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Tag: residential real estate

Real Estate 2023: LISA CHANDLER

In March, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Rose & Womble Realty announced their merger. The combined agency has more than 750 agents and represents over 16% of the region’s market share, according to its chairman, J. Van Rose Jr.

After an early childhood spent moving around the globe with her Air Force officer father, Chandler landed in Norfolk in 1973. In 1991, she joined the realty company started by her mother-in-law, Nancy Chandler, serving as its executive vice president. After Rose & Womble and Nancy Chandler Associates merged in July 2019, Chandler served as principal broker of Rose & Womble Chandler Property Management.

With a self-proclaimed passion for volunteering, Chandler chairs the Old Dominion University Real Estate Foundation’s board. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Virginia Arts Festival’s board of directors and the Real Estate Information Network’s 2023 Property Management Advisory Committee.

Chandler graduated in 1976 from Old Dominion University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental health.

Real Estate 2023: ALBERT G. ‘BEAU’ VAN METRE JR.

Van Metre’s late father founded his family real estate development company in 1955, partnering with B.B. Wills to build the first Van Metre Homes in Burke, a Fairfax County suburb. Like Northern Virginia, Van Metre Cos. has grown exponentially in the decades since.

Beau Van Metre joined the company in 1963. In 2002, he was appointed vice chairman and he became chairman in 2008. Ashburn-based Van Metre Homes, one of the company’s subsidiaries, was named Pro Builder magazine’s 2022 Builder of the Year. Van Metre Cos. owns and manages more than 1 million square feet of commercial space in Northern Virginia, and it has a design and build group and a mortgage division.

He also is a trustee for the Van Metre Family Trusts and runs the Van Metre Family Foundation with his sister, Alison Van Metre Paley. Their family foundation has made more than $4.4 million in donations to charitable organizations ranging from the Children’s National Health System to Loudoun County-based Women Giving Back.

Well-known in the yacht racing world for winning the 1976 Newport Bermuda Race with his father, Beau Van Metre also won last year’s New York Yacht Club Regatta.

Real Estate 2023: PATRICK BAIN

Promoted to president and CEO in March, Bain first joined The Long & Foster Cos. in 2010 as president of its insurance and home warranty businesses. In 2018, he took on oversight of Long & Foster Property Management and Long & Foster Rental Service Center. He rebranded the property management business to HomeServices Property Management last year, and in 2021, Bain started Insight Home Inspections, which launched in early 2022.

Bain earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Allegheny College. Prior to joining Long & Foster, Bain served as vice president and general manager for Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna Insurance Services. He founded internet insurance startup InsRateDirect.com in 1998 and was managing partner at the McDonnell Bain Group. He negotiated both companies’ sales to larger insurance companies in 2002.

Berkshire Hathaway affiliate HomeServices of America acquired Long & Foster in 2017. Founded in 1968, Long & Foster has more than 200 offices and more than 9,000 real estate agents. Its family of real estate companies includes Long & Foster Real Estate, Prosperity Home Mortgage, Long & Foster Insurance and Urban Pace. In July, the company moved its headquarters within Chantilly, citing the new building’s “open and collaborative workspaces.”

Real Estate 2023: JACKIE THIEL

Thiel was appointed president of Long & Foster Real Estate in March, replacing Larry “Boomer” Foster. She has been with the company since 1998 and was executive vice president of general brokerage operations before her promotion. Thiel oversees the company’s more than 200 offices and 9,000 agents across eight states and Washington, D.C.

During her 25 years with the company, Thiel has held various positions, including vice president and regional manager for the Southwest Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads regions; vice president of regional development; and vice president of career development. She started her career at Bowers Nelms & Fonville, a Richmond real estate company purchased by Long & Foster in 1998.

Long & Foster Real Estate is owned by The Long & Foster Cos., a subsidiary of HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. In 2022, Long & Foster Real Estate sold $27 billion in homes.

Thiel has a bachelor’s degree in education from Franciscan University and studied education psychology at the University of Oregon.

Real Estate 2023: MARK C. LOWHAM

Lowham has led the Washington, D.C.-region arm of the luxury real estate company since 2011. His office handled the record $48 million sale of the state’s most expensive home, Fairfax County estate River View, to former Washington Commanders owners Dan and Tanya Snyder in November 2021. (According to news reports, the couple has moved to England, but there’s no word on whether they’re looking to sell River View.)

In fiscal 2022, the more than 500 agents under Lowham closed on $4.7 billion in sales, and Lowham was named to the 2023 Swanepoel Power 200 list of the nation’s top residential real estate brokerage executives.

Lowham serves on Bright MLS’ board and was previously executive vice president of West*Group. He is a board member for Washington’s Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, as well as a Washington region board member for Teach for America.

Real Estate 2023: RYAN T. McLAUGHLIN

One of the largest regional Realtor associations in the United States, the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors represents approximately 13,000 real estate professionals transacting more than $18 billion in sales annually in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

McLaughlin became its CEO in 2015, after serving as CEO of Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors in Pennsylvania. A graduate of East Stroudsburg University and the State University of New York at Albany, McLaughlin also completed an executive education program, Authentic Leader Development, at Harvard Business School.

The 102-year-old NVAR represents sales agents, brokers, property managers and other real estate professionals in Arlington and Fairfax counties, Fairfax city, Alexandria and Falls Church. Aside from offering continuing education for members, the organization provides reports on home sales in the region and residential sales forecasts. In June, NVAR reported it expected the housing market in Northern Virginia to remain a sellers’ market for the rest of the year, and mortgage rates to remain higher than pre-pandemic rates.

HOW I UNWIND FROM WORK: Spending time with my family, going for a run or playing guitar

Low inventory, high interest rates strap Va. housing market

Homebuyers in Virginia are continuing to feel the strain of low inventory and high interest rates.

The number of active listings on the market is shrinking, and fewer new listings are coming on the market. Despite a brief uptick in inventory at the beginning the year, about 67% of the state’s counties and cities had fewer active listings on the market at the end of July compared with a year ago, with Northern Virginia continuing to have the largest reduction in supply, according to a Virginia Realtors report released Aug. 22.

There were 16,508 active listings across the state in July, 3,881 fewer listings than the same month in 2022, a 19% drop. A total 10,948 new listings came onto the market last month, about 2,800 fewer new listings than the same period in 2022, a 20.3% decrease.

“Inventory conditions are worsening in most local markets in Virginia,” Virginia Realtors President Katrina M. Smith said in a statement. “With mortgage rates at a 20-year high and a low supply of homes on the market to move into, some would-be sellers are choosing not to list their homes. However, it is a seller’s market, and most who do sell their homes are receiving multiple offers.”

A total 8,985 homes sold in Virginia in July, a 20.8% decrease from July 2022, with 2,361 fewer sales. However, low inventory and strong demand have continued to drive up the price for homes; the statewide median sales price rose $15,000 from July 2022 to $400,000 in July 2023, an increase of nearly 4%. The median home price in Virginia is now more than $100,000 higher than it was at this time five years ago.

In a statement, Virginia Realtors Chief Economist Ryan Price called the state’s housing market “slow but competitive.”  Sellers are averaging more than three offers for their listings, which signals the market remains competitive, he said.

“These competitive conditions are driving up home prices and will likely continue to be a factor into the fall market and beyond,” Price said.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Meanwhile, Northern Virginia continues to feel the slump when compared to the national market. While national home sales dropped 16.6% in July compared to the previous year, Northern Virginia sales fell 20%, and were down 23.5% compared to June. At the same time, prices increased 1.9% nationally while Northern Virginia prices surged 6.3%, an increase from the previous year but a drop from the prior month, according to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.

“July in the [Washington], D.C. area is a traditionally slower month for home sales as people vacation and Congress is out of session,” NVAR Board Member Rachel Carter, Alexandria branch vice president for Coldwell Banker Realty, said in a statement. “Even though sales are lower, people still looking to buy should expect higher prices since supply and demand are still not in sync.”

Mortgage rates topping 7% contributed to the tight supply of housing while pushing prices higher, according to NVAR. Nationally, the median home price in July was $406,700, an increase of 1.9% from July 2022. In Northern Virginia, the median sold price for a home in July 2023 was $691,000, a 6.3% increase from July 2022. However, NVAR said, homebuyers “got a break” from June 2023 as prices declined 3.8% from that period.

Across the country, unsold inventory sits at a 3.3 month supply, up from 3.1 months in June and 3.2 months in July 2022. In Northern Virginia, supply was at one month, down from 1.1 months in June and 1.23 months in July 2022., though it still remained close to the five-year average of 1.2 months of supply. The average days on the market in July 2023 was 15 days, no change from July 2022, and two days longer than June 2023.

“Our region’s sales dropped more than the country as a whole, but we continue to experience higher price escalation than the overall market since our area has very low inventory,” NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin said in a statement. “Factors for both are continued low inventory and high mortgage rates, which are affecting first time homebuyers in particular since they are competing with repeat homebuyers who have the advantage of utilizing their equity gains.”

Cash payments, propelled by high interest rates and buyers tapping into proceeds from selling their current properties, remained a popular way to buy a home. Nationally, all-cash sales accounted for 26% of transactions in July, up from 24% in July 2022. In Northern Virginia, cash sales accounted for 19% of all sales in July, up from 15% in July 2022.

NVAR reports on home sales for Fairfax and Arlington counties as well as the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.

According to an Aug. 11 report from NVAR:

  • The number of closed sales in July 2023 was 1,444 units, a 20% drop compared with July 2022 and a 23.5% compared to June 2023.
  • The sold volume in July 2023 totaled more than $1.15 billion, a 16.5% decrease compared with July 2022 and a 23.9% decrease compared to June 2023.
  • The average sold price for a home in July 2023 was $806,574, an increase of 4.9% from July 2022 and down 0.8% from June 2023.
  • The number of active listings in July 2023 was 1,445, down from June 2023, when there were 1,567 listings.
  • The total number of new pending sales in July 2023 was 1,507, a 4.4% decrease month over month.

AREP, partners acquire Ashburn townhome community

CityHouse Ashburn Station, a 200-unit luxury townhome community in Loudoun County, has sold for $120 million.

New York-based Rithm Capital, McLean-based American Real Estate Partners and New Jersey-based GreenBarn Investment Group closed the purchase from Dream Finders Homes on Monday.

AREP and GreenBarn are co-general partners for the project. Rithm is providing equity capital, in part through its partnership with GreenBarn, and providing debt financing through its Genesis subsidiary.

Phase one of CityHouse Ashburn Station will be available to rent in mid-August. The team will deliver the remaining phases over the next 15 months.

“With this acquisition, our partnership is taking an opportunistic investment approach to redefine and elevate the [build-to-rent] sector, one that encapsulates AREP’s signature strategy of creating truly unique properties in vibrant and emerging locations and our agility to invest in high-impact niches of the real estate market,” Brian Katz, AREP co-founder and president, said in a statement.

CityHouse Ashburn Station is located near the Silver Line’s Ashburn Station Metro stop.  Unit sizes will average 2,000 square feet and offer attached garages, large island kitchens, full-size side-by-side washer and dryers and smart home functionality with resident amenities including sports courts, communal outdoor green spaces, pet-friendly facilities and indoor/outdoor entertainment areas.

Tight housing markets continue in NoVa, Hampton Roads

Home sales in Northern Virginia in June were up 3.6% from the previous month, but still down 16% compared with the same period a year ago, according to a report from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors released Wednesday.

“Many factors” are pointing to the region’s market normalizing when comparing it to five-year trends, the report says.

“Homes continue to sell quickly, making sellers happy, and supply was up slightly compared to last month, which gave buyers a few more choices,” NVAR Board Member Casey Sutherland, a principal with Alexandria-based Rosemont Real Estate LLC, said in a statement. “The housing market is more rational than from the past few years, but many potential sellers remain sidelined, holding on to their better mortgage rates.”

The average home spent 13 days on the market in June, up 8.3% compared with June 2022 and consistent with May 2023. That’s getting closer to the five-year average for June at 15 days on the market. This is another sign that the market is moving back to more of a balanced state for buyers, NVAR says, though with sales still the below the 5-year average, the market remains competitive.

Inventory is also trending backward to the five-year average. The supply of inventory in June was 1.1 months, down 1.5% from June 2022, but close to the five-year June average of 1.2 months. That’s an increase over May 2023, when supply was 0.98 months of inventory.

Home prices continued to increase from June 2022 but leveled off from May 2023. The median sold price for a home in June 2023 was $717,999, up 4.9% from June 2022 and up 0.4% compared with May 2023.

“Our market has traditionally had less supply and stronger demand compared to many other housing markets, largely due to our healthy job market,” NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin said in a statement. “We expect demand will remain strong, favoring sellers but with a larger dose of normal that will give buyers a little more say.”

NVAR in June released a mid-year update to its NVAR Region 2023 Residential Real Estate Market Forecast. The forecast noted that a continued lack of housing inventory, soft demand creating a sellers’ market and favorable economic conditions tinged by mounting risks from inflation and other factors will lead to tighter inventories, sales declines and stable prices through the remainder of the year in the Northern Virginia market.

NVAR reports on home sales for Fairfax and Arlington counties as well as the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton. According to NVAR:

  • The number of closed sales in June 2023 was 1,887 units.
  • The sold volume in June 2023 totaled more than $1.5 billion, a 12.8% decrease compared to June 2022 and up 6% compared to May 2023.
  • The average sales price in June 2023 was $813,101, an increase of 3% from June 2022 and an increase of 1.5% from May of 2023.
  • The number of active listings in June 2023 was 1,567, down 32.2% from June 2022 and below the five-year June average of 2,244 active listings.
  • The total number of pending sales in June 2023 was 1,522, a 25.9% decrease compared to June 2022.

HAMPTON ROADS

While homes are still selling quickly in Northern Virginia, median sales prices (MSP) in Hampton Roads set a record for the second straight month in June, according to the Real Estate Information Network.

In June, the MSP for homes across Hampton Roads reached $345,000, up from May’s MSP of $335,000. 

June also saw increases in active listings and settled sales from the previous month, but active listings and settled sales are down significantly compared to June 2022.

“Seasonally, the month-over-month increases were expected, but they’re still important,” REIN Board of Directors President Jon McAchran, principal broker and co-founder of Virginia Beach-based AtCoastal Realty, said in a statement. “However, when we compare active listings and settled sales to last year, we’re still well below 2022 numbers, and inventory continues to be lower than where we need it to be for a healthy, balanced market.” 

The months’ supply of inventory (MSI) for June was 1.47, a month-over-month increase of 1.37 in May, and year-over-year from 1.33 in June 2022.

“The MSI is up mainly due to slowing sales, which in itself is being impacted by a lack of inventory, causing price increases,” McAchran said.

REIN is the multiple listing service in Hampton Roads, with coverage from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach and extending to the North Carolina boarder. It includes more than 9,000 members and licensees, including brokers, agents, appraisers and other real estate professionals. 

According to June data from REIN:

  • Active residential listings for June were 3,366, a 4.6% increase from 3,217 in May, but down 18.1% year-over-year from 4,114 in June 2022. 
  • Pending sales stood at 2,517. That’s down 11.8% from 2,856 in May and down 15.5% from 3,074 year-over-year. 
  • Settled sales during the month were 2,667. That’s a 6.6% increase from May, but down 19.7% from 3,320 in June 2022. 
  • Median days on market for residential listings was 11, the same as in May and an increase from nine days in June 2022.
  • Residential new construction sales were 257, up from 252 in May and down from 292 from June 2022. 

Arlington residents sue over ‘missing middle’ zoning

Ten Arlington County residents filed a lawsuit against the county in April that claims Arlington’s new “missing middle” zoning ordinance was passed in March without proper notice and violates Virginia law.

“Missing middle” refers to the range of options that fall between affordable housing and single-family homes, including duplexes and other higher-density residences. On March 22, with an aim of providing more housing options, the Arlington County Board unanimously approved the plan, ending single-family-only zoning and allowing up to a sixplex in some areas. The vote drew close to 200 residents speaking for and against it.

“We are part of a dynamic, vibrant community in Arlington. … That is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a damn good thing,” Arlington Board Chairman Christian Dorsey said after the vote, which followed three years of work. “Certainly, it’s our responsibility to think about how we accommodate [growth].”

In April, the average Arlington home price was $837,632, according to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.

The 10 plaintiffs suing the board and planning commission say the vote came without enough explanation, was “unlawful and rushed,” and would create “drastically” higher density in lower-density neighborhoods. Moreover, the lawsuit claims, the missing middle zoning amendment “increases density without promoting goals … such as affordability or homeownership by diverse families and incomes.”

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Gifford R. Hampshire, a partner with Fairfax-based Blankingship & Keith PC, declined to comment on behalf of the plaintiffs. The county also declined comment.

However, the plaintiffs’ views don’t represent those of all Arlington stakeholders. Ashley Goff, who lives in the county’s Green Valley neighborhood and is a leader with Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE), advocated for the zoning change and defends the decision as transparent.

She says residents now have expanded housing choices, adding that some homeowners started calling the county before the plan took effect July 1, expressing interest in demolishing their single-family homes to build duplexes or triplexes. The county’s housing department would not confirm details, saying only that it has “received inquiries” from interested property owners.

Eric Berkey, a member of Arlington’s Citizens Advisory Commission on Housing, which backed the amendment, says high housing costs have far-reaching consequences for residents and is a systemic problem. “The fundamental question is who gets to live in a neighborhood. … What makes a community?”