What Are the Latest Numbers in Northern Virginia?

Buying in Northern Virginia?  Get a full home search here

Selling in Northern Virginia? Get a free home value report here

A lot of exciting things have been happening lately in Northern Virginia. Our team continues to grow; in fact, we just moved into a new office space. We also recently found out that we were ranked the #23 real estate team in Virginia by RE/MAX.

Today we want to give you a quick update on how the various markets around Northern Virginia are performing. We will be discussing the median sale price and the average days on market to give you an accurate portrayal of our market. 

Fauquier County

The median sale price is up 4% from 2014, and now sits at $362,000. The average days on market here is 75 days.

Prince William County

The median sale price here is $344,000, only up 1% from last year. As for the average days on market, it is only 40 days.

Fairfax County
The median sale price in Fairfax County is $495,000, right around where it was at this time last year. 

Loudon County
In Loudon County, the median sale price is down 2% from 2014, and the average home here is taking just 44 days to sell.

Stafford County
This area has seen a ton of growth, as demonstrated by its 8% rise in average sale price from last year. The average days on market here is about 60. 

We hope this update has been of use to you. If you have any questions for us about the market, we are always here to answer them. We look forward to hearing from you!

How Can Waiting to Buy in Northern Virginia Cost You?

Northern Virginia is an ideal location with an excellent variety of homes that are situated within a vibrant real estate market. If you to want to look over all the properties currently listed within the area, go here to perform a full home search, or if you're interested in seeing how much your property is worth, click here for a free home value report. For any other questions regarding your property's value or the market conditions of Northern Virginia, do not hesitate to call Chris at (703) 485-1435.

Hello, and welcome back to the blog! Today, we want to discuss the 3 reasons you should buy before the spring season hits! Let's get right to it:

1. Prices are on the rise: A survey of the top economists in the country found that they expect prices to increase by 15% to 30% over the next 5 years. It's always good to get into the market before the busy season starts and competition negatively impacts affordability.
2. Rates are at historic lows: Interest rates are expected to rise over the course of the year. While they're not expected to rise dramatically, even a normal jump in rates can have a big impact on your wallet. 
3. Renting is costing you: If you're renting, you're missing out on the potential to write-off your mortgage interest when filing your taxes. With conditions as good as they are, now is the time to start building equity!

Are you still on the fence about buying? If so, you can't wait much longer, as market conditions are currently about as good as they get. If you want to sit down and discuss your options, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you take advantage of this wonderful market!

Avoid the Many Renovation Pitfalls Other Homeowners Fall Victim To

Northern Virginia is an ideal location with an excellent variety of homes that are situated within a vibrant real estate market. If you to want to look over all the properties currently listed within the area, go here to perform a full home search, or if you're interested in seeing how much your property is worth, click here for a free home value report. For any other questions regarding your property's value or the market conditions of Northern Virginia, do not hesitate to call Chris at (703) 485-1435.

Many homeowners think that by throwing money into random renovations they are improving their home's value. In reality, you need to be strategic when deciding what projects to undertake. Today I want to touch on a few simple things you can do to add value to your home. 

Replacing your front door can make a huge difference when selling your home. The average front door repair is about $1,100, but it adds around $1,500 of resale value to your house. Getting new garage doors can add as much as 114% in value. If you spend $1,500 on new garage doors, you can expect to get around $1,700 back.

Moving inside, one of the best ways to get your money back is to remodel your kitchen. Granite countertops, new appliances, and other upgrades will WOW buyers and add value to your home's sale price. Typically, a project like this in Northern Virginia will run you about $18,000 and you can expect to get 100% of it back. The upside to a remodeled kitchen is you can enjoy it before you decide to sell down the road.

There are a few improvements you need to cautious about. Many homeowners will add a sunroom addition, which costs around $70,000, and you'll add about $46,000 in resale value. If you don't want a sunroom, we don't recommend adding one, as you'll only get around half of your money back when you go to sell. Many people like to do home office remodels, which typically cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000. However, you're likely only going to get around 60% back.

As you can see, renovations need to be considered carefully before you commit to spending large sums of money you might not get back. We have a complete list of worthwhile renovations we would love to share with you. Give us a call or shoot us an email - we don't want you to pursue any projects you might regret down the road!

Which Loan Program Suits you Best?

Chris Colgan is a seasoned real estate agent whose familiarity with the Northern Virginia area spans his entire life. If you're a prospective buyer who wants to survey all the listed properties in Northern Virginia, click here for a full home search, or if you're considering selling you property, get a free home value report right here. Feel free to contact Chris at (703) 485-1435 for any questions you have about your own property, or the current state of the Northern Virginia real estate market.

 Today we want to answer a question that we frequently get from our clients regarding mortgages. There are a wide variety of different mortgages out there and we want you to know the difference between them so you know what to expect. We have picked out the 3 most popular types of loans here in Northern Virginia and we are going to share them with you today.

1. Conventional Fixed-Rate Loan

 This is probably the most common type of loan in Northern Virginia. The term of this loan usually lasts from 15-30 years and the interest rate remains flat, or fixed. There are multiple down payment options on this loan. You could pay anywhere from 5-20% down on this type of loan.

2. FHA Loan

 An FHA loan is financed by the government and the size of the loan may be limited, depending on your price. These 5% down payment loans are very popular, but they are decreasing ever so slightly in favor of conventional loans. The appraisal for this loan is quite strict, so it might not be a good idea to use for short sales or foreclosures.

3. VA Loan

 A VA loan is a type of loan reserved for veterans and active duty soldiers. It is a no money down loan and with this type of loan, we usually ask the seller to pay for the closing costs as well.

These are the 3 most popular types of loans here in Northern Virginia. If you have any questions, feel free to give s a call or send us an email. We'd be glad to help!

3 Simple Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Credit Score

Chris Colgan is a seasoned real estate agent whose familiarity with the Northern Virginia area spans his entire life. If you're a prospective buyer who wants to survey all the listed properties in Northern Virginia, click here for a full home search, or if you're considering selling you property, get a free home value report right here. Feel free to contact Chris at (703) 485-1435 for any questions you have about your own property, or the current state of the Northern Virginia real estate market.

Chances are, at some point in the near future, you will want to make a large purchase of some sort. Whether you're looking to purchase a car, a new home, or pay for college - you're going to need a good credit score in order to qualify for a loan. But what if you don't have a good credit score: is there anything you can do to improve it? By following these 3 simple steps, you can fix your credit issues and feel more confident applying for loan:

1. Join a credit watch program: There are many good credit watch programs available online. If anything suspicious happens on your credit card - such as it being used in another part of the world - you are notified immediately. These programs are helpful in preventing your credit information from being stolen and having a stranger run up the balance on your card.
2. Always make your payments on time: This is the big one. Every time you're behind on payments or miss them altogether, you're credit score takes a hit. Sometimes you can work with companies to set up a payment program through which your payments are made automatically. There is no better way maintain or improve your score than simply paying on time.
3. Keep your credit cards no higher than 10% of balance: Avoid the common mistake of maxing out your credit card. It often becomes too much of a burden to pay off and hurts your score when you miss payments on it. By limiting yourself to 10% of your credit limit, you make your monthly payments much easier to pay. In addition, it looks better to credit bureaus, who don't like to work with someone who runs their balance up. 

If you have any further questions about how you can improve your credit score, don't hesitate to give us call. We want to make getting a loan as easy an experience as possible.