern and luxurious, absolutely; quieting quality concrete construction and unobstructed rooftop views of iconic regional landmarks, yes, yes, yes.

But what the managers of The Dalton want you to know most about the new 270 unit apartment building at 1225 First Street in Old Town Alexandria is a characteristic not usually associated with Old Town — walkability.

It starts with transportation options. The Dalton, which opened earlier this year, is so close to the Braddock Road Metro station, it might as well be a private entrance to the train. In fact, there’s a transit screen in the lobby to tell you when your next train is arriving. The Dalton’s sidewalk quite literally terminates at the Metro station.

“But what else can you walk to besides Metro?” we ask Kettler Property Manager Kara Swieconek. Her reply: “It all depends on what direction you are going.”

And it’s true: Go one way and you find the restaurants, bars and nightlife of Old Town West, just blocks away; the shopping boutiques and entertainment establishments of the King Street-Washington Street nexus are just beyond.

Go in the other direction for less than a mile and you are in Potomac Yard, home of your neighborhood Target, Best Buy, Home Goods, Shoppers Market, Regal Potomac Yard Stadium 16 and dozens of other lifestyle-sustaining merchants.

Step out in the direction of the nearby Potomac River and its developing waterfront and catch the water taxi to District Wharf, National Harbor and the MGM Casino, Nationals Park or Georgetown. That transit screen in The Dalton lobby also tells you when the water taxi is arriving and departing.

On the other hand, they’ve made it tempting to never leave The Dalton. There are the rooftop swimming pool, firepit and grills; there’s a 12th floor clubroom and outdoor terrace, a fitness center and yoga studio, meeting spaces and a dog grooming spa; there’s Monterey’s Pizza onsite, as well as the Click Café, with complementary Wi-Fi and Macs at communal tables and lounge seating. Plus, events!

Schedule a tour today at this site. There are a limited number of select apartments that boast, as a move-in special, two months’ rent for free. Visit DaltonApts.com or call 833-769-1878.

Run, don’t walk, to The Dalton.

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:

4036 35th Street N.
7 bed/6 bath, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed: $1,895,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

2203 19th Court N.
4 bed/3 bath, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Classic Cottages Realty
Listed: $1,189,000
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

33 N. Garfield Street
3 bed/2 bath, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $889,900
Open: Saturday and Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

2334 S. Rolfe Street
4 bed/3 bath, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Samson Properties
Listed: $785,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m

 

4911 22nd Road N
3 bed/2 bath single-family home
Agent: Redfin Corporation
Listed: $650,000
Open: Sunday 12-4 p.m.

 

851 N. Glebe Road
1 bed/1 bath condo
Agent: Compass
Listed: $415,000
Open: Sunday 12-2 p.m.

 

2811-A S. Woodrow Street #1
2 bed/2 bath condo
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate
Listed: $390,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 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 Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

Arlington’s real estate market revved up this week after coming out of last week’s coma. Buyers ratified 63 contracts and sellers listed 50 homes. But inventory remains painfully low for buyers. With 479 homes actively for sale, and with the current rate of absorption, Arlington has only 1.9 months of inventory indicating it should still be a seller’s market. A market is considered in equilibrium when it has about 5.5 months of inventory.

Arlington is eagerly awaiting Amazon’s decision on HQ2, and hoping the nod will go to Crystal City. Property owners are already expecting their values to increase, but I would urge them to lower their expectations. Most of Amazon’s hiring would be local. Only a small percentage would be hired from outside of the area, so increased demand on housing, if any, would likely be insignificant.

Zillow fans were stunned this week when the website giant announced it lost 26% of its value on Wall Street. It blamed rising interest rates and a downward market shift. It’s revenues from selling leads to agents dropped dramatically. We will all have to wait and see how this plays out.

Click here to see all the fresh new inventory in MRIS and call Team Cathell (703-975-2500) when you find a home you like.

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 licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he may not be the listing agent of these homes.

Black Friday is coming, folks.

By now you’ve likely seen some of the specials unveiled from your favorite retailers, with the usual gadgets and seasonal bargains topping your list for November 23 shopping.

Well, as it turns out, November is a great time for some home and real estate related bargains as well. So, as you shop for your loved ones, don’t forget about your home, too.

Number one on the list? Kitchen items. If you’re looking for small appliances or kitchen go-tos — from a new coffee pot to a griddle to a crock pot — November is the month to save some dough. Also, if you’re looking to make your home “smarter,” gadgets like Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa are typically heavily discounted throughout the month as well.

And, when you’re ready to get the most bang for your buck when buying a home, our team is ready to help you get more out of that big transaction, too.

As of November 5, there are 208 detached homes, 44 townhouses and 213 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 56 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week.

Here is this week’s selection of Just Reduced properties:

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 Aaron Seekford.

Ask Eli: Can I Use a Gift from My Parents for My Down Payment?

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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: Am I allowed to use a gift for the down payment on a home purchase? If so, are there any restrictions I should be aware of?

Answer: How else do you think many first-time homebuyers (second and third timers too) are able to afford the steep cost of real estate in Northern Virginia and D.C.?

Sometimes the gifts are just that, gifts from generous family members who want to help a loved one or child purchase a home, but many “donors” consider these contributions to be a way to invest in the local market.

The good news is that it’s easy for family members to help each other out with down payments and closing costs. I reached out to one of the area’s top lenders, Jake Ryon of First Home Mortgage (can be reached via email at [email protected]), to provide some general guidelines on gifts:

  1. There is no limit to the total gifts funds you can receive or how many gifts you can receive from multiple eligible sources.
  2. The gift must come from an eligible source. For most loan products, that means a relative or spouse. The donor cannot be an interested party (seller/developer/realtor/lender/title attorney) to the transaction.
  3. For Conventional or VA loans, we just need to show the borrower has received the gift funds. FHA requires “donor-ability”, meaning we need to look at the donor’s bank statements.
  4. For best practices, we typically recommend the donor wire the gift funds directly to the title company so there aren’t delays waiting for a check to clear.

Oftentimes a lender will require a signed letter from the gift donor stating the purpose of the funds and there may be a need to establish the source of the gift, but those details are circumstantial and it’s best to notify your lender up-front of any gifts you will receive so that they can advise you on the proper steps.

I have noticed a sharp increase in the number of buyers I’m meeting whose parents are gifting down payments in order to help their children purchase a home before Amazon (likely) announces its move into Crystal City/D.C. Metro.

For those of you who don’t have the luxury of financial assistance helping you get to 20-25% down, there are plenty of great loan programs available that allow you to put 3-10% down and make home ownership much more accessible.

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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Polls Are Open — Voting in Arlington started at 6 a.m. this morning and will continue until 7 p.m. Don’t be surprised to see TV crews at local polling places: a number of international news outlets will be on hand to document democracy in action in Arlington. [Twitter, Twitter]

HQ2 Driving Real Estate Interest — Real estate agents are seeing increased interest in Arlington and Alexandria as a result of the increasingly-likely prospect of Amazon’s HQ2 (or, at least, a portion of it) coming to the area. Crystal City residents, meanwhile, are both excited and apprehensive about the tech and e-commerce giant moving into the neighborhood. [Washington Business Journal, WJLA]

Rain Causes Swollen Four Mile Run — Heavy rain Monday morning caused flooding along Four Mile Run. Floodwaters blocked the Four Mile Run Trail for part of the day. [Twitter]

Green Valley Pharmacy May Reopen — The Green Valley Pharmacy, a long-time local business serving the Nauck community, may be revived by the family of its late founder, Leonard “Doc” Muse. “”We [hope] to restore the exterior to the way it looked when my grandfather opened it in the 1950s,” said Muse’s grandson. [Arlington Magazine]

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:

3810 N. Randolph Court
4 bed/3 bath, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Washington Fine Properties, LLC
Listed: $1,749,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

200 N. Cleveland Street
3 bed/2 bath, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Weichert, Realtors
Listed: $999,900
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

2648 N. Sycamore Street
4 bed/3 bath single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
Listed: $725,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

5920 9th Street N.
3 bed/2 bath single-family home
Agent: Houwzer LLC
Listed: $699,000
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

 

2426 S. Walter Reed Drive
2 bed/2 bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Pearson Smith Realty, LLC
Listed: $545,000
Open: Saturday 12-4 p.m. and Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

937 S. Rolfe Street A
2 bed/2 bath, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed: $450,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

4343 N. Lee Highway #204
1 bed/1 bath condo
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
Listed: $238,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 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 Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

Halloween must have scared the bejeebers out of buyers and sellers this week as the pace of Arlington’s real estate market slammed on the brakes. Sellers listed only 49 homes and buyers ratified only 43 contracts.

Arlington’s slow down, however, is not as stark as elsewhere. California, a harbinger of change, has experienced an 18% drop in sales in SoCal, and 19% drop in the Bay Area, but their prices have continued, so far, to climb slightly.

Freddie Mac puts the blame squarely on rising interest rates. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, says, “While higher mortgage rates have led to a decline in home sales this year, the weakness has been concentrated in expensive segments versus entry-level and first-time buyer which remains firm throughout most of the rest of the country.” His comment fairly reflects the Arlington market as well.

Mortgage rates backed off a few basis points this week as Wall Street regained some of its lost value in October. The 30-yr fixed rate conventional with no points is now at about 4.875% to 5%.

Click here to see all the fresh new inventory in MRIS and call Team Cathell (703-975-2500) when you find a home you like.

Listing of the Day: 2134 Military Road

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Address: 2134 Military Road
Neighborhood: Cherrydale
Listed: $739,000
Open: Sunday, November 4 from 1-4 p.m.

Privacy and space abound in this huge three-level 4 BD/3.5 BA end townhouse in the desirable Cherrydale neighborhood of North Arlington.

Over 2,600 square feet of living space with a well-landscaped and fenced yard (over 6,800 sq. ft.), perfect for entertaining. Open concept kitchen/dining room with extensive island for food prep. Large living room with gleaming hardwood floors, wood-burning fireplace and recessed lighting.

Bright master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, loads of closets and balcony for morning coffee. Upper level laundry and a lower level that is ideal for au-pair or in-laws with second living room w/built-ins and fireplace, large bedroom and full bathroom.

Two reserved parking spaces at your front door. Blocks to Cherrydale Library, Safeway, popular neighborhood restaurants and nearby hiking/nature trails. Just over a mile to Virginia Square and Ballston Metros and two lights to D.C.

Listed By:
Liz Lord
Keller Williams Realty
Cell: 571-331-9213
[email protected]
www.arlvahomes.com

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 licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he may not be the listing agent of these homes.

A happy and yummy Halloween to all of our readers out there. On this spooky holiday, may the chocolate (or whatever candy you like) flow your way.

Speaking of spooky, purchasing a home doesn’t have to be spooky at all. Sure, it can seem a bit daunting at times with a large amount of dough and important decisions involved. But, let’s make it a bit more stress-free.

A few quick tips for you:

Communicate Your Deadlines

If you want to move in by a specific date or have specific needs, let it be known. A time crunch can certainly add stress, but if you’ve communicated everything you need out of a transaction, the other parties involved should help you meet your goals.

Stay Flexible and Positive

With a mindset of “a curveball may come my way,” it’s a lot easier to handle any unexpected twists and turns during a transaction. Even if you or your team execute everything flawlessly, a lot can happen, folks!

Have a Trusted Team On Your Side

A real estate transaction can be a lot to handle for one person or one family. So, have a professional or two (or more!) in your arsenal. When you’re ready to get more out of your experience, we’re here to help.

As of October 29, there are 205 detached homes, 66 townhouses and 244 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 52 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week.

Here is this week’s selection of Just Reduced properties:

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 Aaron Seekford.

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