The Real Estate Whisperer on AR

MEDIAN PRICE HISTORY This chart reflects a 5 year history of median price levels in Loudoun County. The blue line is for all housing types; but as you see, detached homes (purple), attached homes - i.e. townhomes (pink) and condos (red) have all followed a very similar pattern. For those wonderin...

WHEN DO MOST LISTINGS HIT THE MARKET? The chart below shows the 5 year history of "listing" cycles (reflecting the number of NEW listings for each month). Economic conditions resulted in a high number of foreclosures which hit the market as resales when banks listed the homes for sale. Consistent...

This post just in from the Virginia Association of REALTORS, Submitted by Andrew Kantor on May 11, 2012 – 8:32am We’ve now got MRIS’s April numbers for foreclosures and short sales. Short sales are slightly up, but foreclosures are waaaay down. Short sales: 12.2% of the market, up about 3% from l...

Aha! An interesting little legal change going into effect July 1 (which will impact local real estate tax assessments beginning Jan 1 of next year):  The burden of proof in Assessment Appeals will be lower.  After January 1st, localities will have specific burdens to provide you with evidence of...

I keep hearing mumbling within the real estate about these "new" requirements for FHA loans.  It may surprise you to know most of them aren't really new requirements at all; they're old.  It's just that now they are being enforced. To understand what I am about to tell you, it's important that y...

Drywall made in China and put into homes here in America between 2003 and 2009 has caused serious issues.  It erodes wiring, copper pipes and can make you sick.  You'd want to know if you were buying a home that had chinese drywall wouldn't you? Of course you would. There's a tiny bit of good ne...

This poor, poor couple! They bought their "dream home" only to find out that under their home is a snake den with thousands of snakes. In fact, the home had been on TV even before they'd purchased... and no one told them. I found the story on a social networking site where the question was asked:...

I often get questions from prospective tenants and landlords about pet restrictions.  One thing that has been clear for a number of years is that service animals (think 'seeing eye dog'), under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), are not pets.  This is not just a real estate issue, it im...

Real estate taxes in Fairfax and Loudoun are pretty high, but we get some great stuff in return - benefits I don't mind paying for.  That's probably what our Vets here thought, too... until they became disabled.  With less income, it becomes much more of a burden to pay for all of that infrastruc...

I saw this article this morning, and all I could think was.... Dear Daddy, When I asked for a playhouse and you gave me the shed you'd previously kept the mower in (because you bought a newer bigger one of those)... Well, perhaps I should have been more specific. From, Your Loving (And Wishing I...