Question: Given the recent appreciate in real estate values, are you seeing more homes appraise for less than the sale price? Answer: As we saw in last week’s column, the Arlington real estate market has appreciated rapidly over the last six months which increases the chances that an Appraiser cannot find past sales to support the price the buyer and seller have agreed to, thus increasing the amount of low appraisals in Arlington over the last six months (unfortunately there’s no data to back that up so it’s based on what I’ve seen and heard in the market). Generally, appraisal values lag behi ..read more

Question: How did the Arlington real estate market perform in the first half of 2019? Answer: I am excited to announce the first of many collaborations with Jeannette Chapman, Deputy Director and Senior Research Associate, at the Stephen S. Fuller Institute at George Mason University to bring you deeper, more insightful analysis of the Arlington housing market. The Fuller Institute conducts incredible research and analysis on the Greater Washington regional economy and I’d encourage you to subscribe to their monthly Washington Economy Watch reports. Jeannette is an Arlingtonian and housing dat ..read more

Question: Our Board of Directors is planning for the 2020 budget and we'd like to get a sense of the market rates in Arlington, particularly in the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. What are the average condo fees in the Arlington area on a cost per square foot basis? Answer: It’s that time of year for most Condo Associations – budget planning time! As a former Condo Board Treasurer, I understand the pressure you’re under to balance responsible spending and reserve contributions with resident expectations of low, stable fees. Let’s take a look at what condo fees are across Arlington…   Arlington Cond ..read more

Question: How did the Opportunity Zone designation in the Nauck neighborhood come to fruition and what is the expected impact on the neighborhood? Answer: Last year the US Treasury, with the help of each state, began designating underdeveloped or “economically-distressed” communities as Opportunity Zones (OZ) to encourage residential and commercial development by offering investors preferred tax treatment. There are currently over 8,000 designated OZs around the country and 212 in Virginia.   Arlington’s Opportunity Zones It may come as a surprise that there were two areas in Arlington that re ..read more

Question: After yesterday’s huge rain storm I’m considering adding flood insurance to my policy. Do you have a recommendation for a good provider?Answer: Yesterday’s historic rainfall (is it really historic when this stuff keeps happening?) resulted in a lot of wet, damaged basements and put flood insurance top of mind for many home owners. Unfortunately for most, yesterday’s flooding will not be covered under your homeowners insurance policy, even if you are one of the few who carries flood insurance. I talked with Matt Deadrick (mdeadrick@ddminsurance.com) of Day, Deadrick & Marshall abo ..read more

Question: Do you have any updates to your previous columns about banning smoking in condos?Answer: Banning smoking in condos is probably the most popular topic I’ve written about and it has given me visibility into how many communities have tried, are trying, or want to ban smoking in units and common areas. Multiple Buildings Have Banned SmokingAs of 2019, only 12% of Arlingtonians smoke so it’s not surprising so many condo residents are interested in eliminating it from their buildings. Over the last few years, multiple condo buildings in Arlington have successfully amended their by-laws to ..read more

Question: What is customary to leave behind when we sell our house? Is there anything we have to leave or take?Answer: The answer to this question varies by state/region so it’s important to understand what’s customary or required in your area. Throughout the entire DMV (DC, MD, VA) it’s customary to leave/convey all appliances, anything fixed to the home (e.g. light and plumbing fixtures), and take electronics or anything not attached to the home (e.g. free-standing shelves).Fortunately, the Northern Virginia sales contract has a section dedicated to what conveys, including a yes/no option fo ..read more

Question: We’re hoping to do some major landscaping work over the next year and would like your thoughts on what we should focus on that will also be good for resale.Answer: Now is a great time to start planning a landscaping redesign project for next year’s warm weather. If you’re preparing for a sale, small improvements to your yard can be just as valuable as updates to the inside of your home. I sat down with local landscaping expert and long-time Arlington resident, Jeff Minnich (you should see his yard!) of Jeff Minnich Garden Design, to discuss smart ways to boost the outdoor appeal of y ..read more

During home sale preparations, one of the most overlooked spaces in a home is the garage. I’ve shown many homes where owners have packed their garage full of furniture, toys, and boxes in an attempt to clear out the rest of their home, not realizing that a clean, organized garage can have a huge impact on their resale value. I asked Laura Johnson at Garage Design Source to detail how important your garage is to maximizing your resale value. Garage Design Source helps homeowners in the DC area organize their garages through customizable garage storage solutions.  If you're looking to add a fini ..read more

Question: Are you seeing a sharp increase in the asking prices of homes in Arlington, as reported by Realtor.com, since Amazon announced HQ2? Answer: You guessed it, the national media is wrong about Arlington’s housing market (sort of). I don’t mean to jump on the Fake News bandwagon, but a few weeks ago Realtor.com ran a misleading article, that got a ton of coverage here, stating that the median asking price of homes in Arlington were up $110,000 or 17.3% from November 2018 to April 2019. I was suspicious of their report because I’m not seeing that type of increase in the asking prices of h ..read more