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Piedmont Real Estate Blog

Blog by Julie Emery
Amissville, Virginia
An ongoing dialog on real estate news, opinion and trends in Northern Virginia and the greater Piedmont area. Julie is an Associate Broker at Century 21 New Millennium, 5451 Old Alexandria Turnpike, Warrenton, VA 20187

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Piedmont Real Estate Blog

Answering Your Questions
May. 22, 2008
Categorized in: Miscellaneous
Tagged with: appealing tax assessments, buyers market, fauquier county, housing affordability, sellers, tax assessements

One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is the interaction with readers. Whether it's your comments or your questions, I enjoy hearing what's on your mind. I thought I'd take a little time today to respond to some of what you've been saying.

Someone used the Meebo functionality on the right side of the page to chat with me about Fauquier County tax assessments. The question was has the county delayed the assessments so as not to take a revenue from the reduced values of area homes.

According to the County Commissioner of Revenue's office, the assessments have been done every four years, for at least the last 20 years. Prior to that assessments were done every six years. So it appears there's no change in policy at this time. The next assessments would be done in 2009 with the new rates to go into effect in 2010. The problem with that, of course, is that current values are no where near current assessments. There's a case to be made for appealing your current assessment.

"Sarah" recently reminded me that while the decline in home prices is bad for sellers, it's a great thing for buyers. That's very true. In every market there are winners and losers.

To be honest, I probably feel the sellers pain now more than I felt the buyers pain when they were desperately trying to buy a house and were one of 20 offers (or more)! The truth is I wasn't worried about them being thrown out on the street. I did worry that some of them were taking out mortgages that weren't in their best interest, but I was usually told that they knew what they were doing. These days, some of the sellers I work with are in very serious difficulty and I do worry about them!

So, if as a potential buyer you don't feel I'm sufficiently celebrating your ability to buy a house at a more affordable price, never fear! Prices actually still need to come down more. I'll do a post next week on affordability in our area. But I rejoice for every buyer who gets a great deal on the home they want!

And for my fellow agents who read this and keep me honest, thanks!

Keep those comments coming!

 

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Some Won't Sell
May. 9, 2007
Categorized in: Local Market Conditions
Tagged with: buyers market, northern virginia real estate market conditions, seller motivation

I was talking with a friend in the real estate business and she said she's telling her clients that many of the houses currently on the market will not sell, period. I was taken aback by this. Not because she said something inaccurate. In fact, she's certainly correct. I just hadn't thought to put it as starkly as she did.

We're in a market where it will not be uncommon to see listings that have been for sale for a couple of years. I've already seen a few. There will be more coming.

So, given this, what changes about how I do business? What changes about the behavior of buyers and sellers?

First of all, if you're a seller, don't throw yourself off the roof yet! In any kind of market, some houses will sell. The trick is to make sure it's yours. That means aggressive pricing and your home is in tip top shape. Don't be afraid to consult a staging professional. (It's a service I frequently offer to my clients.) If you're not willing to inconvenience your family in order to make your home look really great, reconsider how badly you want to sell!

If you think that sounds harsh, I'll tell you that I already know I'm the kind of person who should only sell my own home in a really hot seller's market! I know I don't want to be that inconvenienced for that long! You need to know your own motivation and tolerance for pain!

For myself, it means once again reexamining how I explain current market realities to my clients. It means always making sure I've got the latest market data so that the information I share is not solely based on my opinion. And it means being able to deliver hard news without seeming alarmist! "Yes, it's a tough market! Yes, we can still sell your home if you really, truly want to!"

For buyers, all I can say is, what fun?! I don't know how long this will last, but life is good in your shoes right now!

My friend is right. A lot of homes currently for sale will not sell and eventually will be taken off the market. Clearly in those instances the owners really didn't NEED to sell right now. We're all relearning the difference between wanting to sell your home and needing to sell your home!

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