real estate

Each week, “Just Sold Condos” spotlights condos in Arlington that have sold over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Rick Bosl, the Arlington Condo Expert, founder of ArlingtonCondo.com, and an agent with KW Metro Center. Contact Rick and make your next move the right move.

Welcome to Just Sold Condos in Arlington!

Last week, from July 22 to July 28, we had 11 condos that went to settlement. The sold prices ranged from $199,988 to $880,000 — a good week for the number 8, which is considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture. The pronunciation of the number 8 is similar to the word for ‘wealth’ or ‘fortune’.

Only 2 of the condos that sold were in high-rise buildings:

• Woodbury Heights #1401, a 2 BR/2 BA condo, in Courthouse sold for $565,000. Built in 1983, Woodbury Heights Condo has some beautiful 2 level units on the top floor and if you are fortunate to be on the eastern side, you get some incredible monument views.
• Tower Villas #802, a 3 BR/2 BA condo, in Virginia Square sold for $870,000. Tower Villas is built like a tank — it is as solid as they come. Built in 1974, it was one of the highest residential buildings in the area at the time.

The most expensive sale last week was in a mid-rise building:

• The Flats at Pierce Court #12, also a 3 BR/2 BA condo, sold for $880,000. Unit #12 is a beautiful penthouse unit with two levels and a private rooftop. The Flats at Pierce Court is a newer building, 2018, but is on the south side of Route 50. If it was a half mile to the north, it would have sold for twice the price. Location matters — see the post below.

For a complete list of sales, visit ArlingtonCondo.com Just Sold Condos page.

What Didn’t Sell?

If you are following the real estate market, while it is important to watch what sells, it is also important to watch what doesn’t sell. Last week there were 11 condos removed from the market. When a listing is removed, it can have one of three status’:

• Expired — The listing term has reached its end and the listing agreement is over.
• Cancelled — The listing term hasn’t reached its end, but the seller decided to cancel the agreement with the agent.
• Withdrawn — There is still a listing agreement in place but the seller has decided to take it off the market. A number of listings will be withdrawn in December around the holidays and then put back on the market a few months later.

For a complete list of what didn’t sell last week, visit ArlingtonCondo.com Just Expired Condos page.

How Sellers Determine an Asking Price

A frequent question people have is how do sellers decide how to price their home. Setting the right asking price for a home is a critical decision a seller will make. It can mean the difference between selling quickly and lagging on the market, or even selling below market value. But how exactly are asking prices determined, and what factors should sellers and their real estate agents consider? In this post, I’ll walk through the intricacies of asking price determination, the methods used by professionals, and what to watch out for when pricing a home.

Understanding the Real Estate Pricing Game

Real estate pricing is part art, part science. It requires a deep knowledge of the local market, a clear understanding of a property’s unique features, and sometimes, just a dash of intuition. There are multiple prices that come into play in any real estate transaction:

• Assessed value: This is what the county believes your property is worth for tax purposes. In Arlington, it is usually adjusted every year in January. The county assessor does not examine every property every year — that would be impossible. Rather, they make blanket adjustments for entire groups of properties or apply a certain percentage increase from the year before. 
• Appraised value: An appraiser’s estimation of your property’s value, usually carried out for the benefit of a lender. You can ask for three different appraisers and you can get three different answers, but they should be close to each other. 
• Fair Market Value (FMV): This is the most likely price that a property would sell for on the open market.
• Asking price: The initial price at which a property is listed. Depending on the strategy, this could be at market value, below market, or above market. 
• Sales price: The agreed-upon price between buyer and seller, which may be different from the asking price. The final sales price could be more or less than the asking price, depending on a number of factors. 
• Net price: The net price is the Sales price minus any seller concessions to the buyer. 

For the same property, all of these can be different! 

To learn more about appraisers’ derive values and how agents create a comparative market analysis, read more here.

Please note: While ArlingtonCondo.com provides this information for the community, they may not be the listing agent of these homes. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Each week, “Just Sold Condos” spotlights condos in Arlington that have sold over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Rick Bosl, the Arlington Condo Expert, founder of ArlingtonCondo.com, and an agent with KW Metro Center. Contact Rick and make your next move the right move.

Welcome to Just Sold Condos in Arlington!

Last week, July 15 to July 21, we had 24 condos that went to settlement — the exact same number as the week before. The sold prices ranged from $191,000 to $887,000 with a median price of $420,000.

What can you get for the median price of $420,000? Here were several that sold:

• Located just off of Columbia Pike, this 2 BR/2 BA at 3842 9th Road S at Dundree Knoll condo listed and sold for $410,000 after 22 days on the market. It has renovations throughout and has french doors that open to a large deck.
• A 2 BR/1 BA at Cambridge Courts, 2703 Arlington Blvd #202, only lasted 5 days on the market. It listed for $415,000 and sold for $420,000. This top level condo has vaulted ceilings in the living room making it feel much larger than 781 square feet.
• If amenities are more important than size, this 1 BR/1 BA at the Continental in Ballston, 851 N Glebe Road #1202, sold for $425,000. Amenities at the Continental include a 24×7 front desk, theatre room, party room, fitness center, rooftop pool, and an awesome rooftop with gas grills and fire pits.

For a complete list of sales visit ArlingtonCondo.com Just Sold Condos page.

Rent or Sell? Cash Flow is Key

Are you planning on moving and are mulling over the big decision of whether to keep your current place and rent it out or to sell it and be done with it? For most people the answer is easy as they have to sell it to be able to buy the next place. For those in the position of not having to sell, the question is should you? In this post I’ll give you a few questions to ponder and a short cash flow calculator to give you a clearer picture of the costs involved.

Real Estate Investing

First, let me start out by saying I’m a huge advocate of investing in real estate. More wealth is created through real estate than any other form of investing. A few reasons why people invest in real estate include: cash flow, inflation hedge, leverage, appreciation, forced equity, depreciation, and tax advantages. I won’t get into all of these here but if you want to learn about real estate investing, my go to source is the Bigger Pockets podcast and website.

Real estate is a great investment vehicle, but it doesn’t mean every property is a good investment and nor does everyone want to be a landlord.

Will You Ever Move Back Into the Property?

Washington, D.C. is a very transient town where people move and move back all the time. If you are moving out of the area, ask yourself will you ever move back to the area and would you realistically move back into the property? If the answer is yes and yes, then it might make sense to rent out the property for a while. But be real, how likely are you to move back into the property and do you want to?

Do You Want to be a Landlord?

Another good question to ask yourself is whether you want to be a landlord. Real estate investing can be a mostly passive investment, but it does require some oversight and involvement. And of course filing your taxes will be a little more complicated.

Do You Want to be a Property Manager?

Being a landlord doesn’t automatically make you a property manager as you can hire someone to manage the property for you. Remember though, every property has a property manager. If you don’t hire a property manager, you are the property manager.

Do you want to deal with tenant complaints? Can you deal with a plumbing problem in the middle of the night? Do you know how to evict a tenant? It only takes one bad tenant to turn a new real estate investor into a never again investor.

Does it Cash Flow?

Many people think “if I can rent it for X and my mortgage is Y, then my cash flow is X-Y”. That simplistic formula is what gets many newbies in trouble. There are a number of other costs to factor into the equation. To see the full list of expenses to consider and a quick cash flow calculator, visit:

To read more go to Rent of Sell? Cash Flow is Key.

Please note: While ArlingtonCondo.com provides this information for the community, they may not be the listing agent of these homes. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Each week, “Just Sold Condos” spotlights condos in Arlington that have sold over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Rick Bosl, the Arlington Condo Expert, founder of ArlingtonCondo.com, and an agent with KW Metro Center. Contact Rick and make your next move the right move.

Welcome to Just Sold Condos in Arlington!

Last week was a more normal week for condo sales after the shortened Fourth of July holiday. There were 24 sales during the week of July 8 to July 14.

There was one unit that closed over $1 million and that was at Rhodes Hill Square, 1418 N Rhodes Street #B126. Rhodes Hill Square markets itself as ‘city town homes’. The center building at Rhodes Hill Square is four stories with two, 2 level units stacked on top of each other. Most of the lower units include a patio while the benefit of the upper units are a private rooftop terrace.

Two units sold at River Place — one of only two cooperatives in Arlington. River Place is unique in that the cooperative does not own the land the buildings sit on. The land lease is for 50 years and is set to expire in 2052. What happens then? That is the answer everyone wants to know.

Some basic stats for this week of sales:

• Average price: $431,846
• Median price: $419,900
• Average days on market: 14 days
• Median days on market: 8 days

For a complete list of sales visit ArlingtonCondo.com Just Sold Condos page.

A Tale of Two Cities

People often ask me how the condo market in Arlington compares to the condo market in D.C. Both are dense, urban areas that have a shared history.

Arlington was part of the original ten-mile square surveyed in 1791 for the Nation’s Capital. In 1847, at the request of the local residents, Congress retroceded Arlington to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Potomac River separates the two geographic areas but there is much more that separates the two markets. When comparing two markets, a few market stats I first look at are days on market (DOM), pricing ratios, and inventory levels. Let’s see how the two compare. I can hear some of you saying ‘but Arlington is a County not a city’. That is technically true, but stay with me here.

Days on Market

One key factor for any real estate market is how long properties stay on the market before being sold. This metric can indicate demand and the overall health of the market.

A detailed analysis of DOM can therefore provide insight into market trends. A decreasing DOM over time typically suggests a hot market with increasing demand and possibly rising prices. On the other hand, an increasing DOM might signal a cooling market, where properties take longer to sell perhaps due to economic factors, oversupply, or shifting buyer preferences. Monitoring DOM closely can help both buyers and sellers make informed decisions — buyers can gauge how aggressive they need to be in their offers, while sellers can set competitive prices to ensure faster sales.

In Arlington, condos typically spend around 20 days on the market before being sold. This relatively quick turnover suggests a strong demand and a competitive market.

In contrast, condos in Washington, D.C. have an average of 45 days on the market. For all of 2024 so far, condos in D.C. have consistently stayed on the market than compared to condos in Arlington.

Sale Price to Original Price Ratio

The sale price to original list price ratio, which takes into account any price reductions before the final sale. This ratio can provide additional context on how realistic initial price expectations are and how they align with market conditions as the listing goes through its lifecycle. This ratio serves as a marker for market competitiveness and seller pricing strategies. A high ratio suggests that the market is competitive, with buyers less likely to negotiate prices down significantly, often a sign of high demand and limited supply. For example, a market with a lower sale price to original list price ratio might suggest that initial pricing was overly ambitious or that market conditions have softened.

To read more go to A Tale of Two Cities.

Please note: While ArlingtonCondo.com provides this information for the community, they may not be the listing agent of these homes. Equal Housing Opportunity.