Fall 2014 Reston Real Estate Market Update
Reston Real Estate market update Fall 2014 I hope you had a great summer! Lots of exciting things are happening in our town. First, the Silver Line Metro opened for business. This will be a great amenity to already thriving Reston, the town center, local business districts and residents of the surrounding area(s). I have checked out the traffic situation for the past month at many different times of day and so far the concerns of massive traffic backups and delays don’t appear to be the case. The Avant at Reston Town Center, the first new construction in Reston in years, opened to tenants – the building and amenities are stunning! Ted’s Bulletin and World of Beer both opened at the town center to great reviews – World of Beer offers live entertainment too! Meanwhile Lake Anne Center continues to struggle and saw the closing of two long time businesses – Jasmine Café shut its doors unexpectedly and the Lakeside Pharmacy, owned by Larry Cohn, sold its building and the business has been liquidated. Larry was an all-around great human being, friend to all and fixture on the plaza for 40 years. What’s new? As I write this, the Harrison @ Reston Town Center – twin towers going up on Reston Parkway on the old Parc Reston condo site – is coming along quickly. They are rental buildings and are currently pre-leasing from a showroom across the street. There are two pending re-zonings underway – first on the surface parking lot at the town center fronting Reston Parkway (the only surface parking left at the town center) and also a rezoning to demolish what you would know as the FedEx building and replace it with a tower of some sort – most likely business and not residential. The Planning Commission hearing for the redevelopment of Crescent Apartments (Lake Anne) scheduled for November 5th has been indefinitely deferred (not sure what that means). No word/all is quiet on the future of the Reston National Golf Course and also the plans to redevelop the Spectrum strip shopping centers (Lerner Corporation) at the town center…both generate lots of calls to my office. For sale There are currently 302 homes for sale in Reston (up significantly from recent years). Breaks down as: 70 detached homes with an average list price of $758,241; 106 townhouses w/ an ALP of $480,000; and 126 condominiums w/ an ALP of $390,000. While 302 homes for sale is up from the last few years this is still a manageable number when compared with an inventory from 600 to 800 units in the early 2000 years. Of note: Total sales for January thru end of September 2014 were 732 units vs. 852 last year down about 16% (120 units). Days to sell are running about 30 days and the average seller continues to receive almost 98.5% of their asking price. While the number of sales was down, the average sales prices were up in all categories over the previous year – ASP for a detached home was $717,000 ($680,000 last year), townhomes was $449,000 ($427,000 in 2013) and $348,000 for condos ($340,000 in 2013). As Reston’s housing stock continues to age it is important as a homeowner that you invest in and continue to improve your property. Reston has become an expensive place to live and just this month was again voted one of the top 10 places to live in the US by Money Magazine. But, with that said, most of our housing is the late 60s to mid-90s vintage. Buyers going to eastern Loudoun County have...
Read MoreSummer 2014 Reston Real Estate Market Update
Happy Summer! Summer 2014 Greetings and happy summer to you and family! I hope you are having a great summer so far. This is a brief look at the Reston real estate market. Home sales are sizzling in Reston along with some amazing heat! We continue to benefit from low interest rates and low inventory of homes for sale. Excitement of the pending opening of the new Silver Line Metro at Wiehle Ave. on July 26th has brought many new and prospective buyers to the community. Sales – Reston home sales are strong yet running at a slightly slower pace than last year. For the first six months of the year we sold 96 detached homes (vs. 120 last year), 236 townhouses (278 in 2013) and 186 condominiums (vs. 202 in 2013). The average days on market/time to sell is (just) 30 days for all categories. Exceptionally strong sales were noted in condos at the town center and any townhouse or detached home with a main level master bedroom. As we have stressed for years: homes always sell quickly and for top dollar if well maintained and priced appropriately. Upgraded and top notch homes get top price! If you have thought about selling now is an ideal time, call me to discuss your plans, I can help with vendors, work to be done, staging, etc. Interest rates – Simply amazing and in the low 4%’s for thirty year fixed; fifteen year fixed available in the low 3’s! If you can afford the higher payment the 15-year is always a good way to go as it saves many thousands of dollars over the life of the loan in interest. Call for more details or a reference on a good loan officer. New construction – Currently no new construction is available in Reston. The new ‘Avant’ is open and welcoming new tenants at Reston Town Center (across the park from Midtown). Construction is underway on the twin towers at Reston Parkway and Temporary Road. Will be luxury rentals and called The Harrison at Reston Town Center. What’s new/what’s going on – I have been busy listing and selling homes – thank you for your referrals! Summer concerts are at Lake Anne and RTC, farmers market and bazaar at Lake Anne Saturday mornings until Fall. Expanded boat rentals are back at Lake Anne, Thursday to Sunday. Best picks – Ariake for Japanese food, Il Fornaio for Italian, Jacksons and Passion Fish cannot go wrong ever, Kalypso for the food and setting on Lake Anne. Long time stalwart on Lake Anne Jasmine Café closed suddenly and will not reopen, look for a new restaurant to take over soon! If you need help with real estate, have a question or problem or know of someone needing a Realtor please think of me and thanks for your help and support as always! JON Jon Querolo, Assoc. Broker The Reston Experts since 1967 The Long and Foster Companies 703-585-4900 or 571-926-9085 ...
Read MoreReal estate tips – tip #7 Think Big!
As Reston celebrates its 50 birthday and its founder Robert E Simon his 100 birthday this week I am reminded of the importance of thinking big and setting goals. I am constantly in awe of the vision it took in the early 60s to buy this property and to conceptualize the schools, the lakes, the shopping centers, pools, tennis and a golf course, the housing to be offered and to lay the ground work for what would become Reston Town Center. Whether in my personal life or my business life it has always served me well to have a ‘road map’ of basic goals and commit them to paper. I have young clients who come to see me in their 20s with a plan – we are going to rent for a year, save some money and then we are going to buy a home. Ditto for new investors – we have saved some money and we are going to focus on buying one investment property a year. The beauty of having a plan is it keeps you focused and on track. It is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of day to day life and have the months roll into years. But with a plan you can review and reflect on how things are going and most importantly change or modify it. I think you will find if you take the time to write down some basic life and or business goals you will find it can have a profound effect on your life. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, call me, Jon Querolo, at Long and Foster Realtors at...
Read MoreReal estate tips -tip #6 The first impression
While you may have little immediate and direct control over the events that shape the economy or housing market, you do have control over the sale of your home. A real estate transaction involves a significant portion of your wealth. Professional management of the process is crucial for financial success. Proper preparation and marketing, now more than ever, play a huge role when selling a home. The more REALTORS® and qualified buyers who know about your home will result in more showings. Once there, a fantastic first impression is essential. It is very important to realize that most people act upon their first impression. Many potential buyers will decide pretty quickly upon entering your home whether they love it or hate it. That is why making a positive first impression is so important. It is like jump starting the selling process. More interest means competing bids. Proper preparation is key. It is amazing how accomplishing several small tasks can change the overall impression buyers will have on your home. Knowing what to do and when to do it is crucial. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, call me, Jon Querolo, at Long and Foster Realtors at...
Read MoreReal estate tips – tip #5 Making your house accessible
Having your house on the market involves a certain invasion of privacy. If you’re lucky, agents will be previewing it and showing it to buyers with some regularity. On one hand, you’ll want to make it reasonably accessible to real estate professionals and their prospects. On the other hand, you don’t want to step out of your shower as a local broker is bringing in a group of buyers. In many areas agents use a handy little tool of the trade called a ‘lockbox’. On an occupied property, agents call first and let the owner know when they’ll be by. If no one is home, an agent with a special key card can open the box, retrieve the key and let themselves in. The other extreme of accessibility is requiring a day’s notice, and insisting that your listing agent accompany each showing. This will eliminate a lot of the inconvenience to you, but it will also eliminate most of the showings of your house. Whatever arrangements you work out, keep in mind that the easier you make it for us to see and show your home, the easier you make it for us to sell it more quickly. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, call me, Jon Querolo, at Long and Foster Realtors at...
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Jon Querolo (pronounced: core-elle-o) provides clients with unparalleled real estate knowledge and experience. 