The Koitz Group's Blog: Bethesda Real Estate

Everyone who has ever sold a house has a story about something that went wrong just as the moving trucks were pulling up.  There’s the hot water heater that chose that day to burst or the garage door spring that broke overnight, or the power failure that shut down all the banks or the snowstorm that kept the movers away…the list is probably endless.  But I think I discovered a new one and the (easy) solution is worth sharing.

As many of you know, I sold my own residence this summer (real estate agents should be forced to buy, sell and move every few years just to remind them of how stressful and tiring it can be!!).  We were fortunate enough to work with lovely buyers and a very professional and delightful buyers’ agent.  The day of settlement, the buyers…

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The Bethesda Luxury Home Summer Sales Report

This market report draws on data from every area in Bethesda.  Normally I'd take data from a much smaller geogrphical pool (mircro-markets) because, as I've pointed out in previous posts about micro-niches, you can’t talk about the "Washington DC area market", or the "DC Metropolitan market", or the "Bethesda MD real estate" market or, or even the Downtown Bethesda market.  Instead, you have to analyze prices on almost a almost a block-by-block basis, and consider not only location, but also product.  But sometimes it's fun to take larger geographical areas and break down data by product or price-point.  And despite this "anti-micromarket" theme, there's always something to learn.

Luxury Homes in Bethesda…

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The most recent edition of Money Magazine ranks Bethesda as one of the top 25 earning towns in the United States.  Although not a surprise to those of us who live and work here, it’s always nice to get this recognition.  The article cites some of the top employers in the area and also gives the community kudos for its “lively arts and culture scene.” 

 

Contributing Blogger - Gretchen Koitz

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When it comes to condos in the Greater Bethesda area (and most of DC Metro area for that matter), it seems as though developers are missing out on the “out”.  Huh?  What I mean is that they aren’t paying enough attention to outside spaces – they have interior square footage “tunnel vision”.

More and more new buildings are being constructed in Bethesda and beyond with little, if any, balcony or terrace space…and rooftop space (except perhaps very small, communal areas) are almost non-existent.  Compare this to New York City, where there appears to be a move afoot to create condos with Zen gardens.  Perhaps it’s the popularity of the “green” movement that’s prompting these NY developers, but no matter why it’s happening, this trend needs to move south (in…

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If you’re a home seller in this current market, you may find yourself in a position of having to make a price “correction” (that’s realtors’ lingo for “reduction”) if your property doesn’t sell in a reasonable amount of time.  But, how do you know when to make that reduction…and how much to reduce?

The answer lies in knowing what’s happening around you and, to a certain extent, in personal motivation.  As many of you know, I am currently selling my own home.  This is something that real estate agents should have to do every once in a while…just to keep us humble and more empathetic.  Today, we took a big bite of the bullet and reduced our asking price by about 6%...this, after setting an initial asking price (about a month ago) that was already about 6%…

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In a post last week, I made a prediction about a home in Bethesda that I had shown…the one where there were seven groups of people in a one hour time span. I went out on a limb and said that, based on the activity that I observed, it would be under contract by the end of the week. I was wrong…it’s still available.

So, what does that say (other than the obvious, which is that I’m not a perfect predictor of market activity)? It looks like what’s happening (at least in the Bethesda area real estate market) is that buyers are out again, but they’re not feeling any sense of urgency. They’re taking their time…and perhaps waiting either for prices to drop or for interest rates to drop. In the case of this particular house, priced at just over $1 million, the… Read Full Post

| Bethesda Real Estate Sales Report (20817 Zip Code) |

A series of reports that looks into the Washington DC area real estate market through examining micro-markets. This market report centers on data from the northwest Bethesda area (zip code 20817) in January 2007 and January 2008. This affluent and large enclave of homes in Bethesda includes a diverse variety of more “modest” homes and luxury estates. Some of the more recognized subdivisions in this area include Bannockburn, Burning Tree, and Avenel. Here's a review and breakdown:

Bethesda Maryland Single Family Homes (Zip Code 20817)

    Jan. 2007 Jan. 2008 Number of Homes Sold 25 … Read Full Post

So maybe I just want to prove myself right…but less than a week after Super Bowl (and that was an amazing Super Bowl!!), the real estate market in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area seems to be picking up. Regular readers will already know about my theory about “Super Bowl Sunday to Mother’s Day.” Just a quick recap: I have seen evidence over past years that this time period defines our busiest market.

And, here we are…into the very beginning of that market and I have to tell you what happened to me today. I had an appointment to show a Bethesda property at 11am this morning. Because I wanted to drive by a couple of new listings, I got to the house a little early. As I sat and waited for my clients, three couples (with agents) went thru the… Read Full Post