Archive for the 'Shirlington' Category
Shirlington Crest: What Housing Slump?
June 11th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, Nauck, Neighborhoods, Shirlington
While buyers are out there sitting on their futures, there are people seem to be ignoring all the media stories and buying up Shirlington Crest.
The sales office opened the end of 2006– with what they called “pre-sales” and now the sales office is in full force. The first phase is already sold out and people are flocking to get one of the best deals in Arlington.
Stanley Martin was finally able to break ground a few weeks ago after getting all the needed permits from Arlington County– and the development is starting to take shape.
The prices for these townhomes are good. When first announced in late 2005, the townhomes were expected to be priced in the $700,000s. When the plans were finally released, they were expected to sell in the mid-$600,000s. But I have to applaud Stanley Martin for not ignoring market conditions and settling on a base price starting in the $560s—$580s for the first phase. That is a fabulous price for a new 2–car garage in Arlington– not one you will find anywhere else. I expect prices in start increasing as they continue to sell into the second and third phases.
Sure- there is no metro in walking distance- but there is a new bus station with a short ride to the Pentagon metro. And it is walk-able to Shirlington Village- which is proving to be one of Arlington’s more popular urban villages.
If you take a walk through the models that are now open– you will find that the townhomes themselves are not big– about 1800 sq ft of living space (not including the garage). But that’s consistent with the other homes in the area– only Windgate end unit townhomes are larger- but there aren’t garages in Windgate and they are townhome condos. (Still a great place to live– I know– I live there!) One unquie feature of these townhome is the roof terrace– not something you will find anywhere in the neighborhodd.
If you walk through the models– don’t fall in love with “the Barn”– an end unit that has a gambrel roof- they ditched that model in favor for a modified version on the other popular end unit model. And thank goodness for that! Another smart move by Stanley Martin. (That unit is for sale btw- for a steal!)
Do’s & Don’ts To Know BEFORE You Buy
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Time To Get Answers: Tuesday April 22, 2008 Buyer Seminar
April 20th, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Buyers, Mortgages & Loans, Nauck, Neighborhoods, Real Estate News, Shirlington
Save the date– this coming Tuesday, April 22, 2008– AFTER WORK!
My office has gotten together to sponsor a buyer seminar– GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
Put down the Washington Post Real Estate Section for the night and talk to real estate people who are on the front line of today’s market.
* Learn why FHA is not your grandmother’s mortgage anymore
* Talk to a Loan Officer– no commitments
* Learn the state of the Arlington Market
* Is buying a Short Sale or Foreclosure property really for you?
* What happens AFTER I found the home of my dreams?
There is a reason why it’s called a BUYER’S MARKET! IT’s THE TIME TO BUY!!!
OK– that’s all the slogans I’m going to use.
This is a real seminar for people who have thinking of buying a home at sometime in their lives. We’re going to be there to answer your questions. There is no hard sell.
It’s an opportunity for you to speak with real professionals who are working in the front lines of this market.
Got a place to sell? Come by to find out what’s going on in the market. We’ll answer your questions. We won’t turn anyone away.
And– we’ll have snacks!
So come out on Tuesday night– make the time. There’s plenty of free parking. And when they ask you how you heard about this– tell them I sent you. Or meet me to see that I’m a real person!
WHERE:
North Fairlington Community Center
3005 S. Abingdon Street
Arlington, VA 22206
TIME:
6:30–8:30PM
Make the commitment: call (703–772–5555) or email to RSVP.
BUT– don’t let that stop you. Come anyway.
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It’s Spring! Get Out And Enjoy
April 2nd, 2008 Categories: Shirlington, The Native Tourist, The Road Less Taken
Spring is one of the best times of year here in the DC area. If you don’t mind the tourists.
It’s that time of year: the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Nats opened their new stadium, and everyone is running for something.
Most of us don’t have to brave all the tourists and traffic down at the Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms. They bloom all over the area.
Even Shirlington!
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A Big WOW For Shirlington: US Patent Office Will Be Our Neighbors
February 21st, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Real Estate News, Shirlington
The last office building planned for Shirlington is almost complete. Randolph Square will have over 200,000 square feet of office space, retail stores and a nice new parking garage to add some much needed parking.
The exciting news is that this shiny new building now has a bright new tenant: The US Patent Office.
The building is scheduled to open in April- just in time for the spring and bring with it the US Government.
Welcome to the neighborhood – you’re going to be here for the next 10 years. I hope you enjoy our little secret.
My last picture was taken when the weather was warmer– I’m such a whimp in this cold weather. It’s much further along now. I’m just too cold to stand outside to take some pictures.
And many thanks to one of my favorite local blogs: Shirlington Village Blog for being the first with the scoop.
Related Post:
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Shirlington Crest Continues to Emerge
December 23rd, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Buyers, Nauck, Shirlington
While everyone is rushing around for the holidays, the construction at Shirlington Crest continues. It even looks like they have sold a few.
These townhouses aren’t what I expected. I’m a little disappoint in them so far. Maybe I can be convinced otherwise as I see the finished product.
Here are the first three townhouses. One looks like a barn. I really hope they have better curb appeal when the siding is installed.
I’ll admit, when you are driving in Shirlington– that end barn hits you. But when you drive into the complex and look at it up close– it’s not that bad. So I’m not commenting until I see the final product.
I had my doubts about West Village– and that turned into a nice project.
This picture below is a rear view of the garages.
We are in for some warm weather this next week, maybe there will be some more progress on the exterior.
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Arlington County’s Animal Shelter
December 8th, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Blue Plate Specials, Shirlington
If you’ve lived in Shirlington for any amount of time you will notice that it is very pet friendly. I think this is because we are home to Arlington’s Animal Shelter and a few dog parks.
Animal Welfare League of Arlington has gone hi-tech. Every two weeks they post a youtube video of their pets available for adoption. Not all are cats or dogs.
If you are thinking about adopting a pet for Christmas- you can’t just walk into the shelter and walk out with a pet. Please call the shelter at (703) 931-9241 or email them at mail@awla.org for more information. Visit their website to learn more about the AWLA.
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Washington DC’s First Snow Fall 2007
December 6th, 2007 Categories: Shirlington, The Road Less Taken
As I sit here watching press conferences and listen to talking heads about new plans to the sub-prime loan “crisis” I am going through some pictures I took during yesterday’s snowfall.
It was a nice snow. Just enough to cover everything with snow but the streets here in Arlington. Maybe a little more further out in Fairfax and Loundon Counties. It was peaceful, unlike what’s going on today with everyone trying to understand what’s going on in the sub-prime mortgage industry.
Before I have to figure out what’s going on so I can explain it to my clients, I’m taking some time out to enjoy one of winter’s few pleasures.
Fairlington’s peaceful with it’s snow covered grand old trees.
The Christimas tree is Shirlington.
Ok, back to work.
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It’s Christmas Time in Shirlington
November 26th, 2007 Categories: Blue Plate Specials, Shirlington
It’s become an annual event– lighting a Christimas tree in Shirlington. Hope you can make it. Click on the picture to find out more details.
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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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Welcome To the Neighborhood Stanley
November 18th, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Buyers, Shirlington
I stopped by the sales office late this afternoon. Although they claim to be open, the office was severely under-staffed. With only one sales person working with previously scheduled appointments, anyone who walked in had to wait. There wasn’t even a receptionist. I don’t think they are writing contracts yet. It seems to be a meet and greet this week.
At least while I was there, any walk-in had to wait to get any information.
Three people walked out without talking to the sales person while I was waiting to introduce myself to the sales person and another couple was told they would be contacted for an appointment. I guess there was a high volume of people who registered on the Stanley Martin website. They are trying to met with all those people. Although the couple that was turned away did registered on their website.
I was there for a less than a half hour and and there were six groups that passed through the office. That’s pretty good traffic for a market that supposed to be slow.
But, for gosh sakes, people– HIRE A BUYER’s AGENT! Not one of the groups I saw had an agent. Tell me why you don’t want someone to represent you. I want to hear from you.
I guess Stanley Martin wasn’t expecting such a high turn out– especially the weekend before Thanksgiving. As we say in this business– it’s a good problem to have.
They are working quickly to put up the first models.
This was the first row of town homes last week.
This is that same row today.
At least I was able to pick up some floor plans today. I’ll post more once I can finally meet with the sales person. I wasn’t expecting to get her time today, we’ve been communicating through email and I knew she would be busy today.
Welcome to the neighborhood Stanley.
Related Posts:
Shirlington Crest Sales Office Opens Saturday November 17, 2007– Are You Ready?
Stanley Martin– A Builder With a New Approach
Five Reasons To Use A Buyer Agent When Purchasing New Construction
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