More Americans Chose to Own a Home Than Rent in Q1

According to the latest report from the US Census Bureau, more Americans chose purchasing a home over signing a lease to rent in the first quarter of 2017. This marks the first time since 2006 that the number of new homeowner households outpaced the number of new renter households.

Of the 1.22 million new households that were formed in the first quarter, 854,000 were new-owner households making the jump straight to homeownership rather than renting first.

Read more here. 

5 Reasons to Hire a Real Estate Professional When Buying or Selling!

Whether you are buying or selling a home it can be quite an adventurous journey, which is why you need an experienced real estate professional to guide you on the path to your ultimate goal. In this world of instant gratification and internet searches, many sellers think that they can For Sale by Owner or FSBO.

The 5 reasons you NEED a real estate professional in your corner haven’t changed, but have rather been strengthened by the projections of higher mortgage interest rates & home prices as the market continues to pick up steam.

Read more here.

Selling Your Home? Is Your Listing ‘Pet-Friendly’?

One of the many benefits of owning your own home is the freedom to find your ‘furever’ friend. By pointing out the aspects of your home that make it ‘pet-friendly’ in your listing, you’ll attract these buyers rather than alienate the 61% of American households that have a pet!

If you are one of the many homeowners looking to list your home for sale, how do you stand out to the millions of pet parents searching for their dream homes?

Whether a dog person, a cat person, or someone who prefers the company of another pet species, 99% of pet owners say that they consider their animal to be family. When finding a home, 95% of animal owners believe it is important that a housing community allows animals.

Read more here. 

Renters, Listen Up. You Can Save Money by Buying!

Looking to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (703) 636-3588 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

5 Reasons to Buy Rather than Rent in Washington, D.C. area  

I am often asked whether someone should rent or buy when they move here to the Washington, D.C. area. My answer is always to tell people that purchasing a home is the best option, especially if you will be here for more than 3 or 4 years. I have 5 great reasons why it's more beneficial to purchase rather than to rent.

1. Mortgages are cheap: Interest rates are historically low right now, and even with the fluctuations in the market they have remained very, very affordable. Instead of pouring money into a rental property, why don't you put it towards a long term investment like a home?

2. You can Live the Way You Want: When you own your home, you will not need permission to have pets, remodel, or repaint your property. You can live the way that you like, and this is important to us as realtors because we like to help you achieve your goals.

3. You can Build good Credit: When you rent, the only information that gets reported to a crediting agency is if you missed a payment or not. If you're looking to build your credit, then renting will only allow your score to stagnate or drop even further. Buying a home will help you bolster your credit.

4. You can Build Equity: Paying your mortgage is like paying into your savings account for long-term equity. Home values go up and down, but around here in the Washington, D.C. area, home values have increased 3-4% every year, so this is a good area to purchase in.

5. Tax Advantages: The primary advantage here is that you get to write off the mortgage interest. You would have to talk to an accountant to get all the details, but the tax benefits more than offset what you would be paying in rent.

Be sure to check out this article that further proves my point: http://money.cnn.com/gallery/real_estate/2014/03/03/buy-vs-rent/8.html

It is 34% cheaper to buy in Washington, D.C. than to rent, so this statistic alone should help to convince you!

Also, don't forget to contact me with any questions, concerns, or comments you might have about real estate in the Washington, D.C. area. I am always here to help you!

Find Out What You Need to Know About Tax Assessments

Looking to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (703) 636-3588 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Explaining County Tax Assessments

I'm certainly glad that spring is here in Fairfax County, but that also means that tax season is here. While it's not fun paying taxes, you should know that these payments go towards funding all of the community services that we love and need most like schools, street maintenance, and having firefighters and policemen.

So, what are Tax Assessments?

These are assessments carried out on your home by a county assessor to gauge what you should be paying in property taxes. The value of your home will be used to determine your property taxes owed on it, which is calculated by the tax rate.

Here in Fairfax, these tax assessments have been:

   - 5.8% higher for single family homes
   - 8.4% higher for town homes.
   - 10.5% higher for condos.
   - Tax rates are only allowed to rise a certain amount over a certain period of time, so don't worry if you think your taxes are high this year, they should be around the same amount in coming years.

Click here to find out more information regarding tax assessments in the Virginia area!

What does this mean for you?
This means that you may be paying more in taxes, or it means that you might not be experiencing any increase in taxes, it all depends on your tax base. Also, keep in mind that a tax assessment does not correlate to a true market value for your home. Sometimes assessments are only carried out every few years, so do not rely on a value from a tax assessment to determine the market value of your home.

Whether you're buying or selling a home in Fairfax county, please contact me because I am your #1 resource for real estate. The spring market is here and things are certainly warming up, so don't miss out on all the action!