Building Permits Rising
March 31st, 2012 categories: Buyer Strategies, Seller Strategies
Chantilly area home buyers looking at possible new home construction should know that national stats indicate rising building permits. And in my own travels locally, I do see more new construction activity.
It would appear that the new construction housing market is ready for growth this season.
According to the Census Bureau, the number of single-family building permits issued in February rose to 472,000 on a seasonally-adjusted, annual basis, marking the highest building permit tally since April 2010 — the last month of that year’s federal home buyer tax credit program.
Building permits indicate future new home construction.
In 2011, from the date of permit-issuance to the date of “ground-breaking”, an average of 27 calendar days passed. February’s data, therefore, is a signal that the market for newly-built homes should be strong this year. Recent homebuilder confidence survey data supports this as well.
As buyer foot traffic climbs, homebuilders expect to make more sales in the next 6 months than at any time since the housing market’s crashed. Builder confidence is at a 5-year high.
Of course, progress is not straight up. Last month single-family housing starts slipped.
As compared to January, February’s single-family housing starts fell by 50,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. The 10% drop represents the largest one-month drop since February 2011. It’s a statistic that may suggest that this year’s results are simply seasonal.
But buyers should be aware that the good news has another side.
Rising permits and builder confidence may mean that Northern Virginia area homebuilders will be less willing to negotiate with today’s buyer on upgrades and/or home prices. However, as more new home supply is set to come online, excess housing stock could help keep home prices low.
All the more reason you need a real estate agent who is working on your behalf, as a Buyer Broker, when you are dealing with new construction. If you are searching for an integrity based real estate professional to help you with the home buying or selling process, we invite you to take a few moments and watch our Testimonial Video which features honest commentary on how we serve our clients. Let us know how we can help. And if you are moving into the Northern Virginia area, we would love to be of assistance.
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New HARP Program Guidelines
October 30th, 2011 categories: Buyer Strategies, Mortgage & Finance, Seller Strategies
Recently the Federal Home Finance Agency announced significant changes to its Home Affordable Refinance Program Monday. The HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) was initiated to help “underwater homeowners” get their home refinanced.
There are over a million homeowners nationwide – and many home owners here in Chantilly and the Northern Virginia area - who might be helped by these changes. Given the historically low interest rates, it is wise to know about this program.
There are four basic qualifying criteria:
- Your current home loan must be guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
- Your home must be a 1- to 4-unit property
- You must have a perfect mortgage payment history going back 6 months
- You may not have had more than one 30-day late payment on your mortgage going back 12 months
One of really big features of the updated program is that the government is waiving loan-to-value requirements on HARP loans. Homeowners’ participation is no longer restricted by their home’s appraised value. Actually, the new HARP doesn’t even require an appraisal, in most situations.
Under the new HARP program guidelines, an underwater mortgages can be refinanced without LTV limit or penalty.
According to the government’s official press release, lenders are expected to be offering the program as of December 1, 2011.
If you want to check it out, start by seeing if your loan is backed by Freddie or Fannie. Here is where you can go for that:
- Fannie Mae loan lookup : http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
- Freddie Mac loan lookup : https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/
You can also call your lender directly.
If being underwater is not an issue, but you are looking for a few reputable lending sources, of course, let me know and I will be glad to provide you with a few referrals.
If you are home buying or home selling in the Northern Virginia area, please know I am always here for you!
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Chantilly Home for Sale: Really Smart Rambler at 15244 Louis Mill Drive
October 15th, 2011 categories: Chantilly Fairfax County, Featured Listings
You won’t see too many Ramblers for sale in this area, but here is one in Chantilly’s popular Pleasant Valley community.
Chantilly Rambler at 15244 Louis Mill Drive...worth a good look.
This short sale property is a fantastic value, and the home itself has the valuable feature of having an addition which adds a generous extra amount of living space. If the price and location are in your focus area, this one is worth a good look.
Start by taking a quick Visual Tour right now, and then just let me know if you want more info.
Price: $279,900
MLS#: FX 7702761
More information: please click here and you will see the property on our Featured Listings page.
PS – If you are relocating to Northern Virginia, we can get your questions about the area answered quickly.
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Selling Your Home in Northern Virginia: Staging for Advantage (Part 3)
August 3rd, 2010 categories: PODCASTS, Seller Strategies
EPISODE 43 – REAL ESTATE IN CHANTILLY
If you are planning on selling your Northern Virginia home, give a listen to this series on how to stage your home.
We will likely continue to be in a very competitive market for home sellers, but in any market it is in the best interests of sellers to stage their home well.
We discuss primary strategies to get your home looking better so that you will be able to compete in a market where buyers have lots of choices. Will your property stand out in such a way that prospective buyers will come back to take that second look? Or will it be quickly put aside in favor of others that seem to “feel” better?
In this series of shows professional Home Stager Jackie Brannan of Home Transformations takes us through some of the main strategies and insights that informed sellers need to know. Among other things, we discuss:
The Kathy O’Neal Team strongly believes that time and effort spent in preparing the home before it goes to market is one of the smartest and most cost efficient moves a home seller can make. This is a classic case of “paying it forward.” Well prepared homes are likely to do far better than their less appealing counterparts.
If you live in the Northern Virginia area and are within a year or so of putting your home on the market, we invite you to take advantage of our free home estimate and staging consultation. Call Kathy for details.
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