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Recent Articles

Location, Population and Projection

by Jim Stakem 2/22/2010

There has been a simple, easy to follow “rule” for my entire Real Estate career, Location Location Location! It is an easy way to emphasize that the single most important consideration is location. This has been true and will be more so in the future, however things are no longer as they were in the past. We have benefited

A Difficult Start

by Jim Stakem 2/18/2010

I can only hope that January is not an indication of what's to come for the rest of 2010. It was the weakest month in my survey since January 2008! Let's take a look at the numbers (remember that my survery consists of the offices and Realtors located in Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling and Dulles). We had 290 sales with an average sales price of $323,000 this year. This compares to 320 sales and an average sales price of $454,000 (this was early in the price decline) in 2008! Although I expected the the drop in sales price, we are painfully aware of that, the declining transaction numbers are a shock. If these numbers do not improve we will continue to see seriously eroding market values of our homes.

Stakem Report – Going Green!

by Jim Stakem 2/16/2010

For those readers who regularly receive the Stakem Report in the mail, we will be discontinuing that service in an effort to be more Eco-friendly. We will continue to mail to the media and anyone else who specifically requests that service. If you wish a paper copy please call 703 786 1532 or e-mail jim@stakem.us. You can also find The Stakem Report on the web at stakemreport.com. This includes more information and is updated regularly.

The Year Ahead!

by Jim Stakem 2/15/2010

It looks like we are going to have another difficult year in Real Estate. There are so many variables that could go wrong and any one of them will cause major problems for us. If we have more problems with the banks we will see a greater tightening of credit, making it harder to sell properties. The FED is backing away from purchasing

Look out and be prepared!

by Jim Stakem 1/26/2010

If you have a mortgage commonly referred to as “Alt-A”, you may have a problem in the near future. Many of these loans had features which will cause financial hardship for the homeowner. They are generally adjustable loans which were

Are you in Distress?

by Jim Stakem 1/14/2010

If you are one of the millions of homeowners whose adjustable rate mortgages are about to be adjusted you may have a problem. Many of those adjustments are going to make your payment unaffordable. If that is the case take action now to avoid as much pain as possi

The year in review

by Jim Stakem 1/11/2010

Although I am a month early, the story of 2009 is very clear. We began 2009 in utter chaos, sales prices were rapidly declining and home prices were falling sharply as well. It was a very unsettling time for everyone in the residential Real Estate business, the worst market I have seen in my career of over 25 years! As the year progressed w

A warning about short sales!

by Jim Stakem 12/8/2009

Short sales are a great tool to be used in case of extreme financial distress to ease the burden on both the seller and mortgage company. It is very apparent that the current volume of these sales as well as the banks' inability to keep up with the

The hard truth about pricing!

by Jim Stakem 12/1/2009

If you are thinking about selling your home there is a little known concept that needs to be taken into consideration - the “Velocity of Sales”. As homes sell they are used as comparables for appraisal purposes. The most recent “comparable sale” for your home is the most important

Should I buy now?

by Jim Stakem 11/23/2009

In my opinion the values of homes in Northern Virginia and especially in Loudoun County are as low as they are likely to go. When you combine the values with the exceptional interest rates

What's ahead for Loudoun?

by Jim Stakem 10/18/2009

Residential
We have one of the strongest residential markets in the country and it will only grow stronger. All of the elements are in place for a rebound in sales volume and prices! We have far more buyers than sellers and good properties fly off the market. There are only two problems. Prices are flat and very few people want to sell! How can this be? We all know what ha