Marching into the New Year!
March 1, 2020
MARCHING INTO THE NEW YEAR IN PARKFAIRFAX
Alexandria, VA
http://www.parkfairfax.info/category/newsletter/March 2020 ParkFairfax Newsletter
REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT THIS YEAR'S PARKFAIRFAX CHILI COOKOFF!
NEW DATE: MARCH 21
March 21: 1PM-3PM in the ParkFairfax Party Room at 3360 Gunston Road
To attend the tasting, $5 tickets at the door (cash or Venmo). You’ll get six tastings, plus a bowl of your favorite chili, depending on remaining quantity.
Bottled water, sweet tea, and beer, too! Feel free to BYOB!
We’re asking for 12 chili connoisseurs to prepare a batch of their best chili for a resident tasting and judging. Expect awards for: Best Traditional, Best Vegetarian*, and Best Overall.
To enter, please email pkfxactivities@gmail.com by March 7, 2020.
To attend the tasting, $5 tickets at the door (cash or Venmo). You’ll get six tastings, plus a bowl of your favorite chili, depending on remaining quantity. Bottled water, sweet tea, and beer, too! Feel free to BYOB.
*Must receive at least 3 entries to establish category.
39th Annual Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Don your green and line King Street to kick off the region’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at the 39th Annual Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade, presented by the Ballyshaners, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote and preserve Irish heritage. More than 2,000 participants will march in this year’s parade, including the Notre Dame Alumni Band, dog rescue groups, pipe and drum bands, historical re-enactors, Shriners and Kena cars, and Irish dancers.
Parade-goers come early at 10:30 a.m. for the Fun Dog Show on Market Square, which benefits the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. More than 30 costumed dogs will compete in a range of categories, including Best Human/Canine Look-Alike, Most Talented and Most St. Paddy’s Spirit. The dogs will then kick off the parade at 12:15 p.m.
The parade starts at King and Alfred Streets and ends at Lee and Cameron Streets; the Fun Dog Show is on Market Square in front of City Hall at 301 King Street, Alexandria, VA
OTHER FUN EVENTS
Performance Art
https://patch.com/virginia/oldtownalexandria/calendar/event/20200307/660474/alexandria-choral-society-performance-art
Food for Kids Challenge
https://patch.com/virginia/oldtownalexandria/calendar/event/20200307/660474/alexandria-choral-society-performance-art
Mad March Tea Party with Cats - Sponsored by the Animal Welfare League Friday March 27, 6-7:30
https://patch.com/virginia/oldtownalexandria/calendar/event/20200327/757165/mad-march-tea-party-with-cats-adult-nights-out-at-the-awla
Gardening for Pollinators - Saturday March 28th 10am
https://patch.com/virginia/oldtownalexandria/calendar/event/20200328/747080/gardening-for-pollinators
River Farm, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA, 22308
Pollinators - what's all the buzz about? Many pollinators have suffered from loss of habitat, chemical misuse, diseases and parasites. Gardeners play a critical role in the nurturing and cultivation of pollinator plants. Whether you're new to gardening or an old hand, this workshop will provide you with a wealth of information for selecting and growing flowering plants that will make your yard or garden attractive and colorful and give pollinators a helping hand. Join our River Farm horticulturist in a discussion about different types of pollinators, characteristics of a pollinator habitat, sustainable gardening practices that invite pollinators, and selecting native pollinator-friendly plants. Participants can take home a selection of five native plants to add to their existing garden or start their very own pollinator habitat.
PARKFAIRFAX VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PARTY
Sunday March 15, 2020 2 – 4 p.m. in Parkfairfax Office Party Room
Come if you volunteer on the common landscape or if you are interested in learning about volunteer opportunities!
Bring family and friends! All are welcome!
ALEXANDRIA REAL ESTATE NEWS
Housing Prices to Increase More than Originally Projected - Amazon's arrival is pushing real estate prices up and inventory down in Alexandria and elsewhere.
Buyer interest in homes here in Alexandria and nearby is not likely to decrease anytime soon, according to the housing market forecast by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® (NVAR).
In fact, price increases and low inventory of homes available prompted NVAR to revisit their 2019 projections. NVAR the City of Alexandria, Fairfax and Arlington counties, plus Fairfax City, Falls Church, Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.
While Arlington will have the most dramatic median price increases by the end of 2019 year-over-year (17.2%), portions of Alexandria won’t be too far behind.
The average sale price in Arlington County in May was more than $713,000, a nearly 7% increase compared to May 2018.
In Alexandria, the average sale price was $597,000, an increase of 3.5% over a year ago.
In both areas, inventory is down compared to last year, meaning more buyers are competing for fewer homes.
“This is a market response to the Amazon HQ2 announcement with investors competing with residents for a shrinking number of homes for sale. The price gains we foresee do not reflect an overall bubble in housing prices but rather reflect the specific circumstances of our current market” said NVAR President Christine Richardson of Weichert, Realtors, said.
In Fairfax County, the average price of $611,000 is an increase of almost 2%.
The Fairfax County median sale price is expected to see a 2019 year-over-year gain of about 7 percent, Clower said. This is more than double the original 3.1 percent projected year-over-year growth.
“The average sold price to original list price ratio in May was 99.9 percent for the NVAR region, and over 100 percent in both Arlington and Alexandria,” said Richardson. “Ratios at that level reflect a housing market with multiple offers on the table, and that’s what we’re continuing to see.”
Homes are selling significantly faster than at this time last year.
However, some residents are sitting on the sidelines of this real estate market – waiting for even higher prices, or deciding to rent their homes out when they move instead of selling.
Based on revised projections, the number of available homes for sale in Fairfax County is expected to be down 10.2 percent at the end of 2019. The decline was previously projected to be just 2.4 percent.
“Arlington inventory has fallen off a cliff,” Clower said, and is expected to be down by 18.8 percent at the end of 2019. The original forecast showed a 7 percent year-end decline.
The number of available homes in Alexandria is expected to show a year-end decline of 37.5 percent in 2019. Previously, that decline was projected at 0.6 percent.
by ALEXANDRIA LIVING MAGAZINE STAFF
BY ALEXANDRIA LIVING MAGAZINE STAFF
FEB. 11, 2020 8:00 P.M.
Real estate inventory – the number of homes available for buyers – is quite low, but most Alexandria properties have increased in value a significant amount in the past year.
Real estate property assessments increased 4.25 percent from Jan. 1, 2019 to Jan. 1 this year, according to just-released City of Alexandria tax data.
Fairfax County has not yet released real estate assessment data.
In the City of Alexandria, the value of the average condominium increased 5.84 percent to $348,234.
The value of the average single-family home is now more than $800,000 — notching a 4.13 percent increase in value to $800,025.
CITY OF ALEXANDRIA
Alexandria’s real estate property values increased substantially from 1995 through 2006, decreased through 2010, and then started increasing again — and they haven’t stopped. With limited inventory, the real estate market is moving faster, too: “In 2019, the average days on the market was 27, compared to 2018 when the average days on the market was 47,” the City of Alexandria reported.
In the City of Alexandria, the residential tax base increased 5.32 percent, or $1.24 billion, a larger increase than city officials have seen in several years.
The commercial tax base increased by only 2.8 percent, or by nearly $476 million. There remains a “flat” market in conventional office space, according to City of Alexandria documents, as a “general lack of demand” continues, especially in areas without a Metro station.
“Based on [the Office of Real Estate Assessment] OREA’s edit of the most recent published CoStar data (subtracting conversions), the direct vacancy rate currently stands at 23.1 percent. The market is responding by reclassifying office properties to other uses," according to the report.
"Recent examples of office buildings in process of converting or converted to another use are 200 Stovall Street, 4401 Ford Avenue, 3101 Park Center Drive, 2000 N Beauregard Street, 601 Prince Street, and Trans Potomac Plaza (1033, 1055, and 1111 N Fairfax Street).” (These properties were converted to vacant residential for purposes of the tax assessment for 2020.)
(Related: Conversion of Hotel to Residential Begins in Alexandria and Old Town North Offices Could Become Residential.)
Combined, more than three-quarters of the City of Alexandria’s tax base is based on where people live — 40.7 percent single family, 16.43 percent residential condos, and 19.11 percent ‘commercial’ multi-family buildings.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have about your real estate plans. I will always look out for your best interests!
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