Since record keeping began in 1963, sales of newly built homes dropped at the steepest pace throughout the country over the course of 2007. New home sales numbers totaled 774,000, which was 26% less than 2006 new home sales according to the Commerce Department. The 9.6-month supply of new home inventory for sale is a record. Since the July 2005 peak, the sales of new construction homes have plummeted 57%, and permits for construction have dropped nearly 50%. New home builders are rapidly cutting production which will help reduce the housing supply throughout the nation.

The DC Metro area is one of top hot spots for new home builders because of the high paying salaries and strong job growth. So what does this mean for home buyers? Well, for starters, the glut of new construction homes in Northern Virginia and Washington DC are breaking builders’ banks. It is a prime opportunity for savvy home buyers to scoop up good real estate at highly incentivized (apparently not a word according to spell checker) prices! Deals that were unheard of for the past 5 years (such as 6% home buyer incentives and 2 BR+den new condos in Arlington VA for $339k) are now available in highly desirable areas of Northern Virginia real estate. Many people remain pessimistic about the current DC real estate market, but the way I see it… how does the saying go- “one man’s loss is another man’s gain”… builders are hurting, so shoot ‘em while their wounded! (sorry builders). Just like foreclosures- if the seller is distressed, the buyer will be blessed (I made that one up ;).

Right now, I am informing my buyer clients that it is a great time to look for new construction homes and foreclosure homes (I’m a Northern Virginia & DC Realtor in case you didn’t know). With the builders’ incentives and highly motivated bank foreclosures, I’ve seen some pretty good deals recently that a lot of resale homes cannot compete with. Unless a seller purchased their home prior to 2003, they most likely won’t be selling their home for a profit (after selling costs) and will have less room to negotiate. That being said, if you are looking to buy a home and would like a professional to help you locate some good new home construction or foreclosure deals, give us a call at 1-888-998-ZILL (9455) or sign up for our free foreclosure list at the top of the page.

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Many home buyers are not only unfamiliar with the concept of real estate commission rebates in the DC Metro area, but remain unsure whether these home buyer rebates (sometimes called “credits” or “refunds” or “cash back”) are even legal in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC at all. I’ve run across the same questions time and time again from first time home buyers on this topic…Where does the money come from? How does a Realtor commission rebate work? Will a real estate agent refund effect the price I pay for the home?

Now for the answers -

1. YES! Real estate agent rebates are legal in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.
2. The money comes from the seller’s agent or builder, who offers the buyer’s agent a predetermined commission amount (typically 3%), agreed upon with the seller at the time the property is listed. The buyer’s agent rebates a portion of their commission to their client (home buyer).
3. Home buyer rebates DO NOT effect the price of the home- since the amount of the commission offered to the buyer’s agent is predetermined prior to listing the home, it doesn’t effect the home price if you buy with or without an agent, the seller’s agent or builder simply pockets the entire commission (many times 6%). On top of that, the home buyer will not have a DC Metro area real estate agent’s representation looking out for their best interests!

Still don’t believe me?? Well, check it out for yourself, Home buyer rebates ARE legal in VA, MD & DC according to the DOJ. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently launched a new website on competition in the real estate industry. The Antitrust Division of the DOJ promotes and protects the competitive process through the enforcement of antitrust laws. Simply put–they prohibit price-fixing. The site was created to educate consumers about the benefits that commission competition brings to the consumer of real estate services. The chart below from the DOJ website shows the median commission paid by consumers per home between 1998-2007.

Simply put, buyer agent rebates make buying a home more affordable… period. Most people generally think of a rebate as a cheap, minuscule amount or barely even worth the effort of mailing out. However, when talking about Realtor rebates in real estate, we’re talking thousands of dollars back to you, the home buyer. Especially since the average home in the Northern Virginia/DC Metro area is ballparking (apparently not a real word) around $500,000, a new home rebate at this price with HomeZill would equate to $10,000! Definitely NOT chump change…

I ran across an interesting piece on Cash Back Rebates to Home Buyers, posted by a real estate agent in Illinois. BTW- Illinois is among the nation’s 37 Realtor rebate friendly states.

Thinking about buying a home in the DC Metro area soon? Call 1-888-998-9455 to receive up to a 2% cash back Realtor rebate when buying any new home construction or resale home in Northern Virginia, Maryland or Washington DC. Whether you’re a first time home buyer or seasoned real estate investor, you deserve a rebate for doing your share of the leg-work! To learn more about our 2% HomeZill.com Realtor rebate program, click here.

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I came across this Centex Homes-Year End Saving Event ad in an email I received today. The sale includes brand new featured homes and town homes all over Northern Virginia with low prices and big incentives. You will typically find the best builder deals towards the end of the year (when builder’s need to hit certain numbers for their books), and when a community has only a few homes left. This particular sale includes homes in Ashburn, Gainesville, Lansdowne, Bristow, Stafford and Stephens City.

Call us at 888-998-9455 for any questions or if you would like to schedule an appointment to tour a community. You will receive an additional 2% cash back from your HomeZill agent if you decide to purchase any of these homes- but you have to call us before you visit to receive the extra 2% incentive! See info on the specific homes here.

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This year, VHDA’s leading lender partners helped provide affordable housing to over 4,175 Virginians in every corner of the state.

Suntrust Mortgage Inc.

National City Mortgage

C&F Mortgage Corporation

TowneBank Mortgage

Prosperity Mortgage Company

BB&T

Wachovia Mortgage Corporation

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Resource Mortgage

Home Loan Corporation

Once you have been pre-approved by a lender in Northern Virginia, you can begin searching for new homes or MLS homes. When you are ready to take a look, contact us for the showing instructions and receive a Realtor rebate up to 2% cash back to home buyers for any real estate in Northern Virginia! Don’t miss out on this great first time home buyer incentive!

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Nothing gets on my nerves more than when a friend finds a great deal and doesn’t tell everyone about it until it’s too late. Last week a good friend of mine (maybe not so good anymore) came across an incredible deal. It was a 52” AQUOS LCD Full HD 1080p Slim Line Design television. It was selling for 2 days only at $1,800 and it retails at $3,500. Now the worst part about it is, he said he didn’t tell all of us because he didn’t think anyone would be interested. I don’t know about you, but I like to watch College Football on a big screen TV if I’m not at the game. Needless to say, he’ll never do that again.

If any of you all out there happen to be searching for a home, you probably have seen K.Hovnanian signs on the side of the road. Well if you haven’t, K.Hovnanian is a builder and has quite a few communities in the Northern Virginia area. This past weekend they were doing a promotion called “Deal of the Century.” You’re probably wondering what it entailed. Just think for a second and imagine what kind of a deal a builder could possibly give to call it the “Deal of the Century.” For starters, how about over $100,000 off the sales price? Yeah, that’s no joke. Last weekend for 72 hours only K.Hovnanian was basically handing out homes to people. Now, if I was searching for a home and my Realtor did not tell me about his incredible deal, I would be furious.

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, Beazer Homes has over a dozen communities around the Northern Virginia area and these homes are priced to sell. They are even offering to pay for closing costs! On top of this, with HomeZill, you will save an additional 2% of the sales price as we credit you that amount when you purchase a home with us. On the purchase of a $500,000 home, you will receive a credit of $10,000. There you have it, give us a call (888-998-9455), we’re here to help you save money!

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