Archive for the 'Columbia Pike' Category
3Q07 Arlington Sales: 1,831 Reasons Why Arlington Beats the National Trend
November 20th, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Ballston, Buyers, Clarendon, Columbia Pike, Courthouse, Crystal City, East Falls Church, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Nauck, Pentagon City, Real Estate News, Rossyln, Sellers, Shirlington, Virginia Square
I haven’t been known to publish much Arlington real estate sales data on this blog. Mostly because I’m still testing the best way to present it. So bear with me while I give you some numbers. Sooner or later I’ll find a format that I like.
And don’t worry– I’m not going to list 1,831 lines of data. But– you know what that number is? It’s a way to get your attention. NVAR released it’s 3Q07 sales data. They publish all sorts of interesting and not so interesting stuff. It depends on your point of view. If you want to see it all– by county for the metropolitan area, by zip code, I encourage you to visit their website to get your number fix.
But, if you don’t have the time and want to know the Arlington sales for 3Q07, stick around.
Note– these numbers does not discriminate between condos, townhomes and single family homes.
1,831 – the number of homes still on the market 9.30.07 – the last day of the quarter.
45 – the average number of days on the market for all Arlington homes sold in the third quarter of 2007.
$571,900 - the average sales price for homes sold in Arlington.
95.9% is the average amount of money a person got in their sold price when compared to their original list price.
11.1% – the average increase– yes, I said increase, in the sales prices for Arlington homes sold in 3Q07 when compared to the 3Q06.
Now, these numbers are put together by economists employed by the Realtors Association. So you would expect a certain spin. Well, the data doesn’t spin. Sometimes my head spins when I have to look at all this data- but the data, in itself, doesn’t spin.
What does have spin– after all, we are in Washington, DC, where everything has spin; where the term spin doctor originated; where people make a very good business out of being Spin Drs, but I digress. What does have spin: the economists’ opinion. And what is their spin? That on a scale of 1–5 where 1 is a total buyer’s market and 5 is a total seller’s market, Arlington is a 3. Yes - it’s right in the middle.
I don’t depend on an economist’s opinion to tell me how the Arlington real estate market is running. After all– I’m in the middle of the market everyday. I know how I feel about the market. So I look at the data– toss is around in my head. Then I agree or disagree.
This month I agree.
Here’s why:
- I’ve been busy all year with people interested in buying Arlington real estate;
- All my appraisals for my sales have come in OVER the sales price;
- I have competed– yes competed– with other buyer agents for the same listing;
- Arlington unemployment is still under 2% (1.9% to be exact). That’s considered a worker’s shortage. So people are moving here with new jobs.
I spend a good amount of time trying to make this chart look pretty and fancy and use colors that match my blog. I just have to post it here. It is all the Arlington zip codes and the percent change of sales of 3Q07 sales when compared to 3Q06 sales.
This chart says that all the zip codes in Arlington, except for Shirlington, have seen an increase in the average sales price when you compare 3Q07 to 3Q06. Why Shirlington? After all– I write about Shirlington all the time and what a great place it is to live. Well I don’t have the answer for that right now- but I’m going to look a little deeper into it. I suspect it may have something to do with Fairlington sales, which make up the largest part of the sales.
Just in case you can’t read the chart- here are the data points:
- 22201: 11.79%
- 22202: 2.9%
- 22203: 2.72%
- 22204: 2.39%
- 22205: 12.65%
- 22206: -4.23%
- 22207: 17.26%
- 22209: 50.76%
- 22213: 3.65%
So– if you are waiting for the prices to drop in Arlington, maybe Arlington isn’t for you. Maybe you aren’t ready to buy. Maybe it’s a lot of things.
But I can tell you this– it isn’t because the real estate market is bad in Arlington. The data doesn’t lie.
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Ride Your Bike To Work? Let Arlington Light the Way
November 3rd, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Blue Plate Specials, Columbia Pike, Commuting, Going Green, Life in the District
Most people don’t realize that one of the Arlington County Board members rides his bike to work. This contributes to Arlington’s dedication to it’s bike paths and general bike safety.
In an effort to promote safe bike riding commuting after the end of daylight-saving time & darker evening commutes, Arlington County through it’s BikeArlington program and the Arlington County Police will give out and install free front and rear bicycle lights for local bikers riding without lights on their bicycles. This event will take place for one day only on Monday, November 5, 2007– don’t let it slip by.
Here is the important information:
WHAT: Arlington County’s award-winning BikeArlington program and the Arlington County Police Department will give out and install free bicycle lights for the first 75 local cyclists, instead of ticketing those without lights– which, by the way is required by Virginia law.
WHO: Local bicycle commuters, BikeArlington Staff, Arlington County Police
WHEN: Monday, November 5, 2007, 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
WHERE: Washington & Old Dominion Trail at Columbia Pike, Arlington, Virginia
Read the full press release here.
The event is accessible via bicycle from the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and Columbia Pike. The event can also be reached by motor vehicle via Columbia Pike.
Arlington County Commuter Services created the BikeArlington program to promote more cycling, more often throughout the County. Visit www.BikeArlington.com for bicycling information including, maps, commuting tips, and safety tips.
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Air Force Memorial- It’s Time To Indulge My Photography Habit
September 10th, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Columbia Pike, The Native Tourist, The Road Less Taken
Tomorrow is September 11.
An anniversary of sorts. One that is special here in Washington, DC and especially in Arlington. I’m going to have a special post for tomorrow. As I was going around the county this past Saturday to take pictures for that post, I stopped by the Air Force Memorial.
I had worked all day with this real estate thing and didn’t start to take pictures until late in the day. Just in time to catch the light hitting this wonderful memorial. It’s new since September 11, 2001. I watched it being built and thought– man this thing is ugly! You can see it from almost anywhere now that it is built. I must pass it a few times a day- but never stopped, parked and walked through the park surrounding it. I often remind myself to take the time to be a tourist in my own town. Something my father taught me growing up in New York City.
The Air Force Memorial sits on a hill next to the Navy Annex. Weird that a Air Force memorial is next to the Navy– but hey- this is DC, you take your memorial space where you can get it…and, well, the Air Force doesn’t have it’s own annex. This hill overlooks the Pentagon towards the east and north and the rest of DC everywhere else. I never realized what a beautiful view there is from this hill. Beautiful except for September 11th.
But the Air Force Memorial is there now– it’s powerful to walk through it. Three strong metal structures shooting up toward the sky like the Blue Angels. Ten feet tall bronze honor guard. It feels like it’s protecting the Pentagon somehow. Standing tall and strong. Sending the message– never again.
This memorial is one of those places here in DC where every picture you take looks like a postcard. It gives you the false impression that you just may know what you’re doing with a camera. So I hope you like my little indulgence today- because it was an honor to walk through this memorial– remembering all those people that get up every morning and go to work to protect us all. Because it’s their job.
Thank you.
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The Halstead Condo: Signs of Life for Columbia Pike Revitalization
August 8th, 2007 Categories: Arlington Urban Villages, Buyers, Columbia Pike, Condos, Neighborhoods
In 1986 the Arlington County Board created a plan to revive life into the once grand “Main Street” — Columbia Pike in South Arlington. We have seen the plan, the revised plan and the updated plan. Until last year when we actually started to see some action.The first project on the Pike is now being build. It’s a mixed– use project called The Halstead.
The Halstead
Located on the corner on Walter Reed Drive & Columbia Pike, The Halstead will be an 8–story mixed-use project of 269 condominium units and 42,350 square feet of retail space– of which the Arlington Free Clinic will be assigned 7,500 square feet. The County will reserve 128 parking spaces for public parking. In keeping with the history of The Pike, the Halstead will incorporate the facade of the Arlington Hardware store which was located on this spot for decades. There is currently no pricing information available but the project looks to be the start of something big. I have some calls into the county for more info on the condos- but still waiting to hear back. As soon as I have more information about condo sales– I’ll post it here.
I stopped by there to take some pictures of the progress on the building- still just a large whole in the ground.
If The Halstead looks anything close the architect’s rendition– it’s going to be awesome and give a whole new look to the tired face on The Pike.
The Columbia Pike Revitalization Project
Columbia Pike is one of the last projects envisioned by the county in its master plan of creating walkable urban villages around the county. We’ve seen run down areas like Ballston, Clarendon & Courthouse all transformed into grand areas that put Arlington back on the map as a cool place to live. During that time Columbia Pike fell by the waist side. It took a back seat to massive amounts of development along the orange line metro.
The County Board, in its Top 10 Accomplishments for 2006 listed the Columbia Pike Revitalization Project as its second most important accomplishment for last year. I hope in 2007 it makes it to #1.
The plan is there– let’s hope we continue to see action.
Future Planned Projects
Stay tuned for the start of these planned projects:
Columbia Village at Columbia Pike & S. Greenbrier Street - The current Columbia Village Shopping Center will be demolished. Built in its place will be 235 residential units and 7,544 square feet of retail space. (Approved by the County Board in July 2005.)
- Penrose Square at Columbia Pike between S. Barton & Adams Street – The County Board approved a re-zoning and site plan for the new Penrose Square, proposed by Carbon Thompson Development. The 4.15 acre project will include 299 residential apartments, a new 61,500 square foot Giant grocery store, 36,000 square feet of additional retail space and 713 parking spaces. Arlington County will participate in the construction of 122 parking spaces that will be reserved for public parking. Penrose Square is the largest project yet approved on Columbia Pike since the adoption of the Columbia Pike Form Based Code in the early 2000’s.
Siena Park at Columbia Pike & S. Wayne Ave (former Safeway Site) – Woodfield Investment’s plan for the Safeway site was approved by the County Board in October 2006. The project consists of 188 residential units, 32,604 square feet of retail space and 14,603 square feet of office space.
- Pentagon To Fairfax County Line Light Rail – Capitol Improvement Project to install a street car down Columbia Pike to from the Pentagon to the Fairfax County line. This is one of the most significant projects in the entire Revitalization plan. In my opinion, it will make or break the success of Arlington’s vision for the Pike. There also has been very little coverage on the progress of the whole project. It will be an earth shattering concept for all of Northern Virginia to address it’s transportation issues. If successful, it will be a model for other areas around the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County not served by metro.
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