Braemar Property Value Report: March-April 2012 (Heritage Series)

Braemar Property Value Report:  March-April 2012 (Heritage Series)

As I type this I know there is plenty of splashing and giggling going on at the Braemar pools that opened for the 2012 summer season today.  The kids get so excited about the pool, and I know their parents do too.  It’s wonderful to live in a community like Braemar that offers two community pools to their residents.  There are also plenty of home styles to choose from for buyers looking to purchase in Braemar.  This Braemar Property Value Report will focus on the Heritage Series sales that took place in March and April.  If you don’t already know, Heritage Series homes in Braemar are mid-sized single family homes with attached two car garages and include the following floor plans:  Exeter, Yardley, Zachery and Waverly.

During March and April, there were three Heritage Series homes that sold.  Two Yardleys and one Exeter.  One of the Yardleys was a three bedroom model and the Exeter that sold was also a three bedroom model.  The high sold price was from a four bedroom, three finished level Yardley that sold for $374,000.  The low sold price was the Exeter, with an unfinished basement, that sold for $330,000.  This brings our average property value for Heritage Series homes to $354,667.  That’s a 9% drop in value since last report, but over an 8% increase in value since last year.

While this report indicates a rather large drop for Heritage home owners, it’s not as bad as you may think.  Size, condition and location in the community still matter when pricing a home in the Heritage Series.  It is legit that these homes have hit their maximum price and started to fall off as we enter late spring.  What I like to refer to as “Crate & Barrel Yardleys” where nothing is out-of-place and everything is upgraded, down to the switch plate covers, seemed to top out in the $450,000 to $460,000 range.  Why?  The larger homes (Arista Series) are in that price range and don’t seem to be seeing the wild appreciate the Heritage Series saw.  That means only one thing.  The Arista needed to climb in value, or the Heritage values were going to fall.  We are witnessing the back to reality deflation of the Heritage Series.  Over all these homes have seen stable prices for a year and that’s incredible.

If you placed your Heritage Series home on the market and priced it to current market conditions, you could expect it to be under contract in an average time span of just about a month.  You could also expect a buyer to ask for about 1.5% of the sales price in closing cost help.

The next Braemar Property Value Report will be out in July and will detail sales from the months of May and June.  We’ll be keeping a close eye on the Heritage values.  Of course, if you want to know your specific home’s value in today’s marketplace, call me for your free market analysis.  I’ve been a full-time real estate agent and Braemar home owner since 2005.  In 2007, I also become a Short Sale Agent.  No matter what your equity position, I can get you the most money in the shortest amount of time when you sell your Braemar home.  No one knows Braemar better!

Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker-Licensed in VA, Long & Foster REALTORS®

703-402-0037, ChrisAnn@LNF.com, www.NVARealEstate.net, www.SellingBraemar.com

Statistics compiled by Chris Ann Cleland, using the MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information Systems.)

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You can see the most recent property values in Braemar by clicking the links below:

Arista Series (large single family homes built by Brookfield Homes)

Carrige Series (smaller single family homes with detached garages, Brookfield Homes)

Courtyard Series (executive style home, five to a private driveway, Brookfield Homes)

Braemar Townhouse Report (no garage and garage townhouses)