Central Va’s changing market

One of the greatest benefits of blogging is finding the online relationships (no, not in that way!) that can be developed. I read the following at Merv & Pam’s blog (no longer available) focusing on the NoVa. market.

There are a lot of parallels and clear correlations between the NoVa and Central Va markets. As my readers and clients know, I try to look at the real estate market from a macroeconomic point of view and apply that knowledge to the local market. It is important to learn from others’ experiences; the NoVa market is usually a little bit ahead of ours …

This is part of a recent mailing they sent to their clients regarding this shifting market:

• Be realistic. Buyers are now buying the best for their money. Either show better for the price or reduce the price. Investing in paint, new carpet and staging when necessary yields a big return on investment. Also, Location, Location, Location are always the top 3 real estate priorities.
• Be flexible. Buyers are being more selective and expect more from sellers in price negotiations and perhaps subsidies for closing costs.
• Be logical: This is market dynamics. What your neighbor sold for last spring or last year has nothing to do with market value today.
• Be professional: Generally, work on your home done by a professional will be worth more in the long run. Buyers will be picky.
• Be patient.

…

In summary, the heady times are no longer with us. Normal used to be a few days to a couple of weeks on the market to get a ratified contract. Normal is now an average of 45 to 60 days. More for some properties.

There is much more at their site (no longer available), and is worth reading. I will be posting more data soon regarding longer marketing times, extended days on market and more negotiating flexibility in sellers’ pricing.

Another neat thing about them is that we have similar marketing:

• Our internet marketing is second to none. We showcase all listings on realtor.com, homesdatabase.com, Yahoo, MSN, washingtonpost.com among others.
• Every property has a VisualTour (75% of buyers look at homes with Visual Tours or those with more than 1 picture first.) Our VisualTours are among the best in the industry. We average over 300 total views per week for all our listed properties. Our properties get exposure.
• Our website and blog get over 1000 unique visitors per month and is growing rapidly.
• If you do a Google Blog search for Virginia Real Estate or Northern Virginia Real Estate, we come up at the very top of the first page. This means exposure for your property.
• Our properties are posted to “craigslist” and soon on Google Base (beta in test now) as well as Google and Yahoo maps.

This, and all competitive businesses require constant innovation, idea implementation and ultimately, consistent execution.