Loudoun County Real Estate Statistics and News

42% of Loudoun County Real Estate Sales are Distressed

 I just completed an analysis of the real estate transactions for 2009 for the entire 10th Congressional District. I was asked to do this by one of the candidates that will be running for this seat later in the year, Jeff Barnett. We had a lengthy conversation about the state of the real estate market in Loudoun County as well as other parts of the congressional district. It seems that Loudoun County is a good barometer for this distrct.

With 4767 transactions in 2009, Loudoun County represents about 27% of the market. And with 42% of the transactions being either short sales or foreclosures, this is very close to the 43% distressed sales rate for the district. In 2009, 4605 homes were sold by banks via real estate agents and 3017 homes were sold short by agents in the 10th Congressional District. 

 And there is really no reason to believe these numbers will get any better any time soon. Banks continue to control the flow of properties they are willing to put on the market. And the banks refuse to offer permanent loan modifications to homeowners in any significant amounts. 

In fact, they seem to be trying to prevent loan modifications by telling the Obama administration that the homeowners are not sending in all the information. The truth is probably the banks are telling the homeowners to fax in the documents and then they banks just delete them from the queues. I have had this happen to me many many times and every bank does it.  And it seems no one from the administration is checking to see if what the banks is saying is true.  But then again why would they since Obama was one of the biggest recipients of campaign funding from these very banks.  But I digress.

Here is a link to a breakdown of all the zip codes within the 10th Congressional District.

Download Real Estate Sales Analysis - 10th District

Former Greenvest Land Bought Back for 42 Cents on the Dollar

The finance company that loaned Greenvest $130 Million for the 4 parcels of land in Loudoun County was the highest bidder yesterday during an auction of the property.  The 4 pieces of undeveloped land had a total of 4,123 acres  and each piece was auctioned off separately.  

According to reports, iStar Financial initiated the foreclosure proceedings and was willing to pay as much as $91 Million for the land.  In the end its total bids added up to $69 Million.  With a reported value of $165 Million, this means that no other party, investor or developer, was willing to pay more than 42 cents on the dollar for the land. 

Of course, the "reported" value was an overly optimistic value set by someone who had no intention of buying the property.  Most likely this was the county's assessed value for tax purposes.  The $130 Million loan that Greenvest took out on the property was more than likely based on being able to rezone the land, a plan that was denied by the Loudoun County Supervisors and led directly to the auction.  

iStar will now work to find a developer willing to by the parcels and try to recoup some or all of the $69 Million it has invested in the land.  But in a hostile environment for developers that includes increased proffers, denied requests to rezone, tightened financing options and an overall weak economy, it will be a difficult sell to say the least.  

Largest Private Land Owner in Loudoun County Being Foreclosed

Over 4100 acres of land is going to be auctioned off today at the Leesburg courthouse barring any last minute bankruptcy by the current owner, Greenvest.  Greenvest had tried to rezone much of their holdings to allow 15,000 new homes to be built several years ago but the county denied their request.

The loan on the property is currently $130 Million.  County officials are watching closely to see if the land sells for less than the "market price" of $165 Million because this could have a significant impact on taxes in the near future. 

One of the co-owners of Greenvest, Ahmad Abdul-Baki, was quoted in 2003 when asked about future growth and development trends,  "You have to allow for dips and changes that slow down that equation...Otherwise you are a fool."  How right you were Ahmad.

49% of Completed Home Sales in Loudoun County are Foreclosures or Short Sales

Since June 1, almost 50% of the homes that have been sold and closed in Loudoun County have been REO properties owned by banks or short sales.  Of the 1595 transactions completed, 786 have been distressed properties of one type or another.  Earlier this year foreclosures, short sales and other distressed properties represented around 40% of the total sales. 

Add this post to Google Reader: 

Foreclosed Townhouse in Broadlands Under $300,000

This one car garage townhouse in the Broadlands is a Countrywide owned foreclosure.  It is priced at $299,900.  It has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths with Maple Cabinets and Granite countertops in the kitchen.  This price is new as of yesterday and will not last long.  This is a great deal for a townhouse in the Broadlands.

Loudoun County Foreclosure/REO Listings Set to Jump in January

Several forces have been in place the during the month of December that will more than likely contribute to a considerable increase in the number of foreclosure/REO listings in Loudoun County in January. 

Banks have been working very hard on getting contracts ratified and closed before the end of the year.  All their manpower was spent working during the first two weeks on ratifying contracts and the last two weeks on closing the deals so they can book them in the 4th quarter.  Because of this, they have almost completely neglected new listings and assets.  Come January, they will switch back to getting houses onto the market. 

Many asset managers have taken off one, if not two weeks at the end of the year.  Trying to get them to return a call or an email has been almost impossible. During this past week, they won't even give counter offers on houses that aren't settling this year.  Look for management to light a fire under them to get the files that have been sitting on their desks for months off the books.

Foreclosure listings have steadily increased every month up until December.  All indications are that this upward trend will start again in January and continue for the forseeable future.  Foreclosures and new filings continue to increase at a torrid pace.  The slowdown in December is very temporary.

Loss mitigation cases continue to increase.  This is the first sign of problems with loans.  In the past 2 weeks, I have received 15 new cases that are in various stages of deliquency.  This is twice the number as the previous 3 months.  And the homeowners are no more willing to work with the lenders now than before.  They have pretty much given in to the market conditions and are willing to walk away from their homes.

These four factors will more than likely lead to an increase in inventory, continued suppression of prices and a prolonged decrease in buyer sentiment during the first half of next year. 

Lowest Priced REO/Bank Owned Town Home In Sterling

 

This property is the lowest priced REO/bank owned town home in Sterling, Virginia. It's currently listed for $149K. It's tax assessed value is $256,000.

The kitchen was updated in 2005 including appliances. The bathroom was also recently updated.

This property is a great rental-income investment opportunity due to it's recent updates and location.

For pictures or more information about this or any other property, just let us know.

Listed by RE/MAX Preferred Properties, Inc. - 380 Maple Ave, W #100 Vienna, VA 22180

Ridiculously Low Price - $282,900

This is a great property in the Parkside at Dulles subdivision of Sterling right on the border of Sterling and Herndon.  It has 3 Bedrooms and 3 Full Baths.  It is only 3 years old and is in extremely good shape.  The assessed value of this property is $394,500.  There are several other units in the condominium subdivision but this unit is priced at least $6,000 below all the others.  This unit will be sold very quickly because of the condition and the price.

Brick Front End Unit Townhouse with Granite for $322,900

This end-unit townhouse in Rockhill subdivision of Sterling was just priced by Countrywide for $322,900.  It is priced $12,000 less than the next closest home.  It is in very good condition and very clean.  There are two master suites upstairs and 1 bedroom in the lower level.  The house has a little over 2000 finished square feet.  There is also a nice deck in the fenced back yard.  The assessed value for 2007 was $441,000.  The Rockhill subdivision is right on the border of Fairfax County.  Contact us to get the full listing information or more photos of the interior of the house.