Braemar Property Value Report: January-February 2023 (Heritage Series)
The odd numbered months are always the busiest for this Braemar Real Estate Agent. Those are the months I compile the majority of my Braemar market reports. Today, the focus is on the Heritage Series homes in our neighborhood. Heritage homes are the mid-sized single family homes, built by Brookfield Homes in our neighborhood. They have two car attached garages and include the following floor plans: Exeter, Yardley, Zachery (a.k.a. Zurich) & Waverly. The homes built by Coscan (before Brookfield Homes took them over) in Braemar North Gate are also included in this group, as they are similar in size.
During the reporting period of January and February 2023, there were no Heritage home sales to report. This is only the third time this has happened since I started authoring these reports in 2005. The first time was January and February 2008. The second time was November and December 2010. Every other reporting period has had at least one sale to report. There is usually always something going on in our market. Thankfully, we are not a spring-only market.
Despite the lack of recent sales, the opportunity to look at trends still exists as the months of January and February 2022 drop off the year’s worth of sales I track and updated average and median values are run.
Starting with the sold price column, both six month values are below their corresponding twelve month values. This was the case last report as well. If you click that link and look at the report for November and December, you will see the gap between the six and twelve month value sets was much larger. The good news this report, even with no sales to report, is that the gap is narrowing between the six and twelve month sold prices.
Seller subsidy (closing cost help to buyers) also shows both six month values higher than their respective twelve month values. These numbers are also larger than they were last report. Not surprising at all given that we are looking back in time. Two thirds of the way through 2022 is when mortgage interest rates more than doubled from where they had started that year. With values steady, this impacted affordability for buyers. Many had to ask for seller subsidy to assist with rate buy downs to keep shopping in the same price points. Believe it or not, mortgage interest rates have a much larger affect on affordability than prices. The good news is that interest rates did back down from their high of 2022 and buyers have settled into the new normal of rates in the sixes and sevens.
Days on market shows that it took longer to go under contract in both six month values compared to their twelve month counterparts. When mortgage interest rates rose, buyer behavior changed. Gone was the frenzy to get under contract and offer way above list. Buyers were in the mode to deliberate and go in with a well thought out offer. This appears to be changing.
January started off with a lot of buyer demand and extremely limited inventory. Sometime in mid-February, buyer behavior started to mimic what we saw in 2020 and 2021. Multiple offers in a matter of days, above asking price and with minimal or no contingencies. If you thought you missed the best market to sell, turns out, you have another chance.
If you placed your Braemar Heritage home on the market, priced to current conditions, you could expect it to be under contract in a week or two. You should also not be surprised by seller subsidy requests, but they are avoidable. All the best offer terms come to sellers who have priced right, prepared their homes for market and hired an agent that professionally marketed the home. When buyers are excited about a property, no matter the price range, they compete. Market conditions alone (lots of buyers and not enough homes) are not something to be relied on solely for best results.
The next Braemar Property Value Report will be out in May. At any time, when you want to know what your Braemar home is worth in the current market, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and schedule a free consultation. Getting Braemar sellers the top of the market is my mission and it always starts with a friendly conversation. Since 2005, No One Knows Braemar Better!
Chris Ann Cleland
Associate Broker, Licensed in VA
Long & Foster Real Estate
703-402-0037, ChrisAnn@LNF.com
www.SellingBraemar.com
www.UncompromisingValues.com
www.ChrisAnnCleland.com
Selling Braemar 