The 2020 Northern Virginia Housing Market Forecast

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Whether you’re looking to relocate to Northern Virginia, or you’re a first time home buyer, you’re going to want to know what the housing market for your area looks like.

Buying a home is a huge investment, and because of this, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. Knowing what the housing market forecast is for your area can give you an idea of the median home price, interest rates, and opportunities for growth.

Aside from home buyers, investors will benefit greatly from knowing the market before diving in. The better the housing market is in the area you’re planning to invest in, the higher the return you’ll get on your investments.

If you’re planning on moving to Northern Virginia in 2020, there are tons of trends that you should be aware of. Keep reading to learn what the Northern Virginia housing market forecast looks like!

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Tech Jobs Are Going to Affect the 2020 Northern Virginia Housing Market Forecast

You may or may not have heard, but Amazon and Apple are opening offices in Northern Virginia.

Because of this, around 50,000 jobs are expected in the area which makes Crystal City one of the most desirable areas to live in, come 2020. Although the offices are not yet set up, the housing market in Northern Virginia is reflecting the change.

On top of the job openings that potential homebuyers are interested in moving for, there are 25,000 employees who are already employed at the Amazon office who will be needing homes. 

By the end of 2019, homes available to buy were in very low inventory. In fact, some zip codes didn’t have a single home available to buy, which rarely happens. While 2019 did end with a low inventory for homes, this is expected to change in 2020.

Due to the overwhelming interest in living in Northern Virginia, there are already many new constructions underway.

The amount of houses available for buyers looking to live in Northern Virginia is not the only trend that is being noticed, though.

Someone working a tech job via an iPad in Northern Virginia

Home Prices are on the Rise and Expected to Continue

On average, Amazon pays its employees around $150,000 per year.

With 50,000 more high-paying jobs hitting Northern Virginia, it should come as no surprise that the price of the homes in the area will reflect this change.

So, as a result of these high-paying jobs entering Northern Virginia, the prices of homes will also increase.

At the beginning of 2017, the median cost for a house in the Fairfax area was around $300,000. As higher-paying jobs have come available in recent years, that median has risen to $500,000-600,000.

There was one condo that was going to be taken off the market after being on it with no interest for 90 days. Once news of Amazon opening an office in the area broke, the condo ended up selling for $70,000 more than the asking price.

The price for housing in Northern Virginia has been rising significantly since 2009 as it is. The housing market in Northern Virginia is expected to continue increasing 1-3% per year moving forward.

While this market is a great one for sellers, it’s questionable if it’s the same for homeowners. The good news is that someone who already owns a home in Northern Virginia can sell for a high profit and move to another area if they’d like. However, if a homeowner in Northern Virginia sells their home and is planning on relocating within the area, their profit won’t go very far.

Plus, if homebuyers are looking to relocate to Northern Virginia for job opportunities, they must already be making a fairly high income to afford housing. The high median rate of $500,000-600,000 isn’t necessarily affordable for everyone.

Realtor explaining real estate prices in northern virginia on the rise

Interest Rates Are Going to Increase As Well

While higher paying job opportunities are a great thing for Northern Virginia, with it comes higher interest rates. 

2019 started with an interest rate of 4%, however, the average fixed-rate mortgage for 30 years has increased to 5%. This is about a 10% increase. Unfortunately, the interest rates are only going to continue to climb. 

The Impact of These Trends 

While homes that are more expensive to live in and higher interest rates can be problematic for the consumer, the real estate market is expected to thrive amongst these changes.

While there is often a dormant period for home-buying in the winter, this isn’t expected to happen in 2020. With Amazon opening its new location in the area, people are almost desperate to find a home in the area. 

In fact, anything under $800,000 is said to be sold practically right away. Homes in the millions are regularly being sold as well. 

Not only are job hopefuls entering the area, but investors are also showing interest in this opportunity. More apartments and condos for rent are going to be a necessary addition to the area, as the homes are being snatched up almost as soon as they come onto the market. 

As a result of Northern Virginia’s real estate market thriving, Southern Virginia is seeing less activity. It’s not unusual for a house in Southern Virginia to stay on the market with no interest for 55 days or more.

This may be because the median home price in Southern Virginia is $400,000 which is quite high for the average American. This area in Virginia doesn’t offer the same job opportunities as Northern Virginia does, so it should come as no surprise that the interest remains in Northern Virginia. 

Someone drawing impact with a pencil

Are You Ready to Buy?

The Northern Virginia housing market is expected to grow pretty drastically in 2020.

If you’re seeking a high-paying tech job, this area may be just the one for you. Or, maybe you’re looking to retire in Florida and already own a home in Northern Virginia. If so, now is the time to sell your home for the greatest return!

While the median home prices and interest rates have gone up, there is so much opportunity in Northern Virginia for investing. If you’re looking to invest in apartments or condos, Northern Virginia may just be your gold mine.

If you’re ready to take the next step to buy your dream home, contact us today!

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Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

Owner Portal Reports
  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

Enhanced Rent Roll Report
  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

Unit Comparison Report
  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

Income Statement by Month Report
  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

Owner Portal Documents
  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.