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Prince William County- The Real Estate Madness Escalates

By
Real Estate Agent with Integrity Real Estate Group

If you are thinking of buying a home in Prince William County (VA) then you need to get a move on it!  Buyers have realized that the price is right and interest rates probably won't get much lower and are snapping up homes in Prince William County faster than they can be listed.

Buyers searching through the MLS on their own see dozens of homes that fit their search criteria.  They get excited about all of the listings and think WOW look at all of the possibilities.  Won't they can't see is the agent remarks that say "multiple offers received", "best and final only", "contracts sent to the lender" and "no more offers being considered."

So the list of dozens of homes that you think you want to see may turn out to be only one or two homes that are actually available.  Does this sound familiar?  We have returned to the crazy days of real estate when as soon as a home was listed buyers swarmed to take a look.  Yesterday my buyers and I ran into 4 agents in one home that had just come on the market.  The price was fantastic but the water covering the basement floor sent us running for the door.  I'm willing to bet though that it will be under contract by the middle of next week.

One property on our must see list, came on the market in Lake Ridge on Thursday already had 5 offers on it and another one had 15!  Yes you read that right 15 offers in 3 days.   What does this mean if you are a buyer in the lower price brackets?  It means that you need to have your financing in order and be ready to make an offer when you see the property you want.

A recent review of recent SOLD properties in the Lake Ridge neighborhood in Prince William County shows that many properties are selling for more than list price and the average days on the market was 13.

Lake Ridge List to Sales Price Ratio 2009


If you aren't working with a buyer's agent then give the Cindy Jones team a call at 703-346-2213.  We have been helping our buyers sift through the stacks of available foreclosures, short sales and regular sales in this 2009 spring market.  No hassle, no pressure, just straight talk about buying a new home in today's current market.

 

 

 

 

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If you are interested in learning more about the Northern Virginia Real Estate market including Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William Counties give Cindy Jones and Integrity Real Estate Group a call at 703-346-2213.

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Check out www.varealestatetalk.com and www.cjrealtygroup.com for more information.

Integrity Real Estate Group
 
Real People*Real Life*Real Estate

Licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia



 

 

Comments(14)

Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

Indeed.  I ran into an interesting phenomenon recently that I'll write about shortly.

 

Apr 12, 2009 07:10 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

Cindy:  The buyers market is over.  The prices and rates are still great, but more and more buyers are competing for fewer and fewer properties.  Can really drive a buyer nuts if they don't have an agent preparing them for it.  All you need to do is point them to this blog.

Apr 12, 2009 07:31 AM
Konnie Mac McCarthy
MacNificent Properties, LLC - Cobb Island, MD
Broker/Owner - VA & MD "Time To Get A Move On!"

Lets add into the mix the tons of homes that show ACTIVE, (with no remakrs)..but really arn't.. :) Then we have to spend a good part of an hour calling the agents to hear.....sorry...under contract.. :) 

Apr 12, 2009 08:45 AM
Tim Maitski
Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage - Atlanta, GA
Truth, Excellence and a Good Deal

I'm experiencing the same thing down here in Atlanta.  This seems to be a sign that things are starting to turn.

Apr 12, 2009 09:04 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Lenn-saw your post.  I have two buyers right now who haven't been successful in getting an offer accepted.

Apr 12, 2009 11:29 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Chris Ann-I would be surprised if we will find many properties below 150K soon accept for some that just need so much work that the bank is going to have to offer some crazy incentives to get them sold.

Apr 12, 2009 11:30 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Konnie-that is a whole different kettle of fish.  The MRIS and agents need to start changing the status to either TEMP OFF or some other status instead of leaving them ACTIVE and putting in the agent remarks "contract accepted waiting for bank approval".  It is a waste of everyones time including our buyers who are getting automated listings and most of them aren't available.

Apr 12, 2009 11:32 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Tim-certainly hope your market is picking up too.

Apr 12, 2009 11:33 AM
Cynthia Tilghman, Realtor® Onslow County NC Home Specialist
Kingsbridge Realty, Inc - Hubert, NC

Cindy,
I love to hear news like this!

Apr 12, 2009 10:43 PM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Cynthia-it is a good news/bad news situation.  I have buyers now who may once again be priced out of the market or forced into a bidding war. It is back to making sure that they are well informed about the process and their decisions.  It is good news in that prices should start to rise and hopefully stabalize in some areas.

Apr 12, 2009 11:56 PM
Stanton Homes
Stanton Homes - New Home Builder - Raleigh, NC
Design/Build Custom Home Builder in North Carolina

15 offers, wow!!!  Have you been able to write contracts recently for your buyers, and if so, did you have to go over asking price?

Apr 13, 2009 03:42 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

Penny-I've had a couple of re-sale offers not make it through the rounds recently.  My latest closings have all been new construction and those are going forward with negotations of upgrades and price reductions.

Apr 13, 2009 06:42 AM
SarahGray Lamm
Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 - Chapel Hill, NC
Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience

Cindy - you are so right about houses being 'priced right' now. I found myself just yesterday in the position of having to forcefully stick up for my price to the agent who claimed my seller had to come down even though it was priced right because "it's a buyers market". We didn't and they still bought. If you have the prettiest apple in the stack and the buyer wants it...

For that reason I am saying to buyers right now, do you want a deal on a great house right now or do you want to wait for the 'leftovers'?

Apr 13, 2009 11:56 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

SarahGray-you are right. If you have it priced right most buyers "get it" but if they don't in our current market it will be gone.

Apr 14, 2009 12:03 AM