Our region and all of Fairfax County have performed well in comparison to 2015. We have seen small gains in Average Rent, improved Days on Market, with a significant improvement with Active Units. The quantity of Units Rented has remained constant through out the years, with very little difference year over year. The variable in obtaining the maximum rent; is effected by the quantity of units available (Active Units) and to a small part the units sold. When there is excess inventory we do see a decline in average rent due to the competition which was evident in 2015 as compared to 2016.
- Average Rent has exceeded 2015 by 1.2 percent (2016-$2273 2015-$2219)
- Days on market improved by 7 percent as compared to 2015. (39.63 vs. 42.6)
- Active units has declined by 21.5 percent as compared to 2015 (1191 vs. 1450)
- Units rented increased by .5 percent as compared to 2015
- Units sold has increase by 6.7 percent as compared to 2015
Circle Property Management tracks the market as part of our overall process for evaluating the rental market, helping our clients better understand the cyclicality of the market and the timing. 2015 has been a good year overall with very few major issues with marketing.
Maintenance and Repairs
As of August we have seen a significant rise in maintenance and repair requests exceeding 2015 by 27 percent. The increase was not based on dollars rather it is based on work orders processed. We attribute this to the aging of our portfolio of homes and there seems to be a pattern of every seven years. We have been seeing some sort of Appliance or HCAC system problem at 7, 14 and 21 years. When ever we process a major work order we look at the age of the appliance and the age of the home and inevitably it’s falling into the seven, fourteen, twenty-one year range. I have spoken to my major vendors and their feedback is of a similar conviction, indicating the quality of products is just not what they used to be. My main HVAC contractor has told me that most of the compressors are now manufactured in Taiwan and in my own observations I have noticed the compressors look much smaller and less sturdy looking than before.
We have renewed our contract with our HVAC contractor and they had a small price increase for new systems due to mandated efficiency requirements. We have a flat rate for the following:
- New 14 Seer HVAC system up to 4 ton AC $5,500.00
- Recharge AC (up to 1.5 lbs refrigerant) $350.00
- Clean coils $300.00-450.00
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About The Author
Eric Guggenheimer - SFR, ARM ® » Principal Broker, Certified Property Manager, IREM, ARM, NARPM, NVAR, NAR, VAR
