Open Houses in Arlington This Week

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by ARLnow.com September 28, 2012 at 2:40 pm 2,469 19 Comments

If you’re looking for new home, you’re in luck. There are nearly three dozen open houses to choose from in Arlington this weekend.

See our real estate section for a full listing of open houses. Here are a few highlights:

1823 Nelson Street North
Single Family Detached — 5 Bed / 6 Bath
Listed: $1,650,000
Agent: John Mentis
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

6201 30th Street North
Single Family Detached — 5 Bed / 6 Bath
Listed: $1,499,000
Agent: Ivana Pelikan
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

2550 Greenbrier Street North
Single Family Detached — 6 Bed / 4 Bath
Listed: $1,235,000
Agent: Theresa Helfman Taylor
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

1410 21st Street South
Single Family Detached — 4 Bed / 4 Bath
Listed: $919,000
Agent: Tonya Finlay
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

2702 Lee Highway
Condominium — 2 Bed / 2 Bath
Listed: $759,900
Agent: Kathleen Brandel
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

1300 Crystal Drive
Condominium — 2 Bed / 2 Bath
Listed: $560,000
Agent: Mohamud Ali
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

5222 27th Road North
Single Family Detached — 2 Bed / 1 Bath
Listed: $559,000
Agent: Craig Mastrangelo
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

1020 Highland Street North
Condominium — 1 Bed / 1 Bath
Listed: $489,000
Agent: Diane Schline
Open: Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

CW

The 21st St. South one would be a sweet cycle commute to downtown…I wonder how bad the 395 noise is there?
- Mary-Austin
  
  21st street is really nice…ends in a cul-de-sac so you don’t get the cut-through from Army-Navy.
  Had a friend who lived on that block and never noticed any noise from 395.
John Fontain

Regarding 1823 N. Nelson, the developer of that property sure has an “interesting” pricing strategy. He has actually been increasing his list, or asking, price the longer it sits unsold. Here is the asking price history per the MLS:

Date Price
5/5/2011 $1,399,000
9/10/2011 $1,449,500
5/2/2012 $1,575,000
7/20/2012 $1,650,000

If I was a buyer for that type of property, I’d be pissed if I paid today’s asking price knowing that the seller was willing to take hundreds of thousands less just last year.

Unfortunately for most buyers, this historical asking price information is withheld from most publicly available MLS information sources (those friendly realtors who claim to be on your side really don’t want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision).
- NoVapologist
  
  I’m pretty sure that 1823 N. Nelson was just completed. That lot was definitely vacant a year ago.
  - John Fontain
    
    Yes, as the listing says the house is just now being completed. But as is common practice among in-fill builders, the house is often listed for sale when plans are finished or when they first break ground. That’s what happened here.
    - CW
      
      Is that odd? Prices have gone way up and supply has dropped in the last year from what I understand. I’m not shocked to see them asking 20% more.
      - John Fontain
        
        Here, look at the property listed right below it: 6201 North 30th Street. It’s also a new house and its asking price history is the exact opposite:
        
        4/2/2012 $1,649,900
        6/7/2012 $1,599,900
        7/19/2012 $1,549,000
        9/26/2012 $1,499,000
        
        This listing price history is, in my opinion, much more typically of the pattern you see in new builds in Arlington than the first example. Builders usually start out extremely optimistic (or maybe just hopeful they’ll snag someone who isn’t price sensitive or knowledgeable about comps in this area) and then adjust to reality as time passes.
        
        The opposite is true of the Nelson street house – the less people are interested (as evidenced by the passage of time), the more he thinks it’s worth!
      - NoVapologist
        
        There were multiple homes built on that Nelson St. lot. What are the comps on the others?
      - John Fontain
        
        $1,485,000 and $1,445,000, both within the last year. I have no idea if the homes are comparable though.
- Helen
  
  That’s why you hire a buyer agent to give you this information.
  - John Fontain
    
    The odds of a buyer’s agent revealing this kind of potentially deal-killing information to their buyer (when they stand to earn a $48,000 commission) is close to zero.
    - Sheriff Gonna Getcha
      
      I am not so sure about that. The agents that I know would feel they are obligated to their client to alert them of that information if they have it. I would imagine a reputable agent would rather lose $8,000 in commission and still make $40K plus than lose both the trust and potential good will from a happy client and all of the commission.
- Raul202
  
  John never actually has facts on his side. I counted 4 errors in a comment he made about me last week. He has about as much veracity as a governor from Illinois.
  - You Can Count ??
    
    ” I counted 4 errors in a comment he made about me last week. ”
    
    Well, at least you just had to use one hand !!
IggyPup

Just curious…who buys these homes? Does ARLNOW have a breakdown of professions of the county/income? I know the wiki stat is out there about the household income, but these prices seem far-fetched to me. Obviously there is a market.
- John Mc Cain
  
  I have seven of them..or was it eight?
- John Fontain
  
  Often dual income lawyers, doctors, consultants, or lobbyists.
- mitt romney
  
  I sense that you are one of the 47%. Get your filthy proletarian hands off….. you are not entitled to one of these beauties
dk (not DK)

I drove by that house on Nelson yesterday. $1.6m for that eyesore?

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