Top Days to List Your Home for Sale

Some Highlights:

• ATTOM Data Solutions conducted an analysis of more than 29 million single family home and condo sales over the past eight years to determine the top days to list your home for sale.
• The top five days to list your home brought in a 10% premium over market value and are all in either May or June!
• “Families start their home search when they know their kids will be out of school and when the weather is ideal for home viewing and moving, giving home sellers an upper hand in price negotiations.”
• There is still time to list your home before these dates pass you by!

All my best,

Myra Spano, REALTOR®

---

About the Author:

Myra Spano is a service and results oriented real estate agent with her client’s goals as top priority.  Myra has over 10 years of experience and is recognized as a top producing agent in her office in Virginia Beach and enjoys working with both buyers and those selling their homes.

For information about purchasing a home in Coastal Virginia, visit her website.  This site is focused on homes available for sale in coastal Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Email, call or text to make an appointment and begin your home search.

If you are considering selling your home in Virginia Beach or one of the surrounding areas, visit the seller’s website to learn what your property is worth.

Myra Spano & Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty is awaiting to provide the real estate guidance you need. Contact us now to make your home dreams come true!

Definition of a Bedroom

REIN has received numerous calls recently asking for clear definition of what constitutes a bedroom. Here are the basics…The current Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code states that a bedroom must have the following:

• An area of at least 70 square feet. If more than
•  one person occupies the room, there must be 50 square feet per occupant.
• Ceiling heights must be no less than 7 feet.
• Two egress points, one of which leads directly outside. The emergency exit (whether a window or door) must have a minimum area of 5.7 sq.ft., or be big enough for a firefighter or other rescue personnel in full gear to be able to carry you to safety. Only exception: if the room is at grade level, the minimum size may be 5 sq.ft.. Emergency exits may measure no more than 44 inches from the floor to the bottom sill.
• In order to be considered a legal bedroom, the room cannot be the only means of acc
  ess or egress to other bedrooms or habitable spaces.
• Ventilation for cooling (i.e. a window or A/C), and a heat source. Portable heaters do not count as an adequate heat source.
• Contrary to popular belief, Virginia does not require a closet in a room to call it a bedroom.

The requirements listed above are mandated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. However, each City and County within the state may have their own requirements, on top of the state’s. So what is allowed as a bedroom in Virginia Beach may differ from what is allowed in Newport News. It is recommended that you check with the local zoning authority of the home in question for a complete definition. 

All my best,

Myra Spano, REALTOR®

---

About the Author:

Myra Spano is a service and results oriented real estate agent with her client’s goals as top priority.  Myra has over 10 years of experience and is recognized as a top producing agent in her office in Virginia Beach and enjoys working with both buyers and those selling their homes.

For information about purchasing a home in Coastal Virginia, visit her website.  This site is focused on homes available for sale in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Email, call or text to make an appointment begin your home search.

If you are considering selling your home in Virginia Beach or one of the surrounding areas, visit the seller’s website to request a Free Market Analysis of your property.

Myra Spano & Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty is awaiting to provide the real estate guidance you need.  Contact us now to make your home dreams come true!

A Positive Month for Hampton Roads Real Estate

A Positive Month for Hampton Roads Real Estate

Virginia Beach, Virginia – July 2014

 

Statistical reports for June 2014 are indicative of a positive real estate market for Hampton Roads. A majority of the metrics that measure the local housing market show clear-cut growth, with residential listings, pending sales and settled sales all experiencing increased year-over-year results. The distressed market continues to improve as well.

 

Residential active listings increased 12.04% when compared to June 2013. Each of the region’s seven major cities (Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach) saw year-over-year increases in the number of homes for sale. Similar to the previous month, Chesapeake and Suffolk saw the largest year-over-year increases at 18.97% and 18.70% respectively. The months’ supply of inventory for residential homes for sale is currently 6.98 months, which is a mild 7.88% increase from June 2013’s 6.47 months.

 

The number of residential pending sales for the region swelled 15.68% from the year prior, with Newport News and Portsmouth contributing impressive increases of 44.70% and 30.63% respectively. In fact, all seven of the region’s major cities saw year-over-year increases in pending sales, a statistic that often influences settled sales over the next 30-90 days.

 

For the first time this year, residential settled sales increased year-over-year. June 2014 saw a 1.22% uptick in the number of residential settled sales when compared to the same period of time in 2013. Portsmouth experienced the most dramatic improvement, with a gain of 30%. Newport News and Norfolk followed with the next highest increases of 6.75% and 5.98% respectively. Conversely, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Hampton suffered declines in their settled sales.

 

The region’s median sales price is currently $217,500, down 3.33% from June 2013. Individually, of the area’s major cities Portsmouth has the lowest median sales price of $134,950 and Chesapeake has the highest at $259,208.

 

Distressed homes, those that are either short sales or foreclosures, had less significance on the region’s market during June 2014. Distressed homes accounted for just 17.36% of all residential active listings for the month, which is down 4.32% from the same period of time last year, and marks the sixth consecutive month they’ve declined. June’s distressed homes accounted for 20.08% of all residential settled sales, a decrease of 2.76% from June 2013, and down 9.41% from the beginning of the year.

---

June 2014 Summary

All Categories	June 2014	June 2013	Percent Change
Total Property Active Listings	15,131	13,581	11.41%
Total Residential Active Listings	12,336	11,010	12.04%
Total Property Pending Sales	2,283	1,973	15.71%
Total Residential Pending Sales	2,176	1,881	15.68%
Total Property Sales	2,173	2,130	2.02%
Total Residential Sales	2,081	2,056	1.22%
Total Residential New Construction Sales	248	300	-17.33%
Median Residential Sales Price	$217,500	$225,000	-3.33%
Months’ Supply of Inventory	6.98	6.47	7.88%

* Total Property statistics include all property types (Residential, Commercial, Duplex, Apartment and Land & Farms), resale and new construction.

 

* Months’ Supply of Inventory estimates the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months average sales activity.

 

All my best,

Myra Spano, REALTOR®

 

---

About the Author:

 

Myra Spano is a service and results oriented real estate agent with her client’s goals as top priority.  Myra is recognized as a top producing agent in her office in Virginia Beach and enjoys working with both buyers and those selling their homes.

 

For information about purchasing a home in Virginia Beach, visit her website.  This site is focused on homes available for sale in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Email, call or text to make an appointment begin your home search.

 

If you are considering selling your home in Virginia Beach or one of the surrounding areas, visit the seller’s website to request a Free Market Analysis of your property.

 

Myra Spano & Prudential Towne Realty is awaiting to provide the real estate guidance you need.  Contact us now to make your home dreams come true!

 

About REIN:

 

Real Estate Information Network, Inc., (REIN) serves real estate brokers in the Tidewater / Hampton Roads area of Virginia from Williamsburg east to Virginia Beach and south to the North Carolina border. REIN is an independent MLS owned by broker stockholder members. Currently there are approximately 530 real estate firms with 650 offices, 6100 real estate agents, and 155 appraiser members using REIN. For more information visit http://www.REINMLS.com.