Home buyers beware:

FYI - There are 1,031 homes for sale in Ashburn zips (47 and 48) and approximately 3,800 for sale in all of Loudoun. These are only those on the MLS. there may be others as well.

This represents an enormous increase over the inventory at the same time last year.

 

Where do you think most of these people are moving to, Texas? Whoops, that's Lee's territory.

 

Nope, not anymore, and right now not for the forseeable future. Hey is that a cheer those little faces for Biden and Clinton. ;-) way cool Dutchml

I noticed the same thing on the MLS (surfboarder) btw you have the coolest name around here. Of course I am getting so fat these days I don't even need the board to surf anymore. ha ha ha come to think of it I don't even need my mountain bike anymore I can just roll down the mountain these days.

It may seem cruel to say and I really feel for the people that get hurt in a down real estate market yet a lot of money will be made too. My advice if you don't need to sell right now don't hold on for awhile the market always comes back. If you do need to sell chances are the house you buy will be cheaper too then before, so it is all realitive.

Lee J Buividas

 

I would think the coming metro stop and World Trade Center will cause Ashburn house prices to skyrocket in the future. May be a good idea to weather the downturn and sit on the property if you can.

 

I thought most here knew I was not from the broadlands as I live in the Regency and we built several homes there on the last few lots from a builder that was in trouble at the time and now is making tons of money.

The corner house by the front with the porch around it and I am just going to landscape it as I am going to stay around here for the foreseeable future. Also we built a lot of homes in the farms in the eighties as well as all over Northern VA at that time, then the big recession hit here in the nineties and I moved to California to be film maker as I said previously which turned into beach surf bum and snow ski bum. Ha ha ha now I am becoming just a fat bum ha ha ha
No one here seems to know anything about the big recession and the fall in home prices around here in the nineties, and when I post, it is to inform from my perspective only not to hurt anyone. Correct knowledge is power not in the fantasyland of forever raising home prices with just minor corrections and the nineties around here was anything but that and so was Southern California where I lived at the time.

Anyway the developer of the Regency is a friend of mine as well as other people in my business who think my rants are amusing. ;-)
The pictures in the article are not of my house, but the developers. The article was rewritten by the editor of SPLASH to correct my spelling and grammar (no surprise there ha ha ha) so there are also some minor mistakes in it on content, but nothing too major. That is just one of many articles I have written over the years. ha ha ha

Mr. Linux you found my people on SPLASH ha ha ha I bet you found the article called the "Big Day"
Thank god that is a closed forum for my professional buddies that only use softplan architectural software and are involved in the building business. We are tame over here compared to the SPLASH forum. Ha ha

Or maybe you found an article from SMASH which stands for my kids school in Santa Monica “Santa Monica Alternative School House” which was Santa Monica’s public school for the theater and arts at the time. Or maybe you even found articles from my club out in California also called SMASH3 which stood for Surfing Movies Volleyball Snow Sking Hash House Harriers which is a spin off of the worldwide Hash House Harriers the very famous beer drinking club with a running problem ha ha very well known in our Military by the way. BTW the A in smash is upside down which gives you volleyball.

I would not call it market research though more from the school of hard knocks. ;-) Believe me anything that can go wrong has happened to me especially in the building business. ;-)

Lee J Buividas

 

Homer you hit the nail on the head and that is one reason I am not selling at the moment or last summer when prices peaked for the moment and my kids are another reason for not selling. Also I am starting a new business outside of the building business, could be the next national company maybe even global, we will just have to wait and see.

Btw way since some of you all will probably drive by, don't be shy, stop in and have a beer. ;-)

Lee J Buividas

 

Lee just wants to add to his base of "friends" that he can quote on these boards...

 

I don't know why, but when I read lee's post, his voice in my head is the one from the Dukes of Hazzard narrator.

 

Lee-
If builders find ways to build a house for less money, do you really believe they will sell it for less? Get real!!!! They will make the most money they can on the house, which is controlled by supply and demand. If the price of a certain size house sells for $500,000, a builder will ask $500,000 whether it cost them $200,000 or $300,000 to build it.

 

vacliff you are not understanding what I am saying of course that is understandable because my wife does not either. ;-)

What I am saying is the builder has many ways to reduce the price of a home and still make money if they need to and of course they will try to squeeze every dime of profit they can. The homeowner, once they buy that home from the builder they have no way of reducing the price they paid and make any money they will lose no matter what.
everybodyb has gotten screwed up in these simple economics during these very unusual market conditions we have seen of late.

If you reread my above post I explain several ways a builder can reduce their prices and still make money and building new models so homeowners can't come back on them from the higher price they may have paid for the home is also another way. Don't forget when you buy a home from a builder you have paid at that moment the highest price the builder can possibly can get for it, so most of the time in a normal market you have no any equity once you purchase your home except your down payment. Builder profits the last few years have been enormous and have a lot of play to come down there if they so choose.

Lee

 

Lee - I may just stop by for that beer someday! I drive by your house fairly often on my way to a friends house just a bit further down Loganwood.

 

Great T8erman I will be looking for you. I wonder who you know down there it is a fun group of people on this street. No matter I will probably know who you know very soon. ha ha Seriously stop in. Also we should meet as well as others here at bungalow billiards in sterling where Sunny from the broadlands will be singing with her DR FU band this saturday. You better be careful T8erman you might become another friend of mine. ha ha

Lee

 

Lee - I actually know quite a few families on your street as my family has attended quite a few of the "fun group" functions. We have a standing invite to go swimming at my friends house with the Big pool (hint).

It is also nice to know one of Loudoun's finest too!

 

T8erman they are wonderful people as well as all the others.
I will be seeing you soon new pal!!!

Lee

 

That depends on what kind of beer you have Lee!

 

That depends when you come over and what beer my kids may have stolen that day out of the fridge!!!!

Lee

 

Lee,
I know about the recession and home values in the 90's. I lived here and bought and sold two homes here during that time. I bought my first home in 1985 when interest rates were about 14% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. As the rates dropped to 8 or 9% in the late 80's there was a boom similar to what we saw here in the past few years. When the recession came in the 90's things slowed way down and a lot of builders who already had projects in the pipeline got hammered. Since they already bought the land and started building they had no choice but to build out their developments and get them sold even if it meant selling at a reduced profit or a even at a loss. Some small independents even went to jail for insurance fraud when their developments "accidentally" caught fire. It wasn't so much the drop in prices (about 10-12%) it was the fact that the market slowed and there weren't enough buyers. The builders had money tied up and were paying interest on loans so they panicked. Since you are in the business I am sure you hear a lot of stories from other builders who were around at that time. I think that has influenced your perception of what it was really like. The market affects builders and homeowners differently. Builders are more susceptible to market fluctuations because they have to sell regardless of the market. A builder does not have the luxury of actually living in the investment for as long as they want, reaping the tax advantages then selling when it's right for them to do so. Sure a house bought last spring will sell for less today but honestly, how many people sell after only one year. Most people are in their homes long enough to weather any market fluctuations and the vast majority of them reap a nice return.