As one who hopefully is in the home stretch of renovating my home of 20 years and may (or may not) end up putting it on the market in coming weeks, it does seem to be good news that the local real-estate market is not in a panic over rising mortgage-interest rates.
(For those who think the current bump up is catastrophic, a reminder that when I bought Casa de Scotty in 2001, I signed a deal for a mortgage with a 6.5% interest rate and thought nothing of it, as it was in line with historic norms. As rates started going down later in that decade, I refinanced and then paid everything off, which some advisers say is the smartest thing to do and other contend is the dumbest. But I digress…)
Our spring real-estate guides, included with this week’s editions, take a look at the current state of the market. In Northern Virginia, inventory is still the big challenge for prospective buyers. And based on the sales data for single-family homes in Arlington at least, it looks like there may be a ceiling of sorts being reached. The average sales price last month for single-family homes topped $1.3 million, up only slightly from a year ago; at a certain point — let’s all remember 2005 and 2006, people — prices simply outstrip the ability of people to pay for them.
Does that mean a correction is coming? I hear the whispers, although nobody seems to be anticipating a sudden drop, but rather perhaps a gradual cooling.
In any event, I’ve got new bathroom flooring being installed Friday, then windows (after 3-plus-month supply-chain wait) and appliances being schlepped up the steps and installed next week. After that, it’s just cleanup and the renovation that began in winter is about done. Hallelujah!
- Scott McCaffrey