Glenda's Blog

Preparing your home for professional photos

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:50:09 -0600

I love doing real estate photography - especially when the agent and/or sellers have taken the time to make sure the home is looking its best. But, of course, there are times when it's a challenge ...

I did a photo shoot recently of a home that had been staged ... I'm sure the stager did the best she could under the circumstances, but there were some problems: electronic equipment (DVD player, cable box, etc.) on the floor next to the TV; an office desk with the particle-board backing facing the door. The worst thing was the light bulbs ... yes, the light bulbs! Many of the fixtures had burned out or missing bulbs and a few had a mixture of incandescent and fluorescent bulbs! Oh, and all of the batteries had been removed from the smoke detectors (I have no idea why) - there must have been at least 10 of them beeping incessantly all over the house!

This job was a rush referral from another photographer, so I had no chance to speak with the agent regarding preparation. But it reminded me that I have a flyer I used to send to homeowners about preparing their home for photos. For some reason, I got out of the habit, but I've resurrected it (and added a bullet point about light bulbs!). Here it is ... feel free to share it with your clients when you use a professional photographer. I welcome your suggestions for any additions to the checklist!

Congratulations! You're working with a REALTOR® who knows the importance of having professional quality photos to market your home. Studies have shown that buyers choose the homes they want to see based on the quality and quantity of pictures they see online. In order for me to get the best possible images of your home, I'll need your help. Here are some things you can do to prepare your home for a photo shoot:

OUTSIDE

Remove vehicles, trash cans, recycle bins, etc. from driveway and front of house.
Sweep driveway, walkways, porches, patios and decks.
Remove hoses, sprinklers, garden tools, children's/pet's toys.
Mow the lawn; trim back shrubs/bushes from walkways and doors; remove weeds from flower beds and around shrubs/bushes.

INSIDE

Hire a professional stager! A stager can make sure your home shows at its absolute best.
Open window coverings (curtains, drapes, sheers, blinds) to let in as much natural light as possible. Of course, if the view out a window isn't pleasing, leave those coverings closed.
Turn off ceiling fans - moving fan blades just look like a blur in the photos.
If time and budget permits, have windows professionally cleaned. Clean windows let in more light than dirty windows. Consider removing window screens as well.
Make sure all light fixtures have the proper type of bulbs - do not mix fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. Replace any burnt out bulbs
Eliminate as much clutter as possible, including children's toys, clothing, piles of newspapers/magazines. Remove anything from the floor that doesn't belong on the floor.
Remove toiletries and other personal items from bathroom counters; close toilet lids; remove/replace old or dirty towels, washcloths, etc.
Make all beds neatly (avoid wrinkles, lumps, etc.); clear dressers of personal items.
If your child's bedroom has his/her name spelled out on the wall or otherwise visible, you may wish to remove it. If removal isn't feasible, be sure to alert me and I will attempt to edit it out from the final photos.
At your computer workstations, stow or unplug dangling cables/wires; clear papers. Straighten up and/or remove items from bookcases.
In the kitchen, remove most, but not all, items from the counters. Items that can be left out might include: decorative canisters, a colorful bowl or platter, no more than one countertop appliance. You want it to be uncluttered, but not sterile. Items to remove or hide from view include: dish towels, pet dishes, trash cans. Remove everything (magnets, pictures, calendars, etc.) from the outside of the refrigerator.

www.GlendaCherryPhotography.com
www.GlendaCherry.com

The Cooper's Hawk Returns!

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:01:49 -0600

Okay, I don't know if it's really the same one who visited our back yard last year, but I like to think it is :-) This guy was perched on the fence admiring our bird feeder (for those who don't know, Cooper's Hawks feed on small birds and mammals). I shot this through the sliding glass door (broken seals, cloudy glass) with my Panasonic FZ18 at full zoom - then cropped and cleaned up the images in Photoshop Elements. Almost hard to believe these pics are of the same bird, huh?

What Do You Want For Christmas? Within Limits ...

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:49:43 -0600

Really ... what do you want? I'm going to set a limit of $1,000 here. If you could have anything you want (valued at $1,000 or less), what's on your list? I'm not going to show my list (just yet) because I don't want to influence anyone. Just tell me what you're really hoping to find under your Christmas tree (or for Hanukkah, Zwanza, etc.). Can't wait to see your lists!!

An early snow in Northern Virginia - a photo opportunity!

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:23:34 -0600

The weather reports said we would get a couple of inches, at the most. It would probably rain most of the day, turning to snow later in the afternoon. As usual, they got it completely wrong. It started snowing around 8:00 this morning and hasn't stopped all day. Huge flakes!

and it just keeps coming down ... look at the size of those snowflakes!

You know it's winter when ...

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:29:36 -0600

My feet are always cold in the winter so I recently bought one of these Vornado personal foot heaters - it keeps my feet warm and doubles as a footrest when I'm sitting at my computer:

Of course, it quickly became a personal cat heater:

sigh ...

Are your listing photos "good enough?"

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:48:34 -0600

As a professional real estate photographer (in addition to being a full-time real estate agent), I often hear agents tell me they think their photos are "good enough." With so many buyers relying on the property photos to decide which homes they want to see, is "good enough" ... enough? Take a look at these photos taken by the listing agent ... they're not bad (and certainly better than a lot of MLS photos I've seen).

Now take a look at the same rooms done by a professional photographer:

In case you're wondering, the first set of photos were taken by the listing agent using my Panasonic FZ-18, a pretty decent camera. The second set were taken with my Nikon D60 with Sigma 10-20 lens using exposure blending, PTLens to correct distortion and some photoshopping where necessary.

If you want to impress your sellers, consider hiring a professional photographer for your next listing. It will make a world of difference!

And for those of you who aren't able to hire a professional, my next blog post will contain some tips you can use to improve your photos ... stay tuned.

Bachelors in Real Estate?

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:19:58 -0600

What did you think when you read that? My first thought was that the real estate specializations were going a little too far. It was the headline of a Facebook Ad about getting a Bachelor's degree in real estate. But the ad featured a picture of a guy smiling with his arms folded and looking for all the world like a carefree bachelor. Maybe if they hadn't left out the apostrophe, I would have understood the headline for what it really was.

So, anyone want to start a Bachelors in Real Estate group? I know several single female agents who would like to be honorary members! LOL!!

10 lessons for a better blog by Michael Sebastian of Ragan.com

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:04:56 -0500

Michael Sebastian, staff writer for communications website Ragan.com, published a great article yesterday entitled "10 Lessons for a Better Blog". While most of the examples deal with corporate blogs, the lessons are applicable to any and all bloggers and should be required reading for anyone serious about blogging (yeah, I know I don't have a great track record, but I'm trying!). Each lesson is accompanied by real life examples and tips to help you use those lessons.

My favorite lesson (of course): "Lesson #8: Embrace photography - Tip: Start a weekly or monthly photo contest or photo caption contest on your blog for employees or customers."

This is one of the best articles on blogging I've seen!

Do you use a wide-angle lens? Then you need PTLens!

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:55:42 -0500

I admit it ... I don't have a really wide-angle lens - I use the 18-55 mm lens that came with my Nikon D60. But I still need PTLens ... why? Pretty much any lens will have some distortion when it's zoomed all the way out. Look at this photo that should toggle betweeen the before and after photos ... the only difference was correcting the distortion using PTLens:

Okay, the animated gif file doesn't work ... here's the after photo:

The effect is subtle, but noticeable. PTLens will not only automatically correct the lens distortion, but allow you to correct vertical and horizontal distortions, rotate, scale and vignette. Remember, these photos were taken with an 18-55 mm lens. If you're using a really wide-angle lens (10mm to 14mm), you need to use PTLens. You can get a free, 10-photo trial download here: http://epaperpress.com/ptlens/.

I have no financial or other interest in this company - I just think it's a really great product!

Replace the blank TV screen with a photo - using Photoshop Elements

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:13:26 -0500

Open two photos in PSE - the photo that contains the TV (target photo) and the photo you want to show on the TV (replacement photo) - I usually use a picture of the front of the house. I have two methods of doing this - the first is quicker, but the second gives better results. Here are the photos I used:

Method One:

On the target photo, use the Polygonal Lasso tool to draw a selection around the portion of the TV that will contain the replacement photo.
Make the replacement photo active, Ctrl-A (or from the menu bar, Select, All), then Ctrl-V (or Edit, Copy).
Make the target photo active, Ctrl-Shift-V (or Edit, Paste into Selection).
You'll probably only see a small portion of the replacement photo, so you'll need to resize it. Press Ctrl-T (Image, Transform); use the resize handles until the replacement image is approximately the correct size. Don't worry that it doesn't look right; we'll fix that in the next step. Click the check button or just press Enter to accept.
From the menu bar, Image, Transform, Distort - use the corner handles to move each corner into position until it looks the way you want. Click the check button or just press Enter. Done!

Close-up:

Method Two:

Make the replacement photo active; make sure the Move tool is selected and drag it onto the target photo in the palette bin. This will create a new layer above the target photo.
If your photos are the same size, the replacement photo will entirely cover the target photo. Transform should already be active but, if it's not, use the Transform tool (Ctrl-T or Image, Transform) to resize it to approximately the right size. Don't worry that it isn't quite right - we'll fix that in the next step. Click the check button or press Enter to accept.
From the menu bar, Image, Transform, Distort - use the handles to move each corner into position. When satisfied, click the check button or press Enter to accept.
In the Layers palette, Ctrl-click the replacement photo layer to select just the replacement photo.
From the menu bar, Select, Modify, Contract. Enter the number of pixels (I use 2 pixels when working on a fairly large photo - you can experiment to see what works best); click Okay.
From the menu bar, Select, Inverse; then Select, Feather and enter the same number of pixels you entered in step 5.
Press Delete. This will delete some of the pixels around the replacement photo and make it looks as if it's recessed into the screen instead of just pasted on top of it.
I recommend reducing the opacity of the replacement photo to about 75% or 80% - this will make it look more realistic and allow any naturally-occurring reflections to come through just a bit.

I tried to make sure that each step is clear, but if you have any questions about these methods, please let me know. And post your result here!

Update on my boys ...

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:47:41 -0500

It's been a while since I posted pictures of my boys and, since I got a new camera, it's time to trot them out again :-)

Jasper (the lover boy)

Rocky (aka "The Boy") - he likes to look at the world differently ...

Charlie (aka "The Badger")

Kiplinger Quiz: Should You Buy a Home?

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:05:55 -0500

A simple, 10-question quiz that most people (at least Realtors) will be able to pass easily. Okay, so I missed the one about the FICO score ... I didn't read the question correctly :-) But it's a good quiz to pass on to your buyers (especially first-timers) because it might encourage them to ask more questions about the home-buying process: Should You Buy a Home?

I think sometimes we assume that buyers know more than they really do about financing, title insurance, closing costs, etc. These quick, easy quizzes may open the door to questions early in the process instead of trying to stuff the information into their heads two days before closing. Check out a couple of the other quizzes on the Kiplinger site:

How Smart a Home Seller Are You?

How Smart a Home Buyer Are You?

"Video" versus "Slide Show" - The Battle Continues

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:30:37 -0600

WellcomeMat.com, a web site that purports to connect videographers with real estate agents, unleashed a small firestorm today when they announced that they will no longer allow their users to upload slide shows even when output to a video format. Christian Sterner, one of the co-founders of the company, sent an email to all registered users stating that: "We are not downplaying the effectiveness of slide shows by eliminating our support of them on our platform. Rather, WellcomeMat is finished with slide shows because they do not represent our passion (video), and they do not represent our strengths as a company."

The comments posted so far seem to be evenly split between members applauding WellcomeMat for their decision and those who plan to cancel their memberships. My comment was that I would rather see a well-made slide show than the shaky, poorly lit, horribly narrated "videos" that are unfortunately representative of most of the real estate videos one sees.

Those members who lambasted the "cheap" Realtors who refuse to pay for "professional" videography only proved my point. I clicked on the links of several of the posters who made these inflammatory statements only to find videos that I would be embarrassed to show to my clients. The first one was over 10 minutes long (for a 2 bedroom condo), panning painfully slowly around each room, panning the view of the river, panning around the exercise room, pool ... well, you get the idea. Most of the rooms were poorly lit with blown-out windows and deep shadows. Add to that the horrible soundtrack (some kind of irritating blues number with vocals and harmonica) and you get a product that most people wouldn't want to sit through, let alone find enjoyable.

The next video was even worse ... jerky zooms and pans, a yellowish color cast on interior rooms, and it looked as if the "videographer" was holding the camera at a 20 degree angle. I'm not sure if this was meant to be artistic or if he was just drunk at the time.

There are actually some very nice videos from some quite talented people but, based on what I saw, they make up only about 10% of the videos on the web site. The rest of them range from so-so to simply awful. What would you rather have potential buyers see? A nicely done slide show with sharp, well-lit pictures and subtle pans and zooms? Or a jerky, too slow/too fast, poorly lit video (complete with an interview with the agent - ugh!)?

As I wrote on their web site, I guess I just don't see the point of having full-motion video when you're showing something that (for the most part) doesn't actually move. I think the "real" video is great for community tours where you can see some type of action like people walking/biking or cars driving by ... even a water feature splashing. But if you're trying to convey selling points of a house, where is the benefit in a video? I've yet to see a compelling reason to use video over a well-made slide show.

I realize there will be some people who disagree ... consider this your opportunity to convince me why a video is better than a slide show.

Airline Ticket Scam Alert - Don't Open the Attachment

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:23:45 -0600

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has issued an email scam alert targeted at holiday travelers. Although this virus first surfaced back in July, US-CERT felt that it was enough of a threat to reissue the alert just a few days ago.

The email appears to come from a legitimate airline and mentions a credit card balance hoping to get unwary recipients to open the attached .zip file. Unfortunately, opening the file will trigger a Trojan downloader that installs malicious code on the user's system. For more information, check the US-CERT's web site on their Current Activity page:

http://www.us-cert.gov/current/index.html#airline_ticket_email_scam

Stay safe out there!

Beautiful Great Falls, Virginia

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:33:21 -0600

Living outside Washington, DC, we often forget the beauty that is in our own back yards. A great example is the Virginia side of Great Falls, just a few minutes from my home. A few weeks ago, I got these pictures - missed the peak of color by about a week, I think - but it was beautiful, nonetheless.

Hawk - in my back yard!

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:06:08 -0600

This young guy has been a frequent visitor in the last few weeks. He likes to perch (on one foot) on the fence in our back yard. We don't usually see them up this close in our little corner of suburbia. He just sits there looking around for five or ten minutes, then takes off. He appears to be a young light-morph Red Tail Hawk. Gorgeous, isn't he? [Edit: I found out later he's actually a Cooper's Hawk.]

Ewwww! Stink Bugs!

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:42:18 -0500

Every year in the Spring, we deal with the invasion of the sugar ants. Around this time of year, we start getting what I call the "lazy wasps" ... big waspy looking things that fly around as if they were drunk, bumping into everything. The cats think they're great fun, but I'm not real thrilled about them. Now we have something new: Stink Bugs!

I saw this odd looking bug on my kitchen counter and use a paper towel to sweep him toward the sink so I could wash him away. As soon as the towel touched him, I smelled an awful, acrid aroma. Wow, I thought, it must be a stink bug. I've never seen one in my house before. A couple of hours later, I heard a promo for the local news station talking about an upcoming story on the stink bug invasion.

http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=77127&catid=158

Since then, I've found three more ... I've heard that if you see one, there are probably hundreds more! Apparently, Virginia is in the midst of the worst stink bug invasion in years. And there's no easy way to get rid of them - regular bug sprays are said not to work. Some people recommend vacuuming them, but I don't want my Dyson to reek!

On the bright side, I understand they're a good source of nutrition - full of protein, fat, minerals and vitamins. If the economy gets any worse ...

How to add a copyright watermark to your photos

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:04:08 -0500

My recent post on the Orphan Works bill was reblogged (thank you!). This generated a comment requesting a tutorial on adding a copyright watermark to photos. This can easily be done in Photoshop Elements. (Don't let the long list below intimidate you - it's actually a very simple process.)

Open your photo in Photoshop Elements editor.
Select the Text tool - this will create a new Text layer.
Choose a somewhat heavy font; I use white for the color, but any color will work.
Type your text. To insert the copyright symbol from a standard keyboard, hold down the Alt key and type "0169" on the keypad. (Don't use the number keys along the top of the keyboard - they won't work.) When you release the Alt key, the copyright symbol should appear. (If your keyboard doesn't have a keypad, you can insert the symbol using the Windows Character Map. Let me know if you need specific instructions for this.)
Optional: If you want to rotate your text, use the Transform function to move and rotate to the desired position.
With the Text layer still active, choose Bevels from the Effects palette, select Simple Inner Bevel and click Apply.
From the Effects palette, choose Visibility, select None and click apply.

Here's an example using my favorite subject (my boy Rocky)!

Please feel free to contact me (or post a comment here) if you need additional information.

The "Orphan Works" bill stalled in the House

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:25:52 -0500

While the Senate unanimously passed the Orphan Works bill on September 26, the bill has failed to find enough support to pass in the House ... yet.

The Shawn Bently Orphan Works Act of 2008 is an attempt to change the basic tenets of copyright law - that is, if it's not yours, you can't use it without permission. Under this act, anyone can use your copyrighted works freely as long as they've made a "diligent" effort to contact you without success. Unfortunately, the legislation doesn't define what it means by diligent. Some have suggested that you would have to have your works listed in a national registry (for which you would presumably pay a fee). If your works don't appear in that registry, they can be considered orphaned. Imagine an artist having to register every sketch, photo and/or cartoon they've ever done. In addition, the legislation places limits on the amount of compensation the copyright holder can collect if their copyright is infringed. Basically, it allows the infringer to decide what your copyrighted works are worth.

If you think this doesn't affect you, think again ... what about those family photos you posted on your personal website? Unless you stamp each one with your contact information, anyone could use those photos by simply saying they were unable to find you after a "reasonable" attempt.

If you want to let your elected officials know how you feel about this insane piece of legislation, there's a web site with direct links and templates to communicate with your representatives:

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

Adobe announces the release of Photoshop Elements 7

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:38:18 -0500

If you're addicted to Adobe Photoshop Elements (like me!), this will make you sit up and take notice. However, after reading CNET's review and Adobe's product description, I'm not sure this release will be anything noteworthy ... unless you've been anxiously waiting for automatic online backups to Photoshop.com (more on that in another post). This looks more like a 6.5 release.

The most highly touted new feature is the Photomerge Scene Cleaner that allows you to blend two or more photos for the "perfect group shot". While I make extensive use of the Panorama feature in version 6, I don't see the utility of this new feature ... at least, not for real estate photography.

Another new feature is the Smart Brush, which consolidates what used to be two or more steps into one. This brush allows to you select an area, apply an effect and create a layer mask all in one stroke. Sounds intriguing ...

The new Surface Blur filter is intended for use on portraits and softens the surface while keeping other details clear. Again, not much utility for real estate photography except to enhance that business card photo!

Adobe has a complete list of all the features on their web site - you'll notice very few of them are marked "new" except those related to Photoshop.com. I'll probably upgrade anyway since I always like to have to the newest version and the Premiere Elements upgrade looks like it has some interesting new features.

Any thoughts?

Edit: I found a couple of video tutorials on PhotoshopElementsUser.com that show how the Photomerge Scene Cleaner and the new Smart Brush work. It actually looks pretty cool!

What does "br fb hb" mean?

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:18:39 -0500

I was checking the Google stats on one of my web sites the other day, and found that someone went to my site after typing the following query into Google: "what does "br fb hb" mean" (my web site came up number 8!). It got me thinking about the consumers who try to decipher what we type into the limited space provided by our MLS for remarks. While some of them might seem obvious to us, I can remember being a new agent scratching my head at some of them. Here are some of the most common abbreviations found in the MLS remarks field:

B/IN	Built-in
BA	Bath
BR	Bedroom
DR	Dining Room
EMD	Earnest Money Deposit
FB	Full Bath
FIN	Finished
FP	Fireplace
FR	Family Room
HB	Half Bath
HVAC	Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning
HW	Hardwood
HWH	Hot Water Heater
LB	Lockbox
LL	Lower Level
LR	Living Room
MB	Master Bedroom
MBA	Master Bath
MBR	Master Bedroom
ML	Main Level
RR	Recreation Room
SF	Square Feet
SFH	Single Family Home
SGD	Sliding Glass Door
SS	Stainless Steel
TH	Townhouse
UL	Upper Level
WIC	Walk-in Closet
WO	Walk-out

If you have others, please let me know. And if you've found one that you just can't figure out, post it here and let's see if the Active Rain community can come up with the answer. Let the games begin!

Updated Market Conditions for Sterling/Potomac Falls, Virginia

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:38:43 -0500

As of August 10, 2008, there are 552 active residential listings in Sterling/Potomac Falls and the average number of days on market is 109. The list prices range from $71,500 to $2,450,000; the average list price is $330,740 and the median is $275,000 The current market absorption rate is 3.12.

177 residential sales in Sterling/Potomac Falls closed during the month of July 2008 (up from 153 sales closed in June). These sales ranged in price from $110,899 to $910,000.

The average list price was $310,064 (up from $289,602 in June) and the average net sales price (less seller concessions) was $299,003 (up from $280,429 in June).

The median list price was $275,400 (up from $259,900 in June) and the median net sales price was $260,550 (up from $255,000 in June).

For sales closed in July, the number of days on market ranged from 0 to 620 and average number days on market was 97 (up from 94 in June).

Click on any of the thumbnails above to display a larger picture.

Recent home sales in Sterling/Potomac Falls, Virginia

Updated Market Conditions for Reston, Virginia

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:34:02 -0500

As of August 10, 2008, there are 393 active residential listings in Reston and the average number of days on market is 112. The list prices range from $110,000 to $1,600,000; the average list price is $452,414 and the median is $360,000 The current market absorption rate is 4.62.

85 residential sales in Reston closed during the month of July 2008 (down from 91 sales closed in June). These sales ranged in price from $103,400 to $1,307,500.

The average list price was $420,807 (down from $459,700 in June) and the average net sales price (less seller concessions) was $402,153 (down from $441,058 in June).

The median list price was $359,900 (down from $420,000 in June) and the median net sales price was $334,000 (down from $398,500 in June).

For sales closed in July, the number of days on market ranged from 0 to 378 and average number days on market was 78 (down from 85 days in June).

Click on any of the thumbnails above to display a larger picture.

Recent home sales in Reston, Virginia

Updated Market Conditions for Manassas, Virginia

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:29:33 -0500

As of August 10, 2008, there are 1,544 active residential listings in Manassas (including the City of Manassas and Manassas Park) and the average number of days on market is 137. The list prices range from $47,900 to $1,499,999; the average list price is $254,497 and the median is $198,950. The current market absorption rate is 4.58.

337 residential sales in Manassas (including the City of Manassas and Manassas Park) closed during the month of July 2008 (up from 327 sales closed in June). These sales ranged in price from $42,000 to $709,000.

The average list price was $207,453 (down from $219,581 in June) and the average net sales price (less seller concessions) was $199,948 (down from $209,276 in June).

The median list price was $174,900 (down from $179,900 in June) and the median net sales price was $169,200 (down from $175,000 in June).

For sales closed in July, the number of days on market ranged from 0 to 746 and average number days on market was 109 (down from 130 days in June).

Click on any of the thumbnails above to display a larger picture.

Recent home sales in Manassas, Virginia

Updated Market Conditions for Leesburg, Virginia

Glenda Cherry (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:25:31 -0500

As of August 10, 2008, there are 752 active residential listings in Leesburg and the average number of days on market is 167. The list prices range from $69,900 to $5,000,000; the average list price is $608,025 and the median list price is $465,500. The current market absorption rate is 6.65.

113 residential sales in Leesburg closed during the month of July 2008 (down from 130 sales closed in June). These sales ranged in price from $65,626 to $1,187,385.

The average list price was $431,569 (down from $492,851 in June) and the average net sales price (less seller concessions) was $416,139 (down from $461,373 in June).

The median list price was $419,900 (up from $381,450 in June) and the median net sales price was $395,000 (up from $354,625 in June).

For sales closed in July, the number of days on market ranged from 0 to 781 and average number days on market was 144 (up from 136 in June).

Click any of the thumbnails above to display a larger picture.

Recent home sales in Leesburg, Virginia