| Page 3 of 4 < > |
Bright Spots
Jim and Shane Fagan of Alexandria, shown with 19-month-old daughter Tate, recently got $16,100 more than they asked for their Del Ray townhouse.
(By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
In Alexandria, Jim and Shane Fagan have benefited from both the ups and downs of the market.
The couple are expecting a third child. They wanted a bigger home and a yard.
So they recently put their three-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath townhouse in Del Ray up for sale for $599,900. They paid $325,000 six years ago. They got $616,000.
Around the same time, they bought a four-bedroom house a mile away in the Braddock Heights neighborhood for $879,000, about $40,000 under the asking price.
"We were definitely pleased with how it all turned out," Shane Fagan said.
Across the river in Bethesda, Karen and David Hirshfield felt a bit apprehensive when they put their four-bedroom house on the market.
"There was definitely concern," Karen Hirshfield said. They asked for $649,000. They got $658,000.
"We got three offers within one day," she said. "We were very lucky. We were able to sell it above the asking price. It was great."
In some cases, willingness to pay the asking price or more may depend on the price range, the condition of the house or the desirability of a neighborhood.
Bob O'Toole, who works with the Melinda Estridge Group at Long & Foster in Bethesda, said he's seeing high-end homes go for full price more often than those in the middle price range.
"When you're looking at $800,000-plus, you find that some people want to be in a specific building and they won't dicker with the price," he said. "They know if they wait around it will be gone."
Still, he said, the market favors buyers.
