Well, not quite.  But it isn’t 2008 either.  In the last quarter my team has put together 42 contracts for sale for both our buyer and seller clients across the DC Metro area and approximately 70% had multiple bids.  Clearly not a scientific study, but fantastic on the ground data.  So what’s going on?  Ignore the national numbers for a moment which said home sales are down more than 2% this month, and focus on the local stats.  For this blog I’m going to focus on DC Houses.  More stats by the way can be found at http://gcaar.com/toolkit_ektid868.aspx .

In comparison to August 2008 listings – or new homes on the market – are down 15.2% - or 255 less homes to potentially buy.  New ratified contracts are up 17.7%  - or in other words 373 more buyers and sellers agreed upon a price in August 09 than they did in August 08.  The reason is clear – prices are down in most areas to a level that has again sparked the buyer’s interest.  The average price of a house in DC in August 2008 was $628,170 and in August 2009 it was $564,474.  If you saw a reduction of $63,696 wouldn’t you also take a closer look at the house?

I did a recent interview on DC Fox 5 that sums it up.  Take a look:  http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/092409_dc_area_homes_bidding_wars
 

At Brandon Green Companies we have sold over 40 homes already this year. I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal and I thought it reflects well what we are advising our clients to do to be successful.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121553612650836199.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_journalreports

So far this year, we have not had any expired listings and our average Days on Market are lower than the average in the area. Why? Because we give our clients the right advice and we know our local market.

I believe the most important factor when selling in this market is to hire the right agent, not just your friend or the agent next door. You want the agent that is going to work hard for you. I also believe presentation of your property, staging, and of course pricing, are key points to selling your home.

The bad news for seller is that if you bought your house in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 it is likely that your house is worth only a little bit more or just under what you bought it for. It is not easy for us to tell our clients the bad news, but we need to give them the facts if they decide to sell. We have no control over the market but we do on how to market and to sell.

If you decide to sell, you need to be very realistic about the market and forget how much your house was worth in 2005.  These days are over.  The good news is that if you follow our guidance, you will be able to sell your home at a price that is right.

If you have any friends that are struggling to sell their home, please send them our way. We are experts in selling houses that haven’t sold. We work hard!

Make sure to interview me if you are not a US citizen. You need good advice since there are huge differences between a US citizen a non US citizen when buying and selling. I am a Certified International Specialist Certified and have had extensive training to support foreign and domestic needs.

I’m constantly looking for opportunities for my investor clients and in today’s market the obvious opportunity is in foreclosures and bank owned properties (REOs). But one problem is that the Washington market hasn’t sent that large of a jump in foreclosures.

But when you drill down to look at the actual properties available, a great opportunity presents itself – RESCUE WORK!

Let’s define rescue work – a developer/builder takes on a project and begins the project. They run out of money and the bank takes back the property. You have a property sitting and many times the major structural, plumbing, electrical and mechanical work has been done. A savvy investor can come in with his/her team of contractors and get the property finished in a couple of month, minimizing holding costs and optimizing profit.

THE CATCH – you have to keep your fundamentals in mind – get it from the bank at the right price. The work has to be doable within a short timeframe, the permits already in place, your contractor has to prioritize your project over all others, and you have to make sure that the work already done is up to code. Not so bad!