Here are a few key points in the entire region of Northern Virginia (belong to NVAR footprints):
March 2015 Home Sales Compared to March 2014: NVAR Footprint
The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® reports on March 2015 home sales activity for Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.
A total of 1,538 homes sold in March 2015, a 13.84 percent increase over March 2014 home sales of 1,351.
Active listings continued to show a significant increase this month compared with 2014. Listings were up 27.23 percent over last year, with 3,831 active listings in March, compared with 3,011 homes available in March 2014. Homes continue to take longer to sell this year than last. The average days on market (DOM) for homes in March 2015 was 62 days, an increase of 37.78 percent compared to the 45 DOM for homes in March 2014.
The average home sale price rose this March, to $548,101. This is up 2.73 percent compared to March 2014, when the average price was $533,534.
The median sold price of homes this March, which was $475,000, rose by 4.40 percent compared to the median price of $455,000 in March 2014.
The 2,293 new pending home sales in Northern Virginia in March is an increase of 13.51% compared with 2,020 contracts that were pending in March of last year.
Quận Fairfax chứng minh thị trường nhà năm 2014 khá ổn định. Mặc dù những thông số gần giống như năm 2013, nhưng rõ ràng thị trường khá mạnh. Toàn quận có 13,549 căn nhà bán (phân nửa là nhà Single Houses và phân nửa kia gồm cả condos và townhouses) trong năm 2014, con số này ít hơn năm 2013.
Fairfax County demonstrated a stable market in 2014. It was a healthy market although the stats are almost the same to previous year of 2013. There were 13,549 houses sold in 2014, a 10% decrease from 2013, and almost 1/2 of which is single family homes while the other half was comprised of townhouses and condos .
Giá thành trung điểm tăng khoảng 1.1% tới giá $460,000. Giá nhà single houses cao hơn, ở tầm $702,606, và nhà townhouses trung bình ở giá $368,002. Chủ nhà trung bình nhận được 97.3% giá rao bán. Các căn nhà nằm trên thị trường lâu hơn năm ngoái. Trung bình tốn khoảng 45 ngày thay vì 37 ngày trong năm 2013. Điểm này chứng thực rằng số lượng nhà quá thừa thãi trên thị trường trong mùa Xuân và mùa Hè của 2014.
Median sold price still gained 1.1% to $460,000. Single family homes were at $702,606 and Townhouses were averaged at$368,002. Sellers generally got 97.3% of their list price. It took a bit longer for sellers to sell their homes in 2014 than the previous year. The average days on market was 45 days versus 37 days in 2013. This was a true reflection of the abundant inventory during the spring and the summer of 2014.
Vấn đề vay mượn vẫn gây khó khăn cho người mua nhà, khoảng 13% không vay mượn, 65% mượn theo chương trình vay mượn thông thường, chỉ có 8% sử dụng chương trình do chính phủ bảo đảm.
Những chủ nhà hiểu biết thực tế của thị trường cảm thấy mạnh dạn, nhưng những người mua tìm giá rẻ thì thất vọng vì số lượng nhà gặp khó khăn trả nợ giảm dưới 5%.
Nếu bạn quyết định mua nhà thì có thể yêu cầu Hướng dẫn mua nhà ở đây. Hoặc bạn có thể email để tìm hiểu chi tiết về thị trường trong khu vực mình ở.
Financing continued to be a challenge for many buyers, 13% of buyers made their purchase in cash (no financing). 65% of buyers used Conventional Financing and only 8% used FHA financing.
It is very encouraging to realistic sellers while it could be challenging for buyers who are looking for good deals. Distressed inventory went way down to less than 5% in the county.
Email now to discover the market update for your own neighborhood.
Owning a home can pay off at tax time.
Take advantage of these homeownership-related tax deductions and strategies to lower your tax bill:
Mortgage Interest Deduction
One of the neatest deductions itemizing homeowners can take advantage of is the mortgage interest deduction, which you claim on Schedule A. To get the mortgage interest deduction, your mortgage must be secured by your home — and your home can be a house, trailer, or boat, as long as you can sleep in it, cook in it, and it has a toilet.
Interest you pay on a mortgage of up to $1 million — or $500,000 if you’re married filing separately — is deductible when you use the loan to buy, build, or improve your home.
If you take on another mortgage (including a second mortgage, home equity loan, or home equity line of credit) to improve your home or to buy or build a second home, that counts towards the $1 million limit.
If you use loans secured by your home for other things — like sending your kid to college — you can still deduct the interest on loans up $100,000 ($50,000 for married filing separately) because your home secures the loan.
PMI and FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums
You can deduct the cost of private mortgage insurance (PMI) as mortgage interest on Schedule A if you itemize your return. The change only applies to loans taken out in 2007 or later.
By the way, the 2014 tax season is the last for which you can claim this deduction unless Congress renews it for 2015, which may happen, but is uncertain.
What’s PMI? If you have a mortgage but didn’t put down a fairly good-sized downpayment (usually 20%), the lender requires the mortgage be insured. The premium on that insurance can be deducted, so long as your income is less than $100,000 (or $50,000 for married filing separately).
If your adjusted gross income is more than $100,000, your deduction is reduced by 10% for each $1,000 ($500 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return) that your adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 ($50,000 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return). So, if you make $110,000 or more, you can’t claim the deduction (10% x 10 = 100%).
Besides private mortgage insurance, there’s government insurance from FHA, VA, and the Rural Housing Service. Some of those premiums are paid at closing, and deducting them is complicated. A tax adviser or tax software program can help you calculate this deduction. Also, the rules vary between the agencies.
Prepaid Interest Deduction
Prepaid interest (or points) you paid when you took out your mortgage is generally 100% deductible in the year you paid it along with other mortgage interest.
If you refinance your mortgage and use that money for home improvements, any points you pay are also deductible in the same year.
But if you refinance to get a better rate or shorten the length of your mortgage, or to use the money for something other than home improvements, such as college tuition, you’ll need to deduct the points over the life of your mortgage. Say you refi into a 10-year mortgage and pay $3,000 in points. You can deduct $300 per year for 10 years.
So what happens if you refi again down the road?
Example: Three years after your first refi, you refinance again. Using the $3,000 in points scenario above, you’ll have deducted $900 ($300 x 3 years) so far. That leaves $2,400, which you can deduct in full the year you complete your second refi. If you paid points for the new loan, the process starts again; you can deduct the points over the life of the loan.
Home mortgage interest and points are reported on Schedule A of IRS Form 1040.
Your lender will send you a Form 1098 that lists the points you paid. If not, you should be able to find the amount listed on the HUD-1 settlement sheet you got when you closed the purchase of your home or your refinance closing.
Property Tax Deduction
You can deduct on Schedule A the real estate property taxes you pay. If you have a mortgage with an escrow account, the amount of real estate property taxes you paid shows up on your annual escrow statement.
If you bought a house this year, check your HUD-1 settlement statement to see if you paid any property taxes when you closed the purchase of your house. Those taxes are deductible on Schedule A, too.
Energy-Efficiency Upgrades
If you made your home more energy efficient in 2014, you might qualify for the residential energy tax credit.
Tax credits are especially valuable because they let you offset what you owe the IRS dollar for dollar for up to 10% of the amount you spent on certain home energy-efficiency upgrades.
The credit carries a lifetime cap of $500 (less for some products), so if you’ve used it in years past, you’ll have to subtract prior tax credits from that $500 limit. Lucky for you, there’s no cap on how much you’ll save on utility bills thanks to your energy-efficiency upgrades.
Among the upgrades that might qualify for the credit:
To claim the credit, file IRS Form 5695 with your return.
Vacation Home Tax Deductions
The rules on tax deductions for vacation homes are complicated. Do yourself a favor and keep good records about how and when you use your vacation home.
Homebuyer Tax Credit
This isn’t a deduction, but it’s important to keep track of if you claimed it in 2008.
There were federal first-time homebuyer tax credits in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
If you claimed the homebuyer tax credit for a purchase made after April 8, 2008, and before Jan. 1, 2009, you must repay 1/15th of the credit over 15 years, with no interest.
The IRS has a tool you can use to help figure out what you owe each year until it’s paid off. Or if the home stops being your main home, you may need to add the remaining unpaid credit amount to your income tax on your next tax return.
Generally, you don’t have to pay back the credit if you bought your home in 2009, 2010, or early 2011. The exception: You have to repay the full credit amount if you sold your house or stopped using it as primary residence within 36 months of the purchase date. Then you must repay it with your tax return for the year the home stopped being your principal residence.
The repayment rules are less rigorous for uniformed service members, Foreign Service workers, and intelligence community workers who got sent on extended duty at least 50 miles from their principal residence.
Related: A Homeowner’s Guide to Taxes
This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but shouldn’t be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.
Dona DeZube has been writing about real estate for more than two decades. She lives in a suburban Baltimore Midcentury modest home on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound. Follow Dona on Google+.Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-deductions/home-tax-deductions/
As the weather gets cooler, it’s a good time to check your HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) system to make sure it’s operating properly. While it’s wise to have your HVAC inspected by a heating professional every fall and spring, you can increase the efficiency of your system by following 
these simple maintenance tips from American Home Shield.
Now: Use a high-efficiency pleated filter with an electrostatic charge that works like a magnet to grab the tiniest particles. Replace the filter every 90 days and check it monthly. If it looks dark and clogged, change it, and if you have pets, you may need to change it more often.
Keep the air-conditioning unit free of leaves, pollen, grass or branches that can interfere with its future efficiency. Make sure there is at least two feet of space cleared around outdoor units.
Monthly or Seasonally: Inspect the insulation and refrigerant lines monthly. Before winter sets in, replace the humidifier filter and turn on the water.
Annually: Replace the battery in the carbon monoxide detector. Walk around the exterior of the house and check that outdoor AC units and heat pumps are on firm and level ground. Pour one cup of bleach mixed with water down the AC condensate drain to prevent a buildup of mold and algae, which can clog the drain.
Always: Keep at least 20 percent of a home’s registers open to avoid putting unnecessary strain on the HVAC system.
Following these simple tips can prolong the life of your HVAC system and help you be prepared for whatever the winter season may bring.
FromCRS – Your Home newsletter, Monday, 27 October 2014
After a slow down of the unusual cold and snowy winter, the housing market in the area is just like the Awakening. It is going strong with $1,130,955,371 in Sales Volume – it is almost 20% increase from the month of April. There were 3,679 houses entered the market for sale (9% more compared to May 2013), while there were 2,349 houses under contract (8% less compared to May 2013).
The median sold price was $480,000, slightly higher than April 2014 with an average days on the market of 32 days (1 week shy from last month).
Most sellers appear to get 98.6% from list price at an Average Sales Price of $566,044 – a 3.43% increase from last month, and an increase of 10% compared to 5-year Average.
Although the report and analysis are in clear details, every locality is different, even subdivisions are different. I recently installed a tool for automated home value calculation. It is an automated tool, so there are still errors. Yet, you can try it on your own and see if you like it: wwwfairfaxhouseprice.com
Statistics from RBINTEL.com
Fannie Mae đang tặng chi phí làm giấy tờ (closing costs) cho những người mua nhà mà hãng đã tịch thu và rao bán trên www.homepath.com.
Sự giúp đỡ của hãng này sẽ là 3.5% của tổng giá trị bán của căn nhà trên 27 thị trường. Để nhận được 3.5% này thì người mua nhà phải thỏa mãn vài điều kiện như là người mua nhà để ở, hợp đồng mua bán phải được nộp vào trước ngày 31 tháng 3 năm 2014, và phải hoàn tất giấy tờ sang nhượng trước cuối tháng 6. Rất may mắn là Virginia và Maryland nằm trong danh sách này nên đây là 1 cơ hội hiếm có cho những người mua nhà trong vùng.
Bản gốc ở đây: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2014/02/14/mortgage-giant-offers-closing-cost-help-reo-buyers
Search homes on MLS: www.DynamicHomeTeam.com
Fairfax County alone had more listings than a year ago (total of 1,127 new homes entered the market). Nevertheless, it does not satisfy the high demand in the area. Unemployment rate is way down to 3.6% as of the end of 2013 (www.virginialmi.com). Fairfax main employment is still in the area of Professional, Scientific, and Technical services, which added 10% of job growth to the field.
Average Home Sales Price in Fairfax County is $491,144 at a 96.4% Average Sold to List Price that a homeowner will get from listing the house. Average days on market of a house is 58 days, and it is at its 5-year low.
It is still a seller’s market in general. On the other hand, buyers are currently very skeptical about the market. With the help of Realtors, buyers are getting the right home for their family, and sellers are moving towards their goals faster. The price bidding war is still happening although it is more tolerable now than before.
Planning a move is often difficult, but planning one with children is even harder. Kids and teenagers aren’t thrilled by the prospect of moving to a new home, especially in a new location away from their friends, but these steps you help ease the transition, say experts at Parents.com and TLC.
Start by getting the kids involved in the house-hunting process. Take them to see the homes you are considering buying, or show them photos or a virtual tour. Learn as much as you can about the community and the neighborhood.
Get the kids involved in de-cluttering the home. Go through the house, room by room, and have them identify what items they want to discard and what they want to keep.
Let kids map out their new room, and choose the colors to decorate it. If they want, let them help arrange and decorate other rooms in the house. For teenagers, set a budget and let them pick out colors, linens, rugs and furniture, and encourage them to shop at thrift stores for knick knacks.
Once you have moved, plan a welcome party and invite a few neighbors with kids to get acquainted. Tour the new neighborhood to locate places of interest to children, such as a playground, school, library, and movie theater.
Moving is never easy for kids, but these ideas can help them look forward to their new home.
Source: CRS Homenewsletter
Thị trường địa ốc vùng Bắc Virginia (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, 1 phần của Prince William, 1 phần của Loudoun County) là 1 trong những vùng dẫn đầu trên toàn nước Mỹ trong tháng 8, 2013. Dựa vào thông tin cập nhật của RBIntel.com, thị trường địa ốc ở đây có trung bình 68 căn nhà bán mỗi ngày. Hầu hết các căn nhà này bán nhanh chóng trong vòng dưới 1 tháng (29 ngày). Đây là 1 trong thị trường nhà đất rất mạnh trên toàn quốc gia. Chủ nhà thường lấy được 98% giá bán được so với giá rao bán lúc đầu. Chọn lựa 1 người Realtor phù hợp rất quan trọng để giúp bạn có lợi thế hơn nhiều trong vụ việc bán nhà.
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Nhiều người tiên đoán rằng chấm lời cao sẽ làm giảm hoạt tính của thị trường nhà đất. Tuy nhiên, thực tế cho thấy rằng mỗi tầm giá đều có những đặc tính và mấu chốt khác nhau trong thị trường nhà đất. Người Realtor thích hợp phải là chuyên gia phân tích thị trường và vạch lên được kế hoạch chi tiết để xác định đặt đúng vị trí căn nhà của bạn lên thị trường.
The housing market in Northern Virginia area including Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, parts of Prince William, and parts of Loudoun County has been spearheading the whole nation in the month of August. According to the Real Estate Business Intelligence (www.RBIntel.com), we typically have 68 houses sold per day (on an average of 30 days/month). Most houses for sale are on the market for shy of 1 month (29 days). This is a very healthy real estate market in the country. Most owners will net around 98% of their list price. With the help of the right Realtors, the odd of selling your house will just play towards your advantage.
Many speculators claimed that the increase of interest rate would slow down the real estate activities. The fact is each price range will have a different approach and expectation of the sale. The Realtors should be able to analyze the market and come up with appropriate proposal of where the house should be positioned in the market.
| Statistic | Values | YoY | MoM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sold Dollar Volume | $1,094,493,183 | +14.57% | -8.41% |
| Closed Sales | 2,052 | +12.87% | -4.38% |
| Median Sold Price | $470,000 | +3.64% | -4.07% |
| Avg Sold Price | $533,379 | +1.5% | -4.22% |
| Avg Days on Market | 29 days | -34.09% | +16% |
| Avg Sold to Orig List Ratio | 98.24% | +1.29% | -0.22% |
Statistics from www.RBIntel.com
