real estate

Question: What’s the 20/20 on 2020?

Answer: A year ago, all indications were that 2020 was going to be a good year for the real estate market in Northern Virginia. We started off strong, then COVID-19 hit, massive shutdowns followed and the market fizzled. For a few weeks in late March and early April, no one knew what to expect. Then, rather quickly, the market began to rebound, and by the beginning of June 2020 amidst so much strife and uncertainty, Northern Virginia experienced a full-fledged “spring market effect.” That active market continued to the end of the year.

Question: How did the challenges in 2020 affect the real estate market in Alexandria?

Answer: It is a good thing I had my two-week winter vacation in St. Martin right before the lockdown, because surprisingly enough it was extremely busy from the minute I got back in town.

This week’s Q&A column is sponsored and written by Kim Peele and Hope Peele of The Peele Group and McEnearney Associates Realtors®, the leading real estate firm in Alexandria. To learn more about this article and relevant Alexandria market news, contact The Peele Group at 703-244-5852 or email [email protected]. You may also submit your questions to McEnearney Associates via email for response in future columns.

Question: Is this a good time to buy an investment property?

Question: How did the Alexandria city real estate market finish in 2020?

Answer: Each quarter we take an in-depth look at contract activity in the City of Alexandria compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Not surprisingly, the impact of COVID-19 in the spring months resulted in a decrease in contract activity compared to 2019. The first half of the year saw overall contracts decrease 7.4%, but the third and fourth quarters tell a completely different story, and the year ended with an overall increase of 12.2%!

Question: What did life look like for a realtor in 2020?

Answer: Oh, you could write a job description for realtor, and it would be pretty enthusiastic and likely glowing, but it would miss so much of the “fun!”