Braemar Property Values: January-February 2012 (Arista Series)

Braemar Property Values: January-February 2012 (Arista Series)

Spring hit Braemar about a month early this year.  Normally I notice my crocuses bloom in late March or early April.  This year, they started blooming at the end of February.  It's all the unseasonably warm weather, and believe me, I'm not complaining.  Here's something else I'm not about to complain about...the upswing in Braemar property values.

With the first two months of the year behind us, let's take a look back at the resale activity for the Arista Series homes in Braemar.  These are the large single family homes built by Brookfield Homes and include the following floor plans:  Allister, Buckingham and Canterbury.

There was only one resale of an Arista Series home, and it happened in early February.  Not surprisingly, it was a Canterbury model...by far the most popular choice of the home owners that purchased Arista Series homes from Brookfield.  And this Canterbury was BIG.  It had five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms.  There was even an additional room in the basement that could have been considered a sixth bedroom.  The basement was finished and had a walk-up exit.  The home listed for $509,900 which was a bit aggressive, but sold for a high sales price of $475,000.  That value, being our average for this reporting period gives us a 7.5% increase since last report and nearly a 12% since the same reporting period last year.

If you placed your Canterbury, Allister or Buckingham on the market today, priced to current market conditions, this report indicates you could expect to pay about 3% of the sales price in closing cost assistance to the purchaser.  You could also expect your home to go under contract in about two months time, maybe faster since this home would have been considered overpriced compared to its final sales price.

The next Braemar Property Value Report will be out in May and will detail sales from the months of March and April.  I expect to see the positive trends to continue as we seem to have a high demand for homes in Braemar and not much inventory.  Until then, if you are thinking of selling your Braemar home, I'd love to provide you with a free market analysis of your home's specific value in today's market.  As a Braemar resident and full time real estate agent since 2005, and a Short Sale Agent since 2007, I can help you sell your Braemar home for the most money in the least amount of time no matter what your equity position.  Remember, no one knows Braemar better!

Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker, Licensed in Virginia, Long & Foster REALTORS®

703-402-0037, chrisann@LNF.com, www.NVARealEstate.net, www.SellingBraemar.com

Statistics compiled by Chris Ann Cleland using the MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information System)

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You can see the most recent property values in Braemar by clicking the links below:

Carriage Series (smaller single family homes with detached garages, Brookfield Homes)

Courtyard Series (executive style homes, five to a private driveway, Brookfield Homes)

Heritage Series (mid-sized single family homes, Brookfield Homes)

Braemar Townhouse Report (no garage and garage townhouses)

Condo Quarterly (condos known as Barrhill at Inverness Village)