Reminder: Increase In Virginia Grantor’s Tax Takes Effect January 1st

A 500% increase in the Virginia Grantor’s Tax approved as part of a 2007 transportation funding package (HB 3202) will take effect January 1, 2008. The Virginia General Assembly and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) voted earlier this year to increase the rate to a total of $5.00 per $1,000 to fund regional transportation projects. Currently, the rate is $1.00 per $1,000.

After the vote, the state filed a case in Arlington to ensure that the move was legal. A judge in Arlington County Circuit Court decided in favor of the NVTA.

Loudoun County and Delegate Bob Marshall then filed a counter suit and also appealed the decision to the Virginia Supreme Court. Last month, the Supreme Court granted Loudoun County’s petition for an appeal of the NVTA decision by the Arlington Circuit Court.

The case may be considered in January 2008, but the increase is still set to go into effect January 1, 2008.

For more information on the Virginia Grantor’s Tax and it’s implementation check out these documents.

Get The “Skinny” On Any Zip Code In Loudoun County

Are you curious about things such as education levels, marital status, occupation and household income in Loudoun County? Then check out ZipSkinny, which gives you the latest US Census Data on any zip code in the US. You can compare up to 20 different zip codes through ZipSkinny. This allows you to compare any area in Loudoun County to where you currently reside before making the decision to relocate.

Virginia Grantor’s Tax Update

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors’ (BOS) case challenging the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s (NVTA) ability to impose seven new regional taxes, including a 500% increase in the grantor’s or home seller’s tax, is headed for the Supreme Court of Virginia. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case during its January session, which will be held between Jan. 7 and Jan. 11 in Richmond. The Supreme Court will then determine whether the tax is constitutional or not.

Last summer, the Arlington County Circuit Court ruled that the NVTA’s fees and taxes were constitutional and that the General Assembly was within its right when it granted taxing authority to the NVTA during the 2007 legislative session. When the NVTA filed a bond-validation suit, the BOS voted to challenge the constitutionality of the fees.

At the same time it hears the BOS appeal of the Arlington County Circuit Court ruling, the Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit brought by Del. Robert Marshall (R-13) against the NVTA. Apparently, the lawsuits will be heard together in an effort to bring closure on the issue.

An exact date for the appeal is expected to be released closer to the end of the year, but it’s looking like it may be on January 10, 2007.

Source: Dulles Association of Realtors (DAAR)

Related Articles:

Virginia Circuit Court Rules In Favor Of  NVTA And Increase In Grantor’s Tax (8/28/07)

Grantor’s Tax and Northern Virginia Transportation Plan Update (7/3/07)

Home Builders With The Greatest Exposure To The Local Market

Home builders across the nation are getting hit hard, especially the ones in real estate markets that have seen the greatest downturn. The hardest hit markets include, California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and the Washington, DC metro area, including Loudoun County. The home builders with the greatest exposure in these markets are facing some of the greatest challenges, which in this area are:

1. NVR (NV and Ryan) – 25 percent of company sales
2. Toll Brothers – 11 percent of company sales
3. K. Hovnanian – 8 percent of company sales

Is it coincedence that three builders are offering some of the biggest incentives and/or have reduced their base prices the most out of all the builders in the area over the past 2 years? Maybe. Maybe not.

Builders are not into carrying inventory and being absentee landlords. They are into building homes and selling them immediately after they’ve been completed. Due to market conditions, builders are having a tougher time selling homes and are having to do what is necessary to move inventory – offer higher incentives and/or decrease prices. The more exposure they have, the more aggressive they have to be in order to entice the reduced number of buyers.

If you were one who bought a new home from one of these three builders in the past several years, you’re proabably not too happy about this news. But if you’re a new home buyer in today’s market, this is something you should know about and take advantage of. There are some great deals to be had from most builders, especially these three.

For more information about new home builders in the area, their communities, models and lots available and base prices and incentives, contact us. We’ll get the latest inside information over to you right away.

Loudoun County Home Sales – Last 7 Days

Homes under contract in Ashburn in the last 7 days:

Address	Subdivision	List Price	Date
44385 NAVAJO DR	ASHBROOK VILLAGE	$379,900	10/31/07
20402 ELM GROVE TER	ASHBURN FARM	$339,000	11/6/07
21092 LOST MOCCASIN TER	ASHBURN VILLAGE	$309,000	10/31/07
44219 SHEHAWKEN TER	ASHBURN VILLAGE	$399,000	11/2/07
42849 CHESTERTON ST	BELMONT FOREST	$429,900	11/2/07
20238 PORTSMOUTH BLVD	BELMONT GREENE	$375,000	11/2/07
20432 BOWFONDS ST	BELMONT GREENE	$579,900	11/5/07
20218 LEIER PL	BELMONT GREENE	$649,900	11/4/07
42815 OATYER CT	BROADLANDS	$629,900	11/4/07
43122 CROSSWIND TER	BROADLANDS SOUTH	$370,500	10/30/07
21942 WINDOVER DR	BROADLANDS SOUTH	$479,900	11/5/07
20604 CORNSTALK TER #201	LAKESHORE	$230,000	11/3/07
22701 HIGH HAVEN TER S	LOUDOUN PARKWY	$374,000	11/2/07
21789 FLANDERS CT #21789	PARKSIDE AT ASHBURN	$299,500	11/2/07
19909 RIDGECREST SQ	RIVERSIDE VILLAGE	$299,900	11/5/07
22691 BLUE ELDER TER #204	BRAMBLETON	$214,900	11/2/07

Homes under contract in Sterling in the last 7 days:

Address	Subdivision	List Price	Date
39 BERKELEY CT	COUNTRYSIDE	$285,000	11/1/07
104 BRIARWOOD CT	FOREST RIDGE	$434,900	11/2/07
500 BEACON DR	MIRROR RIDGE	$365,000	11/4/07
20334 ASHCROFT TER	POTOMAC LAKES	$379,900	11/5/07
20617 GLENMERE SQ	POTOMAC LAKES	$400,000	11/1/07
20374 ASHCROFT TER	POTOMAC LAKES	$409,850	11/5/07
406 WILLIAMSBURG RD	STERLING PARK	$256,900	11/6/07
607 YORK RD	STERLING PARK	$321,000	10/30/07
105 KENNEDY RD N	STERLING PARK	$379,000	11/5/07
1902 AMELIA ST	STERLING PARK	$380,000	11/2/07
504 MAPLE AVE W	STERLING PARK	$399,900	11/1/07
118 WOODGATE CT	SUGARLAND RUN	$187,900	11/2/07
194 COTTAGE RD	SUGARLAND RUN	$250,000	11/5/07
117 AVONDALE DR	SUGARLAND RUN	$315,000	10/30/07
511 SUGARLAND RUN DR	SUGARLAND RUN	$364,900	11/2/07

Homes under contract in Leesburg in the last 7 days:

Address	Subdivision	List Price	Date
307 KING ST S	COLONIAL SQUARE	$398,000	11/2/07
324 COLTSRIDGE TER NE	EXETER	$263,900	10/30/07
814 RUST DR NE	EXETER	$399,900	11/5/07
459 FOX RIDGE DR SW	FOXRIDGE	$349,900	11/1/07
19111 MOUNTAIN SPRING LN	G & M THOMAS LAND	$775,000	10/30/07
109 CONNERY TER SW	GREENWAY FARM	$282,900	10/30/07
904 RHONDA PL SE	KINCAID FOREST	$550,000	10/30/07
19005 COREOPSIS TER	LANSDOWNE	$549,000	11/2/07
43103 NORTHLAKE OVERLOOK	NORTHLAKE	$364,900	11/5/07
111 OAK VIEW DR	OAK VIEW	$340,000	11/5/07
43169 MALLOCH PL	POTOMAC STATION	$569,900	11/2/07
19375 CYPRESS RIDGE TER	LEISURE WORLD	$300,000	11/1/07
18476 WIDE MEADOW SQ	SPRING LAKES	$359,900	11/2/07
430 PEARLBUSH SQ NE	SYCAMORE HILL	$325,000	11/2/07

Historical Home Prices for Loudoun County – Jan 2005-Oct 2007

We are putting together some charts for the Dulles Area Association of Realtors and we thought we would share some of them with our readers. 

Here is an example of a chart showing three different prices for Loudoun County Home Sales.  It is a monthly chart and it compares the Average List Price of homes that went under contract during a calendar month with the Average Sales Price of the same homes.  The difference between the blue line and the red line illustrates the amount a buyer was able to negotiate off the list price of the average home.  In early 2005, you can see there was little if any difference between the two prices.  That started to change in the second half of 2005 and has slowly increased.  In just the last two months the percentage has gone from 97% to 95.8%. 

The Median List Price is the midpoint of the list prices for home sales during a calendar month.  Exactly half of the homes that sold during that month had a list price higher than the median and exactly half had a list price of lower than the median.  As you can see that median price remains below the average price and usually stays in a range of 85% to 90% of the average price.  However, in the month of October the median price set a new low of only 82% of the average price.  The actual dollar amount of this spread was $82,395.

Loudoun County At A Glance

Loudoun County is located 25 miles west of Washington, DC and is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. The eastern part of the county is where many high tech and internet-related companies are headquartered. Eastern Loudoun County is home to Dulles International Airport (IAD), which had over 2.25M travelers fly in and out in August of this year. The eastern part of the county is bordered by the Potomac River. The western, and more rural part, is bordered by the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Loudoun County is home to over 263,000 residents and growing. It also one of the top 3 counties in the nation in terms of median household income. Ammenities include Dulles Town Center and the Leesburg Premium Outlet Mall with more than 110 stores. The town of Leesburg is proud of its downtown historic district, which is lined with brick sidewalks and unique shopping and restaurants. Here you can also find Colonial and Civil war walking tours.

The county has 21 parks, including the 700 acre Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve and 357 acre Claude Moore Park. Claude Moore has nature activities as well as a Sportsplex with baseball fields, a football field and other practice fields. There is plenty of tradition and history in equestrian facilities, civil war and historic landmarks, wineries and hiking and biking trails.

Known as the "Learning Corridor" located on Route 7, many well-known Universities and Colleges offer higher education, certificates, specialized training and research. The public school system consistently ranks above the state and national averages in SAT scores and new schools are continously being built to house the growing number of children of school age in the area.

Loudoun County offers the benefits or a rural location without the feeling of being left out the loop or lacking ammenities of more popluated areas. Less than an hour from Washington, DC as well as the mountains, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds, rural and urban.

Further Reading:

Moving To Loudoun County, Virginia? How Far Will Your Salary Go?

Links To Loudoun County Communities and Home Owner’s Associations

Resources (Other Than Real Estate) For Loudoun County, Virginia

Loudoun County Property Demographics

"Local Explorer" Good Source Of Info About Loudoun County Area, Schools, Home Sales, Crime

Thursday Poll – The Down Real Estate Market and Holiday Spending