For the past 2+ years, we have been hearing that housing starts are down. In the shallow way in which our media reports things, this has been presented as something less than desirable. Although not an economist, for the same 2+ years, I have been saying that this is actually a very good thing for the long term health of both our housing market and the U.S. economy in general. Builders and investors got carried away with home construction during 2004 and 2005. They ended up putting way to much inventory into the market place than was needed. We are just now entering into a period where there is beginning to be housing shortages (in certain markets). This in turn has caused rents to increase. This is very much the case in parts of Fairfax and Arlington Counties.

The June 20th issue of the Economist contains an article entitled: “Will housing save America’s economy?” that is discussing the fact that there is a large pent up demand for new housing. To read the full Article, click on the link: Economist Article. Hope you find this of interest.

Please join us on May 9th for next week’s Military Appreciation Mondays dinner where we will be recognizing Our Military Kids.  This is the event that was originally scheduled for April 25th.  While last weekend’s news about Osama bin Laden is extremely exciting, we must remain more vigilant than ever.  With that said, our troops and their kids deserve ever greater support and appreciation.  Nancy and I hope you can join us at the Old Brogue where we will be recognizing our nation’s true Superheroes.  Please be sure to call the Brogue and make a reservation for either the 5:30 or 7:30 seating.  Feel free to either call me or send an e-mail if you would like more info or would like to sign on as a $200 or $100  cosponsor.  We are also always looking for door prize support as well.

Sold

Beautifully Upgraded 4 Bedroom Townhouse withing walking distance of Metro.

Priced at $445,000

Link to photos should be available by 4/25.

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.

Hello and happy holidays to all, I wanted to take a minute to thank you for your support this year to make the holidays a little brighter for the families of injured and killed in action veterans.  The “Our Military Kids” organization provided me with a Christmas Gift Wish List of 26 veterans’ families including 65 children this year.  Thanks to your help, packages are on the way for 16 of these families.  We are down to just 10 families left on the list, but now we are headed into ‘crunch time’.  With limited time left to buy, wrap and send gifts we must find people or organizations to support these last 10 families within the next week. If you have been thinking about committing to help…. if you can find room in your heart and your wallet this year…. please let us know before time runs out for these families.  One of the wounded veterans I spoke to last week was so thankful when we told him his family would be receiving support with Christmas gifts.  He mentioned that he was especially grateful because last year his kids did not get any Christmas gifts.  Let’s not let this happen again for any of these families who have sacrificed so much for all of us. If you would like to help make this holiday season a little bit brighter for the children of our injured and killed in action servicemen and women, all you have to do is respond to this email.  You can adopt one child, a family or simply make a cash donation.  Nancy and I will gladly purchase the gifts still on the list if you do not have the time.  Simply give me a call or drop an e-mail to Santa@BobNelsonTeam.com. These are the children still available for ‘adoption’ :

1. Vaughns Family

Jordan (6): Vtech MobiGo Touch Learning System MobiGoCarrying  Case MobiGoSoftware Games:  Toy Story 3, Disney Cars, NASCAR, Shrek, Mr. Men/Little Miss

John (10): Nintendo DSI (black)

Dejah Miles (15): Women’s UGG Australia Classic Short Boots, Size 10, Color:  Black

2. Ellis Family

Juliann (13): New clothes/Gift card to Target, Pac Sun or Forever 21

Joshua (12): Nano Touch I-Pod – Gray or Silver (Purchased through Cash Donations)

Jesse (16): Nano Touch I-Pod – Gold (Adopted by Louis and Chris Wise)

3. Kuinileti Sele Family

(Adopted by Elizabeth Gaffney)

Peter (9): Sony PSP G Handheld Game; black or blue

Serafina (7): Sony Limited Hannah Montana PSP Entertainment Pack (used on Ebay $130.98); pink or purple Kleopatra

(4): KidKraft 65156 Designer Dollhouse Doll Toy; multicolor is fine

4. Broesch Family

Bella (7): Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters Wild Bunch (set of 4) Barbie Horse Adventure:  Riding Camp for Nintendo Wii Uno Attack Game Easy-Bake Oven and Snack Center with Classic Light Bulb Oven (mint green) (Purchased by Jenni Blessman – Keller Williams) Magic Tree House Books

Taylor(15): Gift card to a clothing store such as Macy’s (Purchased by Alison Sherman – Keller Williams), Vanity or Maurices, Gift card for gas, Solia 1″ Flat Iron

5. Summers Family

Amber (11): Beginner snowboard, length 140-145 cm

Devan (10): Beginner snowboard, length 132-137 cm

Tristen (8): Beginner snowboard, length 135-140 cm

6. Byrd Family

Nailah (14): Ipad or Iphone (or a gift certificate to the Apple Store or to the AT&T Store to go toward either of these items)

Nia (13): Dell Laptop (pink) (or a gift certificate to the Dell Store to go toward it)

7. Mitchell Family

Zac (18): a Craftsman tool box, the one that stands up with a bottom box and top box (To be purchased with donated funds.)

Jerret (8): Nintendo DSiXL (blue or black)

Serenity (6): (Adopted by Susan Wisely – Keller Williams)   A nice, portable DVD player, one that the screen flips and folds down; (Sony has one)

Finally, we would like to thank the following who have already come forward to show their support. The Copito Family, The Borland Family, The Hoernig Family, Rick and Amy Buchanan, Jane and Doug Hanscom, Gene and Laura Smith, The Brugel Family, Mary Burnette, Mark and Carolyn Stys, John and Sally Burns, P.C. Martin, Dave and Pava Cohen, Joan Fiander, The Weaver Family, Louis and Chris Wise, Kofer and Suzanne Black, Richard Moxley, Sue Long, Beatriz Duque Long, Elizabeth Gaffney, Paul Norman Family, Dave Lesser Family, Chip Bay Family, Shiner Roofing and Siding, Sonya Dervenis – Lavender Hill Interiors, Jack Legler – Legenter LLC, Tami Harsanyi – State Farm Insurance, Diane Hoyer – Women Helping Women with Finance, Jill Grossman – LSA Title, Tim Heil – Keller Williams Realty, Michael Vandergrift – Washington First Bank, Laura DeSimone – DeSimone Health and Fitness LLC, Collingswood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Susan Wisely – Keller Williams, Alison Sherman – Keller Williams, Jenni Blessman – Keller Williams,

Best wishes to you and your family this holiday season,

Nancy and Bob Nelson (703) 999-5812

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!

Thanks to all our great supporters, the Military Appreciation Monday event raised nearly $4,000 for Operation Second Chance.  We had nearly 100 people turn out for the dinner to include several servicemen and women currently stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  One of the greatest parts about the evening was that two of the most desirable door prizes were won by one of our visiting vets.  He walked away with a two day stay at the Lodgecliffe on the Choptank Bed and Breakfast and a fabulous apple pie from B. Sweet.  The four star lodging is donated each month by Dawson Richardson at Merrill Lynch.  B Sweet has donated two pies for each of our last two events. The wife of another vet won the biggest prize of the evening, a beautiful pendant donated by Adeler Jewelers.

If you have a chance, please be sure to give a big thanks to our co-sponsors and door prize donors.

Co-sponsors include:

The Old Brogue
LSA Title Services
Gary Kaihara, DDS
The Grossman Family
Julius Fleischman
The Norman Family
The Nelson Family
James Gaudiosi – Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Taylor Allgyer – First Savings Mortgage
Carrillon Capital

Door Prizes for this month were donated by:

Adeler Jewelers

Lodgecliffe Bed and Breakfast

Dominion Title

PF Chang’s

Maison Du Vin

Great Falls Design Build

State Farm Insurance

Great Falls Exxon

B. Sweet Pies

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.

While nationally, the real estate market continues to barely limp along, locally we have been quickly moving towards a greater balance between buyers and sellers.  This, of course, depends on where you are considering buying or selling.  The general feeling among my co-workers has been that the closer to the beltway, the stronger the market.  There have been repeated stories of buyers paying more than asking price for homes located inside the beltway.  While out with some clients on Tuesday, they told of friends who had withdrawn their offer on a home in Mclean once they learned that one of the three other offers included an escalation addendum stating that they would pay $5,000 more than the highest offer.  Anyone familiar with the market during the 2003-2005 period may recall that this was very much the norm at that time.  I have been saying for the past year that Northern Virginia may well be headed for a severe shortage in housing in the not too distant future.  We have slowly been edging towards this potential shortage since builders have essentially stopped construction on new homes.  This despite the fact that Northern Virginia continues to grow in population.

Whether you are considering selling or buying a home, you really do need to remain focused on the critical do’s and don’ts highlighted in a recent Rismedia article entitled:  Be-Smart:  Dos and Don’ts for Home Sellers and Buyers.

James Gaudiosi with Wells Fargo just informed me that the first time home buyer tax credit is extended for military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S.  Myself and I would have to believe most Realtors were not aware of this stipulation in the tax credit legislation.  Please see below for the specifics.

Members of the U.S. military and certain other U.S. federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase. Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

In many cases, the credit repayment (recapture) requirement is waived for members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community. This relief applies where a home is sold or stops being the taxpayer’s principal residence after Dec. 31, 2008, in connection with government orders received by the individual (or the individual’s spouse) for qualified official extended duty service. The credit is still allowable even if this happens during the year of purchase. Qualified official extended duty is any period of extended duty while serving at a place of duty at least 50 miles away from the taxpayer’s principal residence (whether inside or outside the U.S.) or while residing under government orders in government quarters. Extended duty is defined as any period of duty pursuant to a call or order to such duty for a period in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period.

If you know of anyone whom meets the above criteria and would appreciate the level of support provided by myself and the Bob Nelson Team, please give me a call or drop an e-mail.  I will be more than happy to help them out.