Are Andresen

Hallcrest Heights

Another wonderful neighborhood in this area. Walking distance to Target and the new Tysons East metro station. Easy access to the Dulles Tollroad and I-495.

For Sale in Hallcrest Heights

News about the Hallcrest Heights Area

Gates of McLean 1br for sale ($289,000)

We recently listed a great top floor 1br/1ba at the Gates of McLean. The unit is in a controlled access building away from the road noise and has garage parking.

Tile floors, tall ceilings, lots of light. Corner unit in interior building away from traffic. Gated community and controlled access building. Community amenities include wonderful outdoor pool, exercise room, theater, clubhouse, grill area, walking paths, playground and more. WALK TO FUTURE MCLEAN SILVER LINE STOP!!!

More information here: 1580 Spring Gate Drive #4415, McLean VA 22102

Great Gates of McLean Condo For Sale (sold)

We just listed this wonderful 1st level Chelsea model at the Gates of McLean . The unit has  laminate floors and upgraded ceramic tile in the kitchen, foyer and bathroom. Community amenities include gated access, contol access building, wonderful outdoor swimming pool, gym, playground, theater etc. Walk to future McLean Silver Line Metro stop.

The community is gated and has well kept grounds.  The Gates of McLean consists of multiple buildings of two styles: mid-rise and garden. The mid-rise style has controlled building access, heated hallways and underground parking available (does not come with all units.) The garden-style has open hallways and there is surface parking only. There are numerous 1, 2 and 3 bedroom models available. All the units have an open floor plan with open kitchens and they typically come with a full-size washer and dryer.

Please check out our video for the property:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2EVrIC_060[/youtube]

This home has been sold.

Prices Flat at the Fountains at McLean in Tysons Corner

Tysons Corner is bustling these days with the completed HOT Lane, Silver Line metro nearing completion and the Tysons West and Walmart. Many new communities will now be within walking distance to the metro for the first time – Fountains at McLean is one of them.

The number of sales in 2012 were slightly up from 2011 at the Fountains at McLean.

The prices are still struggling to recover from the high in 2005. While prices have been pretty stable from 2008/2009 they have not been able to appreciate yet. The average price for a 1-bedroom at the Fountains at McLean remains in the low $200′s (up from 2011 but within the typical range from the last few years.) The average 2-bedroom price went up a little bit but the average 2 bedroom price has been remarkably stable the last few years.

The average rent keeps going up at the Fountains at McLean.

The sales mix seems to have improved from last year with just two short sales and no foreclosures. 

A continuing concern at the Fountains is that the investor ratio has been high (number of non-owner occupants.) Lenders are hesitant to give loans in developments where this rate is too high (generally 50% and over.) It seems to now have reached a level where purchasers typically need a 20% down payment to qualify for a mortgage. FHA loans with 3.5% down-payment seems to be unavailable in the community at this time.

UPDATE 3/1/2013: as the commenter below mentions, the demand for condominiums in Tysons Corner outweights the supply by far these days. This includes units at the Fountains at McLean. Units listed usually sell in a few days and with multiple offers. Hopefully this will result in a steady price appreciation of units for 2013. In 2013 a couple of 1br units have sold – one at $238k and one at $265k (that had something like 8 offers on it.)  In 2012 the minimum price was $210,000 and the maximum sold price was $240,000, with an average of $218,889. While that is up from 2011 it is pretty much in line with 2010 prices.

The Fountains at McLean is a great neighborhood with reasonable prices that would make a wonderful home. If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing (5 Reasons We Rock For Buyers!), please give us a call at 703 560-3424 or contact us.

Are Fairfax County Foreclosures and Short-Sales Disappearing?

The market in Fairfax County Virginia is doing great in 2012. The number of transactions are down slightly for 2012 keeping inventory low in most areas. The prices have held up well and increased some in many areas thanks to low interest rates and good employment opportunities.

A lot of the attention in real estate has been towards distressed sales the last few years. While foreclosures and short-sales never really ruined the market in Fairfax County, some local areas did see values decimated by distressed sales after the 2006 real estate crash.

The worst seem to be behind us in Fairfax County. In 2009 a whole 34% of sales in Fairfax County were distressed. The percentage has decreased ever since and this year it seems that we may end up with a proportion of distressed sales at half that (about 17%.)

More regular sales, strong labor market and low inventory would normally mean rising prices. While prices are inching upwards in many places, reluctant and conservative appraisers are keeping a lid on rapid appreciation in many communities. Some will say that is a good thing after what happened during the boom years.

If you are looking to buy a foreclosure there are still plenty of great deals to be had. Please call us at 703 560-3424 anytime to talk or contact us.

Gates of McLean for Sale – prices are going up!

The sales prices at the Gates of McLean continued their upward trend in 2012. With the new Silver Line McLean Metro stop scheduled for completion in December 2013 the community desirability is great and the community remains very popular with homeowners and investors. One of our 1 bedroom listings at the Gates of McLean had 6 offers – almost all above asking price and 5 out of 6 were by investors. It ended up selling for above the asking price. It is clear that people believe there will be price and rent appreciation in the Tysons Corner area with all the new development (apart from the metro station.)

There were 24 homes sold in 2010 and 22 homes sold in 2011. In 2012 24 homes sold. The average sales price increased by $5,000-$10,000 for most of the models.

The number of distressed sales has kept pretty stable. In 2009 about 40% of the sales were foreclosures or short sales. In 2012 we are down to less than half of that (4 out of the 24 sales were a short sale or a foreclosure.)

If you have negative equity in your home and you are considering a short-sale or a foreclosure (or you just don’t know what to do), please contact us. We have successfully closed short sales at the Gates of McLean and will be happy to talk to you.

To get a better understanding of the overall price trend at the Gates of McLean we will first look at some specific models. The Danielle model (1br), Dalton model (2br) and the Christine model (3br) are three popular models that usually have at least a few sales every year. I put together a graph showing sales of those models below.

Prices held up well in 2012. The average sales price trended downwards until the 2008-2009 – then the prices stabilized and started to increase slowly again. Based on our experience at the Gates of McLean, multiple offers is commonplace and getting a high offer price is not usually a problem. The things holding back the prices are conservative appraisals and the limited financing options available.

The limited financing is caused by the high investor ratio at the Gates of McLean. Due to the number of rental units, finding a lender to finance a purchase often proves challenging (with many demanding a 20% or higher down payment.) Requiring that amount of down payment eliminates a lot of first time purchasers that would normally use FHA loans(that requires only a 3.5% down payment.)

The number of units renting each year is on the rise still. in 2012 there were 67 homes rented out trhough the MRIS. That is 20% more units than in 2011. Despite the increased supply the rents keep increasing. As mentioned earlier, the high proportion of rentals makes it difficult to obtain financing for owner occupants with anything less than a 20% downpayment.

No homes are currently available for sale at the Gates of McLean. This changes daily, so click here to see what is currently available at the Gates of McLean for sale.

Gates of McLean is a great neighborhood and the prices are on the rise. With the metro coming soon, the Gates of McLean is just getting better and better! If you would like to discuss selling or purchasing at the Gates of McLean please give us a call at 703 560-3424 or contact us.

Jones Branch Connector Planned for Scotts Crossing

If you live at the Gates of McLean you may or may not have heard of the new road ramp being planned right outside the community. The ramp will connect Scotts Crossing Road to Jones Branch on the other side of I-495. The connector will create an alternative route across the beltway and also connect to the new HOT lanes.

The new access point will help traffic flow in the area and also create alternate access to the three new developments planned in the immediate area (not including the one by Safeway at the Commons.)

The new ramp will also impact the main and side entry to the Gates of McLean. The ramp will be built in front of building 1521 approximately where Scotts Crossing currently is and will gradually increase in height to 21 feet at the west end of the building (about the third floor.) There is a setback from the building for landscaping and a fire lane – but the view and noise levels will be impacted (see below.)

Cross section of ramp at west side of building 1521 at the Gates of McLean. There will obviously be cars on the ramp to the left - they somehow forgot to put that on there... From handout at Jones Branch Connector Gates of McLean Residents Meeting 02/22/2012.

Fairfax County currently has out a “Fairfax County Dept. of Transportation Request for Qualifications for Final Design of The Jones Branch Connector” (wow, that is a mouthful…) Final Design Completion is planned for Fall 2015.  In exisitence already is a “30% plan” that was updated on 1/18/2013.

Walmart Opening in Tysons Corner Soon

As we wrote about last year, Walmart is coming to Tysons West in 2013. It is next to the new metro stop on the Silver Line through Tysons Corner. There is no exact date for the opening of the Walmart -  deliveries for office locations have been indicated to be early 2013 so hopefully by the summer.

The urban style Walmart will be about 78,000 sq/ft.  For comparison – the new “urban style” Target in Merrifield is about 163,000 square feet.  So, this new Walmart is half the size of that Target – not a monstrosity by any measure.

The Walmart is part of Phase 1 of the Tysons West development. The area between the Walmart and Rt-7 has been scheduled to be developed as well as part of a Phase 2/3 development.

Developments that will benefit from this development include Fountains at McLean, Rotonda and Westwood Village. All are great communities – please contact us if you would like more information on any of those.

New Tysons Corner Transportation Taxes

To pay for the extensive walkability upgrades planned in Tysons Corner the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to create a special Transportation Service District last week. It is estimated the new tax will generate $250 million for area improvements over the next 40 years.

As of now, the tax rate is set to take effect in January 2014 and will apply to both residential and commercial property. It has been estimated that the rate may be 6 to 8 cents per $100 assessed value. The tax district will only be for owners of residential and commercial property in the Tysons Corner area (presume the 22102 and 22182 zipcodes.)

There is opposition to the tax, especially from residential residents that believe that either a) all county residents should pay as the improvements will benefit more than just the residents, or b) Residential properties should be exempt.

Fairfax County seems sympathetic to excluding residential from the new tax as the share of revenue that would be generated from residential properties would be small. State law may prohibit such differential treatment of residential vs commercial so a special bill has been proposed that may make an exception in this case.

To me it seems fair to exclude residential homeowners in this case – the commercial landowners will benefit the greatest from the improvements in the heavily developed areas of Tysons Corner. The majority of residential areas in Tysons will see little direct benefit.

Looking to purchase in Tysons Corner? Contact us!

Don’t Wait For Spring To Sell Your Home!

The Tysons Corner(Vienna and McLean) real estate market ended 2012 strongly. While the number of homes being listed remained typical, the number of sales in October and November jumped significantly. The continued availability of low interest rate loans no doubt played a role as did the strong economy in the area.

Looking at the graphs it is obvious that sellers in Tysons Corner prefer to put their homes on the market in March and April. Purchasers seems to feast on those listings and do their closings during the summer.

In general we advice to buy and sell when you are ready. That being said, many will try to use the market trends to their benefit. So, here are some thoughts on using the trends to your advantage.

As a seller, to avoid the March-April rush you could try listing your home in January or February. That way you may take advantage of any pent-up demand from the winter months. Currently homes (and condominiums in particular) in Tysons Corner are selling very well – multiple offers are not uncommon. The main thing holding prices at the current levels would be the conservative  appraisals.

Alternatively you could try listing in May. Your new listing will look attractive with few days on the market as compared to homes having been listed in March and April. You may also take advantage of the high number of closing sales in the June-August time frame.

If you have a choice – when should you purchase a home? You could try to get an early start on the large inventory being listed in March and April instead of joining the crowd purchasing in May-July.

Every situation is different and the above may or may not apply to you. We know the Tysons Corner area and we would love to talk to you about how we can help you buy or sell a home.

Gates of McLean For Sale and Sales for Winter 2012

The sales activity at the Gates of McLean is continuing at a greater pace in 2012 than in 2011. With the new Silver Line McLean Metro stop “almost there” the community remains very popular with homeowners and investors alike. On one of our 1 bedroom listings at the Gates of McLean we had 6 offers – almost all above asking price and 5 out of 6 were by investors. It is clear that people believe there will be price and rent appreciation in the Tysons Corner area with the new development.

There were 24 homes sold in 2010 and 22 homes sold in 2011. In 2012 24 homes have sold so far this year. The average sales price has increased by about $5,000-$10,000 for each of the models this year – so we are looking at a slow and steady comeback!

 The number of distressed sales has kept pretty stable. In 2009 about 40% of the sales were foreclosures or short sales. In 2012 we are down to less than half of that.

If you have negative equity in your home and you are considering a short-sale or a foreclosure (or you just don’t know what to do), please contact us. We have successfully closed short sales at the Gates of McLean and will be happy to talk to you.

To get a better understanding of the overall price trend at the Gates of McLean we will first look at some specific models. The Danielle model (1br), Dalton model (2br) and the Christine model (3br) are three popular models that usually have at least a few sales every year. I put together a graph showing sales of those models below.

Prices held up well in 2012. The average sales price trended downwards until the 2008-2009 time frame. Since then the prices have stabilized and started to increase slowly again. Based on our experience in the community, multiple offers is commonplace and getting a high offer price is not usually a problem. The things holding back the prices are conservative appraisals and the limited financing options available.

The limited financing is caused by the high investor ratio at the Gates of McLean. Due to the number of rental units, finding a lender to finance a purchase often proves challenging (with many demanding a 20% or higher down payment.) Requiring that amount of down payment eliminates a lot of first time purchasers that would normally use FHA loans(that requires only a 3.5% down payment.)

No homes are currently available for sale at the Gates of McLean. This changes daily, so click here to see what is currently available at the Gates of McLean for sale.