New Listing

Price at only $1.45 million

This just listed Custom Estate Home is located on a beautiful secluded park-like lot in Great Falls. Home has three fully finished levels plus partially finished fourth level and a bonus room over the garage.

The expansive 1st floor living area includes a large eat-in kitchen with over-sized island.  The kitchen opens on to a large yet cozy family room with beautiful stone fireplace fueled by either gas or wood.  The dining room on this level provides space to seat some of your largest dinner parties.  Also included on the first level are a more than ample sized living room, a perfect sized office, a large heated/air conditioned sunroom, and a large mudroom/laundry area.  Both the family room and sunroom open onto a large wrap-around deck.  The mudroom and laundry area located off the garage  is perfect for when you comes in from the yard work or during bad weather.  Finally, there is a large three car garage with sufficient space for your cars and for a workshop.

The second level has four large bedrooms each with its own private full bath and linen closet.  The Master Bedroom incorporates a large bathroom with separate shower and tub plus an 18′ X 13′ sitting/exercise room.  The 38′ X 14′ partially finished bonus room over the garage can be accessed either through the sitting room or by way of stairs leading up from the garage.  This area would be perfect for an au pair or in-law suite.

The fully finished walk-out basement includes a large recreation room, media room, a full bath, large room with an elevated dog bath and sink for your pet grooming needs.  A huge storage area on this level can be easily transformed into a fifth bedroom if needed.  The sliding glass doors lead from the basement level onto a great back patio.

The magnificent 6.7 acres associated with this home will make you forget you are only 30 minutes from D.C and 10-15 minutes away from Reston and Tysons Corner.  The owners proudly built two outbuildings one of which currently houses four separate dog kennels and a 45Kw Onan whole house generator.  The second outbuilding has space for all your yard equipment and more.

JUST LISTED

11769 Hollyview Dr.

Great Falls, Va.  22066

Priced at $899,000

Spacious main level living combined with fully finished basement, huge two level glass enclosed Florida Room and multitiered decks make this a great home for entertaining.   Requiring a limited amount of TLC, this home is one of the best Great Falls opportunities in the under $1.0 million market.

Sold

$1,150,000

Experience what Great Falls is all about in this dream home with approximately 7,000 square feet of living space.  The tranquil 2.9 acre setting includes a private pond with its own waterfall and sand beach.  The home features a recently updated kitchen, a fabulous sunroom overlooking the pond, wrap around porch, oversized deck with Gazebo, large family room, carriage house with private apartment and much more.  All this and just a short walk to River Bend Park and all the amenities offered by the Potomac River.

110 N. Garfield St.

Arlington, Va

Offered at $1.595 million

This fabulous custom built Craftsman style home is located in the Lyon Park area of Arlington.  Only minutes from DC and within walking distance of Clarendon Metro stop.  Highlights of the home include a TRUE front porch with more than ample space to entertain.  The interior details leave nothing to be desired including solid six panel doors w/Baldwin crystal knobs, a 15′ X 19′ family room, main level office, plantation shutters and two kitchenettes.  The main kitchen includes Cherry Cabinetry/granite countertops and GE Monogram Stainless appliances. The beautifully landscaped yard with custom designed hardscape is perfect for those outdoor barbeques. 

CHECK OUT THE VIRTUAL TOUR BY CLICKING ON THE PHOTO

Sold

Beautifully Upgraded 4 Bedroom Townhouse withing walking distance of Metro.

Priced at $445,000

Link to photos should be available by 4/25.

Offered at $1,900,000

This fabulous Craftsman style home is located within minutes of DC. The elegant dining room is perfect for those formal occasions. The main level kitchen/family room and the lower level club room with bar and fabulous home theater provide a more casual venue. The kitchen features granite countertops and maple cabinetry with Subzero refrigerator, Viking range, Thermador wall oven and microwave, and Bosch dishwasher. The lower level bar area includes a refrigerator, ice-maker, oversized wine chiller and Bosch dishwasher.

Priced to Sell Quickly at $725,000

Sorry!  Sold.

Come home and enjoy this irresistible pool.

Tremendous colonial with 5 BR’s on upper level. Very private .5+ acre cul-de-sac lot with beautiful built-in swimming pool. Updated kitchen with granite countertops, tumbled marble backsplash and Wolf oven and cooktop. Large pantry/laundry area adjacent to kitchen. Fabulous lower level includes full bath. Large (30′x16′) deck overlooks the solar heated pool.

Priced at Only $564,900

Come home to this wonderfully landscaped, updated Franklin Farm home. The beautifully remodeled kitchen includes maple cabinets, corian countertops, Jenn-air and Kitchenaid appliances. A high efficiency gas furnace combines perfectly with recently installed Schuco triple pane windows. The 2007 remodeled MBA is beyond compare.  Click on the photo above to view the Mouse on House Tour virtual tour.  You can’t help but love the kitchen and MBA.

Five Reasons You Should Sell Your House TODAY!

Selling your house in today’s market can be extremely difficult.  It is for that reason that every seller should take advantage of each and every opportunity that appears.  Each fall, such an opportunity presents itself.  This fall, that opportunity may be just too good to pass up.

Below are five reasons you should consider pricing your house to sell in the next 90 days.  Meet with your real estate agent and mortgage professional today and see whether it is the right move for you and your family.

1. Entering this time of year, the buyers are more serious.

We all realize that buyers are not quick to pull the trigger on the purchase of a home today.  There is no sense of urgency with the supply of eligible properties at all time highs.  However, at this time of year, the ‘lookers’ are at the stores doing their holiday shopping.  The home buyers left in the market are serious and are more apt to make a purchasing decision.  Less showings – but to more motivated purchasers.

2. If you are moving up, you can save thousands.

The Chicago Tribune stated in an article last week that sellers who want to ‘trade up’ should act now:

It could be a bigger house, different neighborhood or a better school district, but it comes with a higher price tag. Do the math; this might be the right time.

A home that was once worth $300,000 may now be worth $240,000 in a market where prices have fallen 20 percent.  Wow, you think, the seller is taking a bath.  But that seller may also be a prospective buyer who wants a house that once was valued at $400,000. With an equivalent market drop and a realistic listing price, that house may now sell for $320,000.  So, in effect, the person is losing $60,000 on the sale of one home but coming out ahead $20,000 on the purchase of another.

Keep in mind the spread may be even greater.  There’s a smaller pool of potential buyers for more expensive homes, so sellers may be more willing to cut their price to get a deal done.

3. Interest rates just fell again – to 4.19%.

Professor Karl E. Case, the founder of the Case Shiller Pricing Index in an article in the New York Times last month actually did the math for us:

Four years ago, the monthly payment on a $300,000 house with 20 percent down and a mortgage rate of about 6.6 percent was $1,533. Today that $300,000 house would sell for $213,000 and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with 20 percent down would carry a rate of about 4.2 percent and a monthly payment of $833 … housing has perhaps never been a better bargain.

4. You beat the rush of inventory that is coming next year.

Every year there is an increase of inventory which comes to market from January through April as homeowners put their houses up for sale in preparation for the spring market. As an example, here is the number of listings available for sale in each of those months in 2010.

-  January – 3,277,000

-  February – 3,531,000

-  March – 3,626,000

-  April – 4,029,000

You won’t have to worry about this increasing competition if you sell now.

5. You have less ‘discounted’ inventory with which to compete.

This year, sellers of non-distressed properties have been given an early holiday present. With banks declaring a suspension on the sale of many distressed properties (foreclosures), there has been a large supply of discounted properties removed from competition.  No one knows how long this self imposed moratorium will last.  However, while it does, every homeowner has a better chance of selling their property.

Bottom Line

If you are looking to sell in the near future, there may not be a more opportune time than this fall. Serious buyers, great move-up deals and less competition from foreclosures creates the perfect selling situation. Don’t miss it!

As I have been saying (and writing about) during the past two years, our local real estate market will likely be the first to return to normalcy.  This is based on the fact that our local economy continues to be a fairly strong once.  A recent Washington Post Article entitled, “In Throes of Recession, D.C. Stands Apart”.  I have also been warning that we may well see a spike up in prices for both first time home buyers and move up buyers.  This due to what I believe will be a severe lack of new homes coming into the local inventory.  Many first time buyers have been looking at foreclosures as a means of getting into the market.  This is beginning to wane as those opportunities become less and less.  While the number of foreclosures currently at 179 for Fairfax County may seem high, a total of  225 sold in October alone in 2009 compared to only 113 for September 2010.  If you or someone you know is contemplating a purchase in the near term, I would suggest they consider doing so during the next three to four months.  I fully believe that once our spring market kicks in, we may well see a spike in prices as the inventory gets eaten up quickly.  This has already begun to happen with homes located inside the beltway in Virginia with homes receiving multiple offers and in some cases offers that include escalation addenda.   We also have record level interest rates for 30 fixed mortgages.