Today CNN/Money has been heavily advertising their new interactive map which shows their predictions for when each area of the country will "hit bottom" and how much further they believe each area's housing prices will drop. Unfortunately, for us (the closest areas defined for the Washington, DC Metropolitan areas are labeled Bethesda and DC) they are predicting that prices in the Bethesda, MD area will drop another 11.1% and will hit bottom in the second quarter of 2010. This type of thing only slows our chances of recovery, by discouraging potential buyers. Here's the link to their report . Click on the "Interactive Map" and then zoom in to the DC area to see the marker for Bethesda or DC ...
The Potomac 20854 zip code is fairing much better than the rest of Montgomery County, MD. This chart compares home sales in the Potomac 20854 zip code between February 2008 and February 2009. You can see that more homes sold (25 in 2009 compared to 17 in 2008) and for a slightly higher average sold price of 0.78% in Potomac, Maryland.
2009
2008
% Change
Total Sold Dollar Volume:
$ 30,986,596
$ 20,907,150
48.21 %
Average Sold Price:
$ 1,239,464
$ 1,229,832
0.78 %
Median Sold Price:
$ 930,000
$ 1,260,000
- 26.19 %
Total Units Sold:
25
17
47.06 %
Average Days on Market:
117
175
- 33.14 %
Average List Price for Solds:
$ 1,384,864
$ 1,359,282
1.88 %
Avg Sale Price as a percentage of Avg List Price:
89.50 %
90.48 %
Montgomery County as a whole didn't fare as well for the same time period. Below is the chart for the entire county. You see that the total number of home sold dropped from 484 sold in February of 2008 compared with 448 sold in February 2009. The average sold price dropped 25.52%.
2009
2008
% Change
Total Sold Dollar Volume:
$ 188,924,221
$ 274,052,306
- 31.06 %
Average Sold Price:
$ 421,706
$ 566,224
- 25.52 %
Median Sold Price:
$ 315,500
$ 415,000
- 23.98 %
Total Units Sold:
448
484
- 7.44 %
Detach/Attach Average Sold:
$ 540,399 | $ 279,302
$ 737,151 | $ 359,838
- 26.69 % | - 22.38 %
Average Days on Market:
118
121
- 2.48 %
Average List Price for Solds:
$ 473,121
$ 619,091
- 23.58 %
Avg Sale Price as a percentage of Avg List Price:
89.13 %
91.46 %
I hope and pray that CNN's forecasts don't hold true. I believe that the Washington, DC Metropolitan area will lead our country's economic recovery, hopefully turning around before the end of this year. Wish you all the best life has to offer. Colleen Barlow, Realtor, Email: Colleen.Barlow@LongandFoster.com
If you received a property tax assessment that you believe is too high, or if you recently purchased a home for less than the assessed value, it may be worth the effort to appeal the property tax assessment-even if you are in the middle of the three year assessment cycle. Information on the appeal process can be found on the State of Maryland Department of Assessments website: http://sdatcert4.resiusa.org/appeals2008/.
If your property is located in Montgomery County, Maryland, you may contact the local assessment office and ask for Roberta Ward, who is extremely helpful and can walk you through the process. Her email is rward@dat.state.md.us, and her phone number is (240) 314-4511.
I'm happy to do a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) to help you determine the market value of your home, if you should decide to ask for an appeal. Please just email me at Colleen.Barlow@LongandFoster.com and give me the address of your property and details such as the number of bedrooms, baths, square footage (if you know it), and any information on updates you've made to the property.
Some interesting facts from the Maryland Association of Realtors were just released...
Did you know that 45% of the total Maryland County/City local government revenues come from real estate taxes?
The most current assessment for the fiscal year beginning July 2008 estimates the total vlue of Maryland real estate at almost $700 Billion.
Over the past 5 years, the value of the total assessable base of real property in Maryland has risen over 90%. I find that amazing.
My home's assessed value is currently about 15% over what I believe I could sell my home for. There are pockets around Montgomery County where homes are selling over their current assessed value, but they are few and far between. The vast majority of us are paying taxes on an assessed value far above what we could sell the home for in this economy. Personally, I'm glad my property's up for re-assessment in the first quart of 2009.
For those who are struggling with their property taxes, consider appealing your assessment. Please see my blog's earlier entries for information on how to go about doing that.
I appreciate Warren Buffett's views. Here's a short summary of an op-ed piece he wrote featuerd in the New York Times on 10/17/2008:
First, I loved the title of his editorial, "Buy American. I Am." You've got to appreciate the patriotic tone he sets.
Warren Buffett is the Chief Executive of Berkshire Hathaway. Without a doubt, he's one of the most respected investment gurus of our day. He says that the financial world is a mess here and around the world. He emphasizes that he can't anticipate what will happen in the short term, but that he's been busy buying American stocks for his own personal account.
Buffett feels that at this point in time, cash is a riskier investment than U.S. stocks. He belives that in the long term stocks will outperform cash - period.You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.
He says, "I don't like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I'll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: "Put your mouth where your money was." Today my money and my mouth both say equities."
HomeServices of America, Inc., part of Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., announced it plans to spend "$200 million over the next couple of years paying 20 to 25 cents on the dollar for distressed brokerages around the country. That capital, which will triple the company's market presence, comes from the same source that last month invested $5 billion in the struggling Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc."
HomeServices Chair, Ron Peltier, said, "We think the longer-term prospects for housing are very compelling, and we think it's a perfect time to expand our position."
It's a difficult time for the world, economically, but I have faith that we will all come out of this stronger and better than ever. Perhaps it really is time to start, as Buffett suggests, investing in America again.
As for the real estate market here in Montgomery County, Maryland, or more specifically here in Potomac and Bethesda, MD; I was fortunate to sell a home in Bethesda listed for $1.4 Million this week. I've had buyers interested in making offers on two of my other listings in Potomac. I also received offers to purchase two listings which were rejected by my Sellers. Other agents I network with are also reporting an increase in activity this week. Could it be that we're at the bottom? I only WISH that I had a crystal ball which worked, but I remain hopeful. Please call if I can help you buy or sell.
I'm thrilled to let you know that I now offer an interactive Home Value / Market Snapshot tool which I think you'll love. It's actually similar to Zillow, in that it uses an interactive Map with icons to show you all of the homes for sale, under contract, or sold around your home. It's BETTER THAN ZILLOW, because it contains all of the homes sold in the MLS and if you click on any of the homes, you'll see the information that is in the original MLS listing, including the virtual tours, photos, and other details. Here's a screen shot of what it looks like:
If you'd like to receive one of these for your neighborhood, just go to my website:
No need to save those SOLD postcards, or search the State Department of Assessments and Taxation for home sale data with bare-bones information -- you can have an updated report emailed to you monthly if you like.
I'm pleased to tell you about a new listing I'm offering for sale. It's a very unique home -- almost a castle really. The home was built by a man who owned a quarry, or so the tale is told. He hand-picked the stones, and had this 12,000 square foot castle with 5 fireplaces built for his lovely wife and their many children. He built gorgeous stone planters, patios and retaining walls all around the property. Stone walls line the streets along both entrances to the estate. (There's an entrance from Piney Meetinghouse Road and the main entrance on Piney Glen Lane.) There's a pool, guest house and tennis court on the estate. Perhaps the best feature of all is the second, flat, buildable lot which is almost through the subdivision process. Recently renovated, the property is offered at $3.35 Million. All offers will be considered.
If you'd like a castle of your own on 5 private acres in Potomac, with the potential to subdivide and build a second home (perhaps for one of your heirs?); I'd be happy to show you the estate at 12308 Piney Glen Lane in Potomac. Just give me a call at 301-717-1663 to arrange a time.
In an earlier blog entry, I offered to send anyone a Competitive Market Analysis of their home's value to help present their case when appealing their property's assessed value. Many people have taken me up on my offer, and I've been happy to help. Some were successful at requesting and getting a "Petition for Review" from the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation and were able to reduce their homes' assessment values, and thereby reducing their the property taxes they owed.
Normally, you can only appeal your assessment value within 45 days of the date of assessment notice; however, there is a "Petition for Review" process whereby you can ask to have your case heard. It seems that lately, for the last several months or so, no one has been granted the opportunity to present their case. I wonder if this is a trend? Is it more difficult now to win the chance to appeal your assessment (which MD SDAT calls a "Petition for Review")? If you've tried and been denied, or if you've been successful at winning the opportunity to have your case reviewed; I'd love to hear from you.
The process to appeal your property's tax assessment value, and thereby possibly reduce your property taxes due can be found here on the Maryland State Departmen tof Assessments and Taxation website:
Although in many areas of Potomac, MD, home prices have gone down recently, June was an incredibly busy month for our team. Many Buyers finallly decided to go ahead and "pull the trigger". Historically, June is a crazy busy month for Realtors, and I can attest that this year was true to that pattern for my team. I'm truly grateful for that. Potomac fared much better than the rest of the county (see below). Potomac's Total Sold Dollar Volume was up 5.09% in June of 2008 compared to June of 2007. Two additional properties were sold, and days on market actually went down one day! Best of all, Average Sold Price is up 1.90% from June of 2007. Here's the 20854 (Potomac) Zip Code June 2008 Statistics:
2008
2007
% Change
Total Sold Dollar Volume:
$ 74,191,846
$ 70,600,351
5.09 %
Average Sold Price:
$ 1,124,119
$ 1,103,130
1.90 %
Median Sold Price:
$ 941,000
$ 903,450
4.16 %
Total Units Sold:
66
64
3.13 %
Average Days on Market:
73
74
- 1.35 %
Average List Price for Solds:
$ 1,200,644
$ 1,159,513
3.55 %
Avg Sale Price as a percentage of Avg List Price:
93.63 %
95.14 %
Montgomery County June 2008 Statistics
Unfortunately, the county as a whole didn't do as well as Potomac. Total Sales Dollar Volume in June of 2008 was down 23.3% from June of 2007. The average sold price was down 4.15%. Here's the June Montgomery County Statistics from our Regional MRIS MLS System:
2008
2007
% Change
Total Sold Dollar Volume:
$ 509,590,076
$ 664,421,416
- 23.30 %
Average Sold Price:
$ 560,605
$ 584,878
- 4.15 %
Median Sold Price:
$ 445,000
$ 470,000
- 5.32 %
Total Units Sold:
909
1,136
- 19.98 %
Detach/Attach Average Sold:
$ 697,517 | $ 381,977
$ 753,426 | $ 420,945
- 7.42 % | - 9.26 %
Average Days on Market:
87
69
26.09 %
Average List Price for Solds:
$ 600,373
$ 609,454
- 1.49 %
Avg Sale Price as a percentage of Avg List Price:
93.38 %
95.97 %
If you're thinking about buying and/or selling your home, please call me for a free competitive market analysis.
The average home sale price in Potomac, MD's 20854 zip code in April of 2008 was $1,346,380. That's up 33.17% from April of 2007. With 47 homes sold in April of 2008, compared to 44 homes which were sold in April of 2007; this statistic doesn't exactly mean that everyone in Potomac can jump for joy, thinking that their home increased in value 33.17% since last year. However, this is certainly a positive sign that our local real estate market is coming around.
The chart below shows that latest statistics available from our regional MLS system (MRIS). Average days on market are down from 122 days in 2007 to 81 days in 2008. That's a huge relief for Sellers. Imagine trying to live your life and keep your home in "showcase condition" for 3 to 4 months straight! Not an easy thing to do.
The highest priced home sold in Potomac in April of 2008 was the home at 9212 Harrington Drive which sold for $10 Million. Clearly this sale alone skewed our statistics a bit, being so far above the average sale price; but this home also sold in just 53 days! That's much lower than most expected. The lowest priced home sold was a home on Harker Drive which sold for $$587,000 in only 6 days.
So the question on everyone's minds is this: has my home in Potomac increased in value or decreased in value? At this point in time, you really need to do this analysis on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. For the most part, using the full year of 2007's statistics, most homes have increased in value at least 3 to 4% over the last year; but many have increased significantly more. Some areas have declined slightly. Location and condition are the chief drivers of a home's value in this market. Buyers expect homes to be "near perfect" and "nicely updated" or they want a real bargain. No surprises there. Still, it's reassuring that we are seeing multiple offers on great properties.
This past weekend I held open my beautiful listing at 1511 Allview Drive in Potomac. The Open House was swamped with 52 buyers coming through the home, and this number does not include neighbors who often come by to check-out their neighbor's home. Other agents reported the same -- the buyers are coming out in droves!
Let's hope that the worst is behind us now. With mortgage loans available at great rates, it's truly a great time to buy a home -- even if you need to sell your own home first.
2008
2007
% Change
Total Sold Dollar Volume:
$ 63,279,860
$ 44,484,825
42.25 %
Average Sold Price:
$ 1,346,380
$ 1,011,019
33.17 %
Median Sold Price:
$ 998,000
$ 845,000
18.11 %
Total Units Sold:
47
44
6.82 %
Average Days on Market:
81
122
- 33.61 %
Average List Price for Solds:
$ 1,483,078
$ 1,072,798
38.24 %
Avg Sale Price as a percentage of Avg List Price:
90.78 %
94.24 %
If you are interested in statistics for home sales in your neighborhood, please don't hesitate to contact me at Colleen.Barlow@LongandFoster.com .
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has a new feature on it's website which shows property valuation trends around the country. Although it's not as accurate as actually using our regional MLS statistical data for analyzing home values in our local area here in Montgomery County, Maryland; it's certainly interesting to view and "play" with the calculator they've posted. Check it out here...
Potomac, MD is a great place to live, and a great place to work. I enjoy helping people buy and sell homes in Potomac. Our town is a wonderful place to live!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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