I am thrilled, and honored to be the listing agent of a 1980 Deckhouse in Great Falls, Virginia.

What is a Deckhouse, you might well ask. Trust me when I say that it's a movement, as well as a wonderful product, a home which will stand for ages and which, thanks to its post and beam construction, allows the homeowner to play about with internal wall locations as they are essentially non load bearing. 

My colleague, Andrea and I made an on the fly video walk around of the property, 9560 Edmonston Drive, Great Falls, VA 22066, which can be watched below:

I'm planning more open houses of this Deckhouse so let me know if you wish to be alerted to upcoming dates, subject of course to the property remaining unsold!

​One of the hottest trends in luxury real estate is selling your home at auction. Once considered "the sale of last resort", going to auction has for some now become the preferred mode  of selling high end real estate.

What's Driving This Trend?
There are a number of different factors coming together to drive this shift in the marketplace.

Limited Liquidity

• In the luxury space, the pool of potential buyers can be very limited in a specific geography. There just aren't enough qualified buyers to set a fair market price.
• Properties in this category are often difficult to value. It's hard to put a price tag on "historical significance" (e.g. George Washington slept here) or architectural uniqueness. Likewise, when it comes to a truly unique location where property rarely becomes available, it's extremely difficult to quantify "priceless".
• Price has little impact on demand and competing buyers don't often appear at the same time.
• Price reductions do nothing but undermine the value of the property and cause potential buyers to sit back and wait.
  
  

Days On Market are Costly
Obviously the carrying costs of a luxury home can be extremely expensive. Landscaping, pool maintenance, snow removal, home maintenance, etc. adds up month after month. But even worse, every day that passes without a sale tends to lower the ultimate sales price.

The Transparency of the Internet
In the old days, if a home didn't sell after a few months, the agent might take the property off the market for some period of time and then reintroduce the property as "Just Listed!". With sites like Zillow and others, all of this activity is visible to buyers and simply adds to a perception of desperation.

Advantages of the Auction Process
The auction process directly addresses the problems described above and offers many advantages compared to the traditional real estate transaction model, including:

​Speed
The Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions process is designed to expedite the sales process. Properties typically sell within a fixed timeframe, usually around 30 days, which allows sellers to achieve a quick sale and avoid the delays associated with traditional listings.

Transparency
Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions provide a transparent and competitive bidding platform. All interested buyers participate in a live auction, ensuring a fair and open process. Sellers can see real-time bidding activity and final sale prices, which enhances transparency and trust.

Global Reach
Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions has a vast network of high-net-worth buyers and agents worldwide. This global reach allows sellers to access a larger pool of potential buyers, increasing the chances of achieving a higher sale price for their property.

Customized Marketing
Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions creates tailored marketing campaigns for each property, leveraging their expertise in luxury real estate marketing. These campaigns utilize various channels, such as digital advertising, social media, and direct outreach, to generate maximum exposure and attract qualified buyers.

Targeted Auction Date
Sellers have the flexibility to choose the auction date that best aligns with their timeline and goals. This targeted approach helps create a sense of urgency among buyers, increasing the likelihood of competitive bidding and a successful sale.

Non-Contingent Sales
Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions typically operate on a non-contingent basis, meaning buyers are responsible for conducting their due diligence before the auction. This reduces the risk of deals falling through due to financing or inspection contingencies.

Market Validation
The auction process provides market validation for a property’s value. By attracting multiple bidders, the auction reveals the true market demand and allows the property to sell at its highest achievable price.

Sotheby's Concierge Auctions
Of course, if you're familiar with the history of the Sotheby's brand, you know that Sotheby's began as an auction house in London in 1744 and for more than two centuries has been regarded as "the ultimate arbiter of value" when it comes to fine art, jewelry, cars, yachts, wine and more.

In 1976, Sotheby's International Realty was founded as an extension of the Sotheby's brand. However it wasn't until November of 2021 when Sotheby's International Realty acquired Concierge Auctions that Sotheby's became the global leader in luxury real estate auction sales. Sotheby's International Realty has now fully integrated the capabilities of Concierge Auctions and can offer this type of transaction in parallel with the traditional real estate sales process.

Designed As a Luxury Experience
From beginning to end, the Sotheby's Concierge Auction experience has been engineered as a luxury experience. You set the timeline for selling your property. You set a reserve price, the minimum amount that a seller will accept as the winning bid. After that, the Sotheby's Concierge Auctions team goes to work to market your property to their global network of buyers. As the seller, you are informed and consulted at every step of the process. And, you still have me as your local Realtor® to help manage the process and coordinate any details.

Listen to a few client testimonials in the following video and I think you'll quickly understand how comprehensive and satisfying the level of service will be.​

Is Sotheby's Concierge Auctions Right for You?
The auction process is a fantastic option for some sellers. Depending on your property and your situation, it may be the absolute best choice. As a Sotheby's Concierge Auctions Diamond Agent, I am uniquely qualified to answer your questions and help  you choose between an auction and a traditional sale. If you would like to discuss the possibilities, please contact me for a free and confidential consultation.

There's no doubt about it, the real estate environment is in a different place today compared with a year ago, but is it a bad thing?

If we take a look back, the dreaded COVID years of 2020 and 2021 created an unexpected boom in our industry, to put it lightly. In early 2020, when masks and lockdowns and latex gloves and shoe covers were de rigueur, we all assumed that our businesses would come to a grinding halt, however, in Virginia, real estate brokers were deemed an essential service and we were allowed to continue to do business. 

Gradually, but pretty quickly, we saw folks packing up and moving away from big cities in search of open space and fresh air. As a consequence, property prices began to escalate while mortgage rates tumbled to record lows in the 2.5% region.

It seemed that these increasing home prices did not deter buyers, in fact for two years, most properties listed at then realistic prices went under contract within days, and following multiple offers with increasingly escalating offer prices but with correspondingly fewer, if any, contingencies.

We have all witnessed the significant rise in inflation which has caused mortgage rates to more than double in just a few months, meaning that buyers' affordability has been dramatically reduced. So here we are, with a market which has corrected, yet prices are still far higher than they were two years ago, and inventory remains very low. 

For buyers and their agents, respite is here because they are no longer fighting to win with their offers against multiple other offers, waiving important contingencies such as home inspections and well and septic.

The panel below, courtesy of the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS®, provides a nice snapshot as to the market position in Loudoun County as compared to one year ago, however it's particularly helpful to look back three years, to 2019 (second panel below), to get a more realistic comparison. What we see here is a drastically lower inventory (660 listings -v- 935 in September 2019), and a median price today of $639,995 compared with $495,000 in September 2019.

This lack of inventory in a market where there is a high demand for property is fuelling a continued healthy market, but with rates at around the 7% mark, we are seeing more negotiation, longer time on market and, happily, we are back to a position where buyers are able to properly do their due diligence with home inspections, well and septic inspections and retaining financing and appraisal contingencies.

The Dulles Area Association of Realtors® monthly market indicators report for April 2022 is now available, providing both a snapshot and further in depth detail in to our local real estate market.

Active listings are up significantly year over year (YoY) at 370 listings, or 33.6% more YoY, nevertheless new listings are 8% lower than the same time last year. The median list price continues to increase, 16.6% for the year to a new level of $682,496, however the median sold price is now at $720,000 compared to $610,000 in April 2021, based on 27.6% fewer sales YoY.

​The latest Home Demand Index for the Washington DC region, researched and prepared by Bright MLS, can also be reviewed here.

The local, and in fact national real estate market has seen record upward movement in sales prices and volume since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our market here in Loudoun County and Northern Virginia is no exception as recently released quarter 4 2021 versus the same period in 2020 reveal.

As we have all seen, inflation is at a 40 year high at 7.5% which is expected to decrease later in the year, but it's certainly a concern.

Interest rates are on the rise and indicators are that mortgage rates could be 1% higher than they are today by summer. That's relatively significant but would still be in the 4's, well well below what we were used to not so many years ago.

For the full report, click or press HERE and as always, don't hesitate to give me a call, text or email for more information.

Peter

n.b. thanks to the Dulles Area Association of Realtors, of which I am a board member, for these well researched figures