by Jim Stakem 6/10/2009 Sellers just can't seem to get a break. Now that the market is moving again, prices have stabilized, time on the market is down to three months or less and the inventory is low. You would expect these to be good times for sellers! You might even anticipate some increase in value! There are a number of issues which continue to have a negative effect on home values. The first of these is the appraisal. Appraisers can't win. Just a couple of years ago, when the … [Read more...]

Welcome to Tavistock Farms in Leesburg! Tavistock had a rough start in the beginning but has turned out to be a very nice neighborhood. Originally a farm for over 100 years Tavistock was sold and resold several times before Arcadia Development purchased the property and finally broke ground in early 1994. The community has 305 single-family homes with 213 town home units. The prices in Tavistock are some of the best in the Leesburg, Ashburn, Loudoun area( see CMA). Most of the single-family … [Read more...]

June 2009 - Market Update If you compare the numbers from January thru May it appears that we are in a stable market. The May numbers in all catagories are nearly equal. Year over year average sales prices are continuing to narrow. The sales volume is a little less but this is reflective of a small drop in the number of transactions. The transactions may fall further in the future as the number of bank owned properties is reduced thus reducing the overall volume. The important number to … [Read more...]

Several months ago Congress passed a bill designed to help first time homebuyers by providing an $8,000 tax credit. The idea was that this incentive would bring buyers off of the fence and into the newly reduced foreclosures and short sales. This is one of those good ideas with bad execution. Before you say, “Chuck, don’t be so hard on Uncle Sam! He’s just trying to help!” I would simply say this; If you ask any Realtor who has worked with first time home buyers or speak to any first … [Read more...]