Blog Post: How To Be In Your New Home By The Holidays

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

What??

Seriously, we’re not trying to be like the stores who already have Christmas decorations up (that’s just not cool). But in the real estate market, Thanksgiving really IS just around the corner. The typical sale takes about 30-45 days to go from ratifying a contract to completing inspections, doing an appraisal, title work, survey, walkthrough, etcetera, to the settlement and move out-move in date. So if you want to be in your new home by the holidays - pay attention!

First - what’s happening in the Vienna & Oakton real estate markets? Are sales up or down? Are we in a “Buyers Market” or “Sellers Market”? How many homes are for sale? 

Here are the highlights (detailed statistics are below):

• Inventory in Vienna has risen each of the past weeks and there are now 241 homes for sale in Vienna. In Oakton, inventory dropped ever so slightly from 94 homes to 92 homes.

• The contract rate in Vienna picked up slightly (nine homes went under contract), but is still well below the 2011 average of 17 homes per week. Oakton saw a bump in sales this week - with seven homes going under contract (just slightly above the 2011 average of six homes per week.)

• The rate at which homes are selling continued to drop. Of the 16 homes that went under contract in Vienna and Oakton this week, only one sold in 10 days or less (as opposed to the rate of 30-44 percent that we have seen throughout the spring, summer & early fall.) We expect this to continue and that Sellers will see longer “average days on market” throughout the rest of the year.

• As a result of the increased inventory and slowdown in sales, both Vienna and Oakton are either in or close to being in a “Balanced Market”. Vienna has a 6.3 month housing supply (as opposed to the 2011 average of 2.9 months). While Oakton has a 5.4 month supply of homes (as opposed to the 2011 average of 3.5 months).

• Three homes above $800,000 went under contract this week. At 19 percent of sales this week, this puts the luxury market back on its feet and closer to the 2011 average of about 22-23 percent of sales in Vienna and Oakton being over $800,000.

BUYERS:

The best strategy now for buyers is to “Be A Boy Scout." We advise our buyers to have loans approved, walk through the process with your realtor from start to finish (even have them go over a standard contract with you - including the various contingency options) and have your checkbook in hand. If you’re serious about buying it’s a great time. Interest rates are at historic lows. And you need to be prepared to move! While inventory levels are higher this week than they have been since Spring, they are still low compared to what we have seen over recent years. So when that “perfect” home comes on the market - you may not be the only one looking at it. Be a Boy Scout and BE PREPARED.

We would also suggest that you work with a Realtor who is “proactive” rather than “reactive." Instead of waiting for that “perfect home” to magically come on the market, if you can identify the neighborhood, floorplan and detailed characteristics of your “perfect home," a realtor may be able to find a home for you that is not even yet on the market. (The Belt Team has done that for four clients so far this year.) This strategy could have you cooking Thanksgiving dinner in your new home!

SELLERS:

As we enter a time of year where we typically see inventory increasing and contracts decreasing, it becomes all the more imperative to “price right” upon entry to the market in order for a seller to maximize his price. The days of waiting to see if you can “get your price” are over. Statistics show that the longer a home is on the market, the less it will sell for. If you want to be in your new home by holiday time, your price needs to be at/below market NOW. As one agent in our office put it, “If it’s not priced right NOW, you lose. Our housing market historically goes comatose at Thanksgiving. So if you want to be a “Home Seller” (and not remain the “Home Owner” of the home you’re in now), then NOW is the time to price it right.

And if you’re thinking you should wait to go on the market until Spring, you may want to rethink your strategy. There’s no guarantee prices will go up. But it’s almost a sure fact that you will have much more competition. 

Read more tips and find out more about the Vienna/Oakton market on the Belt Team Blog.

And now, for our detail-oriented readers, here are last week’s stats:

Last week in Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

• Number of Contracts: 9
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 106 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 78 days
• Inventory: 241 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.0 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 6.3 months

Here are last week’s stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

• Number of Contracts: 7
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 97 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 133
• Inventory: 92 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.8 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 5.4 months