Tex-Mex Restaurant and Margarita Bar Coming to Brambleton

All you Tex-Mex and margarita lovers stand up and do a happy dance – the space next to Fox Cinemas in the Brambleton Town Center will soon be a Tex Mex restaurant complete with a margarita bar!

The space was originally being built out as a Mexican restaurant by the name of Cantina Cove, but that fell through after the owner, Osama El-Atari, was brought up on fraud charges and became an internationally wanted fugitive. The space sat vacant for a while, but another local, and seemingly more legit restaurateur, took over the space and is turning into a Tex-Mex restaurant and margarita bar.

My sources tell me that there is no official name for the restaurant yet, but one should be coming out soon. They also say that the restaurant may be ready for operations and having a “soft opening” sometime mid-December. Having worked in the restaurant business in a previous life and seeing the progress (yes, I was snooping through the windows), I’d say a mid-December soft opening is optimistic. But then again, where there’s a will (and money), there’s a way.

Regardless of when it opens, it will be a nice and much needed addition to the Brambleton Town Center and for all those in the Brambleton community as well as Ashburn and Loudoun County in general.

Click here to see some photos of the exterior of the space (in case you want to snoop and take a peek through the windows as well).

The Latest Loudoun County Housing Inventory Statistics

The number of homes for sale in Loudoun County (and the entire DC metro area) is definitely either down or trending down. Let’s look at the following charts showing inventory levels of single family homes and town homes in the Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg and South Riding/Chantilly areas:

(Note: These are new interactive flash charts – feel free to play around with them, move the slider around, etc., and let me know what you think)

Sterling

Ashburn

Leesburg

South Riding/Chantilly

Ashburn Single Family Home Median Price Up $20K

The median price of single family homes in Ashburn (20147 and 20148 zip codes) has gone up almost $20K since April. This is mainly due to less inventory on the market and more buyers purchasing properties – supply vs demand. We’re currently seeing a plateau in median prices, but that’s probably due to a typical slowdown in buyer demand over the summer months.

Ashburn Single Family Home Median Price – up $20K since April

Ashburn Single Family Home Inventory – down 30 percent since 9/08

P.S. Check back on Tuesday for Leesburg’s median price and inventory levels.

Loudoun Community Spotlight: Pulte Homes, Windermere in Ashburn

This Loudoun County Community Spotlight falls on the Pulte Homes Windermere community in Ashburn, VA. The Windermere community is located near the corner of Claiborne Parkway and Croson Lane immediately next to the Broadlands community.

Windermere is a mix of large town homes and medium sized single family homes. A total of 91 town homes and 83 single family homes will make up the community. Pulte has built or sold about 35 percent of the total homes so far and they’re expecting to sell the remainder of the community within the next 18 months. That puts completion of the entire community at about 24 months.

In speaking with the Pulte sales staff, I found out that they’ve already sold 9 homes this month (that’s a lot for new construction especially in a community of only 174 homes). I’m sometimes skeptical at how busy they say they are, but I’m going to believe them on this one – there at the same time as I was today were three Buyer’s Agents with their clients, two other sets of buyers without an agent and one set of buyers about to write a contract. And that was at 3:30pm on a Wednesday.

Base Prices/Models

Prices on the town homes start at $380K for the Westley II interior model (2296 – 2735 sq ft) and $390K for the Tyler exterior model (2411 – 2857 sq ft).

Prices on the single family homes start at $524K for the Kenley model (2696 sq ft on upper two levels); $533K for the Wynnewood model (2770 sq ft on upper two levels); and $542K for the Jamestown model (2974 sq ft on upper two levels).

Delivery Dates

Delivery dates vary, but count on about 4 to 6 months on the town homes and about 6 months on the single family homes. There are some “spec” homes available for earlier delivery including a Tyler model in the low $400K’s with a September delivery date.

Incentives

Pulte is offering some incentives as far as closing costs if you use their preferred lender. As for wiggle room in the base prices and/or options, there may or may not be any – that’s a secret I’ll only share with my clients (it’s only fair).

Amenities/HOA fees

Two things that popped out at me were the lack of amenities and not-much-return HOA fees. There are no amenities in the community yet, the HOA fee is $86 for single family homes and $100 for town homes. Considering what other communities within Ashburn and Loudoun County charge for HOA fees and the amenities they offer, Windermere has high HOA fees with little offered to home owners in return. In case you’re wondering…neither I (nor the sale rep from Pulte) could figure out why the town home fees are higher than the single family home fees.

Photos/Video Tour

There should be a slideshow of community photos I took at the top of this post (click here if you don’t see it). And don’t forget to check out my two-part video tour of the Windermere Pulte Homes Westley II and Tyler model town homes – part one and part two.

Visiting the new homes sales center in person

Make sure you have your Buyer’s Agent with you when you visit a new home/builder sales center. Click here to find out why.

Ashburn Housing Market Update

Here’s a look at what’s going on with the Ashburn housing market (20147 and 20148 zip codes)…

Ashburn Median Price

After it’s most recent drop from October 2008 through March 2009, the median price for single family and town homes in Ashburn has ticked up over the past two months.

Condos in Ashburn aren’t showing an uptick in median price, but they have plateaued.

Ashburn Inventory

The number of homes for sale in Ashburn continued it’s downward trend. We saw an uptick during the “spring market”, but inventory is either plateauing or on the way down once again. A downward trend should continue through the summer months because many sellers think that the summer is not a good time to put their homes on the market.

Ashburn Housing Market Overview

As inventory diminishes and buyer demand increases (thanks to lower prices, historically low rates, $8K tax credit, etc), we’re seeing the market stabilize a bit. We’re even seeing pockets of Ashburn with slight price appreciation due such low inventory and increased buyer demand.

Homes that are priced well are getting a lot of foot traffic and a purchase offer within 1 to 3 weeks on the market. Homes priced slightly below (or way below as is the case with many bank-owned and short-sale properties) are getting multiple offers and are bidding up over asking price within days of hitting the market.

Unless the inventory or rates increase (or some huge economic news rattles the entire nation), we’ll see these trends and this type of market continue through at least the summer.

Loudoun County Home Sales Off Significantly; Ashburn, Leesburg Hit Hardest

Through the first 12 days of the month of December, the number of homes that have gone under contract in Ashburn and Leesburg has dropped tremendously compared to the same period last year. 

In Ashburn there have been only 16 properties in the 20147 and 20148 zip codes that have secured a contract in December.  That equates to only 1.3 sales per day and projects to only 41 sales for the entire month. 

The numbers for Leesburg are not much better.  There have been only  17 sales in the 20175 and 20176 zip codes in the month of December, or 1.4 per day and a forecast of only 44 for the month.  But considering there are 240 more homes for sale in Leesburg versus Ashburn (713-473), it could be argued that the Leesburg market is softer than Ashburn.

The sales activity in Sterling has fared much better and is on track to equal the monthly total of December 2006.  As of the 12th there were 39 sales in the 20164, 20165 and 20166 zip codes which was exactly the same as the first 12 days of last December. 

For all of Loudoun County there have been only 99 homes go under contract so far this month as compared to 147 during the same time period last year.  This equates to a drop of 33% in homes sold and is significantly worse than the second half drop in homes sold (19%). 

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

If you’re moving to or new to Loudoun County and don’t know where many things are or want information about the area in general, check out The Washington Post’s Local Explorer. Type in a specific address such as "43330 Junction Plaza Ashburn, VA" or just "Ashburn, VA" and you can find information on places in the area, schools, recent home sales and crime, all on a map. Local Explorer also has facts and figures, local news, classifieds and upcoming events that will help take you further inside area communities. It’s a good tool for anyone moving or new to Loudoun County as well as those already in the area looking for information.

Related Articles:

Links To Loudoun County Communities And Home Owner’s Associations

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

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

Sorry, I Can’t Tell You That

The Median Home in Loudoun County

The median list price of a home that went under contract in July of 2007 was $435,000.  Here are the pictures of those six homes and some statistics of those homes. 

4 Bedroom/2.5 Bath/1 Car Garage on .12 acres in South Riding

Approximately 2100 square feet on upper two levels, unfinished basement, built in 2002

4 Bedroom /3.5 Bath/2 Car Garage end unit in Ashburn

Approximately 2700 square feet on 3 finished levels, built in 2003

3 Bedroom/2 Full, 2 Half Baths/2 Car End Unit in Sterling

Approximately 2550 square feet on 3 finished levels, built in 1997

3 Bedroom/2 Full, 2 Half Baths/2 Car Interior Unit in Leesburg

Approximately 2900 square feet on 3 finished levels, built in 2004

3 Bedroom/3.5 Bath/2 Car Interior Unit in Sterling

Approximately 2550 square feet on 3 levels, built in 1997

3 Bedroom/2.5 Bath/2 Car Garage End Unit in South Riding

Approximately 2100 square feet on 3 levels, built in 2000

Photos courtesy of MRIS

Links To Loudoun County Communities and Home Owner’s Associations

Perhaps you’re new to Loudoun County, Virginia and would like to know more about the various communities and Home Owner Associations in the county. Or maybe you’re moving within the county and aren’t too familiar with your future community or HOA. Whatever the reason may be, here are links to resources on all the HOAs and communities in Loudoun County that have sites:

• Ashburn
• Ashburn Farm
• Ashburn Manor
• Ashburn Village
• Belmont Country Club
• Belmont Greene
• Brambleton
• Broad Run Farms
• Broadlands
• Cabin Branch Forest
• Cardinal Glen
• Cascades
• Countryside
• Courts and Ridges at Ashburn
• Edwards Landing
• Exeter
• Falls Ridge
• Farmwell Hunt (site under construction-coming soon)
• Kincaid Forest
• Lansdowne on the Potomac
• Lucketts
• Potomac Crossing
• Potomac Station
• Richland Forest
• River Creek
• Rivercrest
• Spring Lakes
• South Riding
• Tavistock Farms
• Waterford

If you would like information on areas not listed above, just let us know and we’ll provide that to you.

Resources (other than real estate) For Loudoun County, Virginia

For those of you living in Loudoun County and selling or buying within, you probably already know what Loudoun County has to offer. But if you’re relocating to the area, you may not. And being that the numbers, stats and data this blog routinely covers are not the only deciding factor when it comes to moving to Loudoun County, here is a list of additional resources to help you with your decision or give you new ideas on things to do or places to check out on the weekends.

• Official visitor web site for Loudoun County, Virginia – covers everything from shopping and dining to wine festivals and fairs, even a wedding guide. The guides are available in hard copy or pdf files.
• Loudoun County, Virginia – Wikipedia – includes a history and background of Loudoun County and is loaded with links to other resources.
• Loudoun County Public Schools – Kindergarten through 12th. Includes school boundaries, stats, etc.
• Dulles South Online – online portal for news, information and listings for Loudoun County Dulles Region (Dulles South) businesses, organizations and residents, focusing mainly on economic, public policy and community development topics and issues.
• Loudoun County Government Site – Covers everything from transportation and taxes to utilites and art/cultural events.
• Loudoun County Communities/Home Owners Associations – links to all the communities/HOAs in Loudoun (on the Loudoun County government site).
• W&OD Trail – a trail going from Arlington, VA to Purcellville, VA used for biking, walking, roller blading, etc. The setting for numerous charity events during the spring, summer and fall.
• Loudoun County Public Library – available to all residents of Loudoun County. Used by local businesses and residents for various seminars throughout the year.
• For a map of Loudoun County and surrounding areas, check out MSN Live’s mapping feature. Just input a particular city within Loudoun County (i.e. Ashburn, Virginia) at the top of the page and zoom in or out from there. Definitely check out the Bird’s Eye View feature (located immediately to the right of the zoom feature on the left side of the map) to get a clear view down to even the car in driveway of a house.

Hope that this is of use to those of you contemplating moving to the area or those who are already here, but haven’t had the time to really check out what’s going on in the county. And if there is something that you are looking for, but can’t find through the sources listed above, please let us know and we’ll find it for you.

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