Spring time is here! The market in Spotsylvania is very active right now with low priced listings selling super fast, median sales price slightly up over last year at this time, and inventory quickly shrinking! While it appears we have a good amount of listings that came on in March, we are down 29.9% compared to last year for single family homes and down 52.2% for town homes/condos. We are down 4.8% in new listings for the year. In the low price ranges, this means stiff competition for first time home buyers seeking to find that new home in a good location and in good condition. Multiple offers are typical and prices are escalating to win those homes! In higher price ranges, activity is good, days on market have decreased and percent of sales price received at time of offer has increased!

Here are our latest stats for Spotsylvania County:
Spotsylvania County Mar-09 Mar-10 % Change


New listings 272 328 20.60%
Closed Sales 158 153 -3.20%
Pending Sales 201 251 24.40%
Median Sales Price $183,746 $187,550 2.10%
% of Orig Price 88% 94.40% 7.20%
Avg. Days on Market 117 75 -36%
Single family Inv. 853 598 -29.90%
T.Home/Condo Inv. 134 64 -52.20%
Avg. Days on Market 117 75 -36%
Single family Inv.

Remember, there are only 2 days left to write a contract and be eligible for the first time homebuyers’ tax credit and the move-up tax credit! There is still time to find that great house! It is also a great time to list your home (especially if it is a regular sale) as there are many Buyers out there who are looking for that very thing! Happy Spring!

What You Aren't Hearing Every Day!

So I have a couple that has been searching for their new home for the last couple of months. If you listened to the news, you would have no idea that stories like theirs even exist! We have been looking and looking and up until recently we have not found a home that really fits their family or what they really want in a home. I have been very proud of them for not rushing into something that is not right just to meet the tax credit deadline or put their home search behind them.

Three weeks ago I received a heads up from another agent that a flip was getting ready to go back on the market. It sounded perfect for my clients so we ran out right away. It was GREAT and they LOVED it! We put an offer on it only to find out that their lender has a credit overlay and has not lifted their FHA restrictions that FHA itself has. This is a very rare issue so there was no way for us to know this ahead of time. Our only option at that point was to go to another lender. We called two other lenders only to find out that somehow their credit dropped just enough to take them under the qualifying limit. They have continued to pay all of their bills on time, even pay off a little more debt so it was just the luck of the draw that this happened. We were not able to purchase that house and now only have a set period of time to find something else that we can purchase so that the original lender can do the loan by using the original credit report they pulled.

So off we went back to the market to find another home. There is hardly anything on the market in Spotsylvania County under $190,000 that is a regular sale or a foreclosure that does not require us to get a pre-approval with another company. We finally found one, and just went through another multiple offer situation. On the news all you hear is the doom and gloom of the market. You only hear that houses aren't selling. What you don't know is that houses in the first time homebuyer price range are flying off the market on the very day they are listed if they are in good locations and in good condition. They have multiple offers and are escalating in price way over what they can actually appraise for. These are the realities of our local market here. It is way different than what you hear!

So how are my clients doing? They are great and we are going to find that right house for them! It is only a matter of time!

365 Things to Do in Fredericksburg

I am so excited and proud to work at my office right now! My Administrative Manager, Jenny Quinlan, and myself are brainstorming constantly how to offer our clients, Agents and the community more and more information and value driven services. We both grew up in Spotsylvania and really love the place we call home! We have recently created a new blog titled, "365 Things To Do In Fredericksburg"!!!!! Every single day a new post goes up provided by Jenny or one of our Agents on a fabulous thing to try in Fredericksburg or our surrounding area! We live in a history rich environment with so many things to do, both tried and true and new for the young and old, and every age inbetween. We hope you take a look at our blog or become a fan on Facebook! We look forward to continuing to provide you with a wealth of information on real estate and the community in which we live!