Dulles Metro (Subway) Update - November 2013 Update

The big question for homebuyers is when interest rates will begin to rise to the 5% mark. The effect of a rise in mortgage rates could be a dramatic increase in the monthly mortgage payment when purchasing a home. In an article last week, HousingWire quoted two different sources regarding this issue.

Most experts are projecting that rates will rise when the Fed decides to taper the purchase of bonds which has acted as a stimulus to the housing market by keeping long term mortgage rates at historic lows.

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Contact Marilee Murphy today for all of your home buying, or selling, luxury homes or new construction needs.  I am dedicated to making sure you have a smooth transition from start to finish. Use my website to search available properties in Loudoun County located, in Northern Virginia, specifically the towns of Sterling/Potomac Falls, Ashburn, Leesburg, Chantilly, and Aldie as well as properties in Fairfax County, and Prince William County areas. You can also sign up to receive free listing updates by email

Based on prices, mortgage rates and soaring rents, there may have never been a better time in real estate history to purchase a home than right now. Here are five major reasons purchasers should consider buying:

Supply Is Shrinking

With inventory declining in many regions, finding a home of your dreams may become more difficult going forward. There are buyers in more and more markets surprised that there is no longer a large assortment of houses to choose from. The best homes in the best locations sell first. Don’t miss the opportunity to get that ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ buy.

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Contact Marilee Murphy today for all of your home buying, or selling, luxury homes or new construction needs.  I am dedicated to making sure you have a smooth transition from start to finish. Use my website to search available properties in Loudoun County located, in Northern Virginia, specifically the towns of Sterling/Potomac Falls, Ashburn, Leesburg, Chantilly, and Aldie as well as properties in Fairfax County, and Prince William County areas. You can also sign up to receive free listing updates by email

Gifted and talented students at Mercer Middle School in Aldie were treated to a special presentation Nov. 13 when Dr. Bulent Atalay came to visit the school.
Atalay is a world-renowned author, scientist and artist, specializing in physics.

A native of Turkey, he holds a bachelor's, two master's degrees and a doctorate from Georgetown University, Princeton, University of California-Berkeley and Oxford University.

He has also studied at the Center for Advanced Study at Princeton, where such famous scientists as Albert Einstein, Kurt Godel and Noam Chomsky studied.

Atalay is a physics professor at the University of Mary Washington and an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia.

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Contact Marilee Murphy today for all of your home buying, or selling, luxury homes or new construction needs.  I am dedicated to making sure you have a smooth transition from start to finish. Use my website to search available properties in Loudoun County located, in Northern Virginia, specifically the towns of Sterling/Potomac Falls, Ashburn, Leesburg, Chantilly, and Aldie as well as properties in Fairfax County, and Prince William County areas. You can also sign up to receive free listing updates by email

Check out the October 2013 Northern Virginia Update Video

Throughout the home buying process there can be various hurdles to jump over to make sure everything goes smoothly.  In today’s culture, we are finding more often unmarried couples are purchasing their first homes together.  Although this sounds like a great plan, there are precautions that need to be taken in order to make sure the process is done right.  Doing your research beforehand can alleviate any headaches. From a financial sense it is more difficult to break the co-ownership of a house, than it is to get a divorce, if things turn sour.

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Phase Two to be Completed in July 2018

Extension to serve Reston Town Cener, Herndon, Dulles, Ashburn

By Marcia McAllister

It will be next spring before you see heavy construction on the second phase of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. However, Capital Rail Constructors (CRC), the Phase 2 design-build contractor, has been given the green light to start necessary preliminary work. On July 8th, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority issued a Notice to Proceed to CRC, a joint venture of Clark Construction Group and Kiewit Infrastructure South.

"This is an important milestone," said Jack Potter, Airports Authority president and CEO. "The Notice to Proceed allows CRC to get to work, making rail to Dulles a reality. This means crews will soon be in the field surveying, performing site preparations, and making geological assessments while they finalize permits and other design work. Actual construction work using heavy equipment and cranes will likely begin in spring of 2014."

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Metrorail Station near The Galleria and Tysons Corner

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Many sellers feel that the spring is the best time to place their home on the market as buyer demand increases at that time of year. However, the fall and winter have their own advantages. Here are five reasons to sell now.

Only Serious Buyers Are Out

At this time of year, only those purchasers who are serious about buying a home will be in the marketplace. You and your family will not be bothered

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Check out events and news at the beautiful community of Willowsford located in Ashburn and Aldie.

Find out what's happening in the community of Brambleton in Ashburn, VA.

Our One Loudoun community is certainly growing quickly, and according to Forbes.com, so is our entire county!  A recently published article highlighted 10 different counties that are the fastest growing in America. Loudoun County ranks second, posting a 7.87 percent population growth rate from 2010 to 2012. Additionally, the number of jobs has grown 83 percent over the past decade alone.  Also a notable mention, the article points out that Loudoun County is “one of the nation’s wealthiest counties.” 

One Loudoun is a great example of the healthy growth in our county.  We expertly utilize the land to incorporate everything our residents might ever need or want: a range of restaurants, a variety of retail shops, thousands of square footage of available office space, an elementary school, a grocery store, all types of entertainment, newly built homes, and so much more.  Smart-growth communities are also praised for the environmentally friendly design, conveniently planned neighborhoods, and happy and healthy residents. 

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For over 30 years, The Fresh Market has brought you the freshest, most delicious quality products from around the corner and around the globe. You'll notice we're intentionally very different from the common, giant, industrialized grocery stores; we're a more personalized, open-air, customer centric experience inspired by a European style market. Simply put, we're something fresh and our philosophy about how you shop and buy fresh meats, seafood, fruits and vegetables is in perfect harmony with that of a community like One Loudoun.

Read more about Fresh Market

The first holiday tree lighting ceremony at Loudoun County’s newest retail community, Downtown One Loudoun, is expected to attract hundreds of community residents to a traditional holiday celebration with a modern twist.

The event will be held on Saturday, December 7 from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm and is free to the public. There will be a variety of food and beverage samplings made available by the Downtown.

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We have often talked about the difference between COST and PRICE. As a seller, you will be most concerned about ‘short term price’ – where home values are headed over the next six months. As a buyer, you must be concerned not about price but instead about the ‘long term cost’ of the home. Let us explain.

Last month, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the National Association of Realtors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all projected that mortgage interest rates will increase by about one full percentage over the next twelve months. We also know that many experts are calling for home prices to also increase over the next year.

What Does This Mean to a Buyer?

One of the first stages during the hunt for a new home is crunching the numbers to figure out your budget. And no matter how high or low that budget may be, prospective homebuyers should take into consideration the cost of insuring the home.

It's easy to overlook insurance, especially since you may be more worried about the number of bedrooms, the school district, or the size of the backyard. But before you can close on the purchase, your lender will require you to line up homeowners insurance. You may be hit with some sticker shock if the home you are about to buy ends up being a high risk- and therefore high cost- home to insure.

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey. Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.

The results of their latest survey

Importance of Curb Appeal by The KCM Crew

Contact Marilee Murphy today for all of your home buying, or selling, luxury homes or new construction needs.  I am dedicated to making sure you have a smooth transition from start to finish. Use my website to search available properties in Loudoun County located, in Northern Virginia, specifically the towns of Sterling/Potomac Falls, Ashburn, Leesburg, Chantilly, and Aldie as well as properties in Fairfax County, and Prince William County areas. You can also sign up to receive free listing updates by email