Single family home sales in McLean for the first half of 2010 were very strong.  In fact, the 25 median days on the market in January-June 2010 were the shortest compared to the first half of 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. 

The median list price ($949,950) and median sold price ($901,500) also rebounded over the first half of 2009, where both the median list and median sold prices dropped into the mid $800,000s.  The 218 homes sold from January through June 2010 was also on the rise after dropping in the first half of 2008 to 182 and the first half of last year to 191.

All and all the data suggests that in McLean at least, we've seemed to hit bottom and are now leveling off when it comes t...

In June, townhouses in McLean only stayed on the market for twenty days, the fewest days of four of the previous five Junes.  Only June 2007 had fewer days on the market when townhouses remained on the market for 18 days.  The median list price ($685,000) and median sold price ($630,000) rebounded significantly in June 2010 over the previous June.  

On the flip side, only 7 townhouses changed hands in June 2010.  This is almost half the number that sold in June 2009, and is tied for the fewest of any of the five Junes.  With the short days on the market in June 2010, one might think it had to do with a low inventory but I don't believe this is the case.  July 2010's townhouse figures wil...

Single family home sales in McLean strongly rebounded in June 2010 compared to June 2009, posting a higher median sold price, and a significantly lower days on the market.  Single family home sales returned to their previous levels,which even includes the height of the market in 2006.

Sixty single family homes traded hands last month, which is in line with the previous Junes and significantly more than the low point of the market in June 2008, when only 47 sold.  June 2010's 30 days on the market is the lowest than any June going back to 2006.  Last month's median list price ($1,044,00) and median sold price ($1,010,750) are down slightly from the height of the June markets in 2006 and 2...

The McLean Citizens Association (MCA), in preparation for testimony to the Board of Supervisors on the Tysons Corner plan, has put forth several changes it would like to see.  According to the Vienna Connection, MCA has a number of concerns with the Tysons proposal, "including a lack of planning for parks and athletic fields and who will assume costs for the new infrastructure...Another major concern from the MCA was the proposed financing for the Tysons Corner development, with taxpayers footing 57 percent of the bill and the land developers paying for 43 percent."

As the Commissioner of McLean's youth football program, I too am concerned about the impact that additional residents wi...

Condos in McLean continued to sell quickly in May with a median days on the market of only 6 days.  Last month's days on the market was far quicker than any other May in the last five years.  Condos have done well this spring in McLean, largely due to their location near Tysons Corner, which is soon to have 4 brand new Metro stops.  In addition, buyers continue to focus on lower end priced properties these days.

The median list price of $263,450 and the median sold price of $262,000 was the lowest in any of the past five Mays.  In May 2006, at the height of the market, the median list and median sold was roughly $100,000 more than May 2006.  Even May 2009 saw median sales and list prices...

What jumps out the most when examining single family home sales in McLean for May 2010 is that only 13 sold.  This is about 1/3 the total that sold in the past four Mays, by far the fewest in the period examined.  The number of single family homes sold in April 2010 was 19, again lower than previous Aprils.

The homes that did sell in May 2010 were the high end ones.  The median list price of $1.625 million and median sold price of nearly $1.6 million were almost double last May's median list and sold, and far outpaced May 2006, the second highest median list and sold in the past five Mays. 

The median days on the market of 63 for last month is fairly typical for these priced homes.  Obv...

Next week, on May 27th, the Fairfax County Planning Commission will conduct its final markup on the proposed Tysons Corner redevelopment plan, a long and tedious process that's included numerous meetings and public hearings.  In its recent meetings, planners grappled with density issues, affordable housing, storm water retention, and other issues.

According to the Great Falls Connection, the group also "reached a tentative conclusion that the grid of streets would, at least initially, have to be planned on a piecemeal basis, as redevelopment proposals came in. Ideally, county staff would work with landowners to come up with an official street grid, district by district, said Planning...

On Tuesday, the Washington Post sponsored a business forum at the Tower Club in Tysons Corner that featured Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, according to the Washington Examiner.  The roundtable looked at the economy in general, President Obama's handling of it, and the impact of the Administration's health care changes.

One of the attendees was Hilton Hotels CEO Christopher Nassetta, who provided an interesting insight as to why the hotel giant decided to move its headquarters from California to Tysons Corner.  According to a bloger who attended the event and wrote about it in his blog, In Tysons Space, when asked why Hilton moved to Tysons Corner, Nassetta cited "4 reasons: 1) cost str...

After campaigning for nearly 8 hours during McLean Day last Saturday, I am pleased to report that I received enough votes to become one of the four newly elected members of the McLean Community Center Governing Board.  This year's election broke records in terms of the turnout, which had largely to do the number of candidates running, a recently implemented absentee ballot option, and the beautiful weather for election day.

There are eleven Governing Board members all together, which includes nine adults and two youth members.  Our first Governing Board meeting will be next week, at which time I'll learn my committee assignments (typically you are on 2). 

I'm excited about being involve...

I can remember a story Tip O'Neill, the former Speaker of the U.S. House and Massachusetts native, used to tell about a lesson he learned from his first campaign.  A neighbor came up to him after an election and said, "Congratulations on your win, Tip...but I just wanted you to know I didn't vote for you."  Tip responded, "Why not?"  And the neighbor responded, "Because you didn't ask me for my vote."

This story underlined Tip's now famous mantra, "All politics is local."  His point being that people want to be asked for their vote, and it shouldn't just be assumed that since you know someone, they'll automatically support you.

Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to ask for your vote.  ...

The expansion plans for Tysons Corner, which include the addition of 4 Metro stops along the future Silver Line, is quite an undertaking.  Roads are critical element in the success or failure of this huge endeavor.  Fairfax County officials have started to examine possible funding mechanisms for road and transit projectts necessary to address the expected growth of Tysons Corner. 

According to the Fairfax Times, the total cost needed for roads and transit is $1.5 billion and will be funded through a variety of public and private sources.  "The initial staff proposal includes a 55 percent public funding share through bonds, taxes and state or federal transportation dollars, and a 45 per...

April's condo market in McLean continued to be one of the strongest in the past five springs.  In April 2010, more condos sold (18) than in any of the previous 5 Aprils. Also, the 29 days on the market, while more than March 2010, were fewer than Aprils in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

April 2010's median list price ($321,950) and median sold price ($320,500) rebounded over April 2009 median list and median sold prices.  They still were not as high as Aprils in 2008, and 2009, and significantly less than the height of the market in April 2006.

With the Metro project chugging along and the planing stage for the Tysons expansion coming to a conclusion, the condo market in McLean should cont...

s I have cautioned before, it can be tough to analyze townhouse sales in McLean for shorter periods of time due to the lack of data points.  There aren't that many townhouse developments here, so in April, for example, there were only five sales.  This is actually one more than last year and in line with four of the past five Aprils.  Only April 2007 was an anomaly when 10 townhouses sold.

For some reason, the median days on the market skyrocketed to 97 in April 2010, which is roughly twice as long as any of the previous for Aprils.  Since there isn't a similar trend in single family homes, and certainly not with condos, it's difficult to extrapolate any significant conclusions about the...

Only nineteen single family homes changed hands in McLean last month, a significantly lower number than any of the previous five Aprils, and less than half the number that sold in April 2006.  On the flip side, April 2010's median list price and median sold price (both $1.12 million) was more than $300,000 higher than April 2009, and only April 2006 posted higher numbers in this category over the past five years.

At 40 days on the market in April 2010, homes certainly weren't sitting that long.  In fact, the DOMP last month was less than half of what it was in April 2009, and similar to April 2008. 

It appears then that if people wanted to sell their house last month, they could in a re...

Northrop Grumman, a leading defense contracting company, has decided on Northern Virginia as the location for its future headquarters, which is now located in Los Angeles.  Virginia and Maryland went head-to-head to try woo the giant company.  According to the Washington Business Journal, Northrop chose Virginia based "on the selection of buildings" not on Maryland's unfavorable business climate, despite the fact that Maryland put up millions of dollars more in incentives than Virginia.

Notes the Washington Post, approximately 300 Northrop Grumman employees who earn an average of $200,000 annually will be impacted by the move, which will take place in the summer of 2011.  In terms of whe...

This week, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell brought back to life plans to create toll lanes for I-95/395 as a way to ease traffic congestion.  According to the Washington Examiner, the previous Administration put the project on hold last year after Arlington County sued the state over the proposal. 

Specifically, Arlington argued that "the state conducted inadequate environmental study and that low-income and minority residents along the corridor would be harmed by new air pollution."  A U.S. district court agreed ruled this month that the case can move forward.

Undeterred by the lawsuit, McDonnell is pressing forward with the project.  

It seems that more questions than answers were raised at last Wednesday's marathon session regarding the future growth plans for the Tysons Corner area.  The Fairfax Times said that after more than "five years into the redevelopment planning process for Tysons Corner, stakeholders have reached little consensus on how to reach their common goal of a bigger, better community surrounding four planned Metrorail stations." 

According to the Washington Post, nearly all involved at the meeting agreed to the overall concept of turning Tysons Corner into a 24/7 urban area.  But how to get there still remained undecided. One major area concern was "the fate of developers whose property...

As the construction continues to extend the Metro through Tysons Corner, there are additional road changes and detours.  The latest, according to the Washington Post, will impact those who are visiting Tysons Galleria and the Tysons Corner Center.

According to the Post, the "left turn lane from northbound Route 123 to westbound Tysons Boulevard closed Friday.  Drivers will be able to gain access to Tysons Boulevard from southbound Route 123 via a modified right turn lane."  Those coming from the northbound side of Route 123 can gain access via International and Galleria Drive.  The detour is expected to last for 2 months.

All in the name of progress!

When former Washington Post owner John Roll McLean decided to name a Great Falls and Old Dominion Railway stop after himself at what is now the interesection of Old Dominion Drive and Chain Bridge Road, I'm sure he could not have envisioned modern day McLean.  In 1910, the community was founded when the areas of Lewinsville and Langley merged, meaning that this year, 2010, is its 100th Anniversary.

A non-profit organization, McLean & Great Falls Celebrate Virginia, of which I am a Board member, is undertaking the task of hosting a one-day event at the McLean Community Center (MCC) on June 26th to commemorate McLean's Centennial.  As their brochure states, the "event will feature knowledg...

Condo sales for the 1st Quarter 2010 are arguably the best of any of the past 5 1st quarters.  The 15 median days on the market is nearly half the time of the next best 1st Quarter of 28 in 2006, and nearly 4 times less than last year's 1st Quarter.  Also, after dropping to $302,000 in the 1st Quarter 2008, the median sold price rebounded to $316,500 in the 1st Quarter this year.

While prices have not returned to the pre-market crash days, when the median sold price was nearly $400,000 in the 1st Quarter 2006, there is no question that the condo market in McLean is very hot right now.  As I've mentioned in the past, many of these condos are located near Tysons Corner, so the development ...