In the photo from left to right: Derek Blain who is one of the Co-Principals of the McLean-Great Falls KW office; MJ Perry who was the Co-Chair of the golf tournament and a Realtor ® on the Belt Team; Georgia Corey is the Program Director of LMU!, Kay Bellhouse is the Team Leader for the McLean-Great Falls Keller Williams offices; George Lodge is the other Co-Chair of the golf tournament, the inspiration to hold a charity golf tournament and an Associate Agent with the HBC Realty Group; and Karen Briscoe is a LMU! Board Member and Principal of the HBC Realty Group. The check was presented at the Lift Me Up! Jeans & Jewels Gala at BMW of Sterling on Saturday, November 12, 2011.

KW-Cares held their second annual golf tournament on October 24, 2011 at Trump-National Golf Course. Greeting players on the course was someone who looked very much like Austin Powers and the Master of Ceremonies of the evening event was a great stand-in for Donald Trump! All of this contributed to the events success and allowed KW-Cares the opportunity to present big checks to the 2 charities selected by the Keller Williams McLean and Great Falls offices: Lift Me Up! and My Military Kids.

Lift Me Up! is a therapeutic horseback riding program that for 36 years has been dedicated to helping children and adults with physical, mental and/or emotional disabilities improve both their physical and mental well being. The annual gala is the primary fund raiser of the year. LMU! is a 501 (c) (3) charity and an NARHA Premier Accredited Center. Information is available on the newly debuted website for more information on LMU!: www.liftmeup.org.

BMW of Sterling was transformed from a car dealership to an exciting venue as gala attendees celebrated the theme: “Off to the Races.” Thanks once again go to Thomas and Joyce Moorehead for providing the gala setting extraordinaire!

Hats off to American Beverage Association for providing the non-alcoholic beverages; the Distilled Spirit Council of the United States for providing those beverages; the Beer Institute for providing the beer; and the wine donation by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America. The Snack Food Association generously donated snacks for all the volunteers that make the gala a success. The Sugar Association proudly sponsored the desserts for the evening. All of these donations were made possible by my sweet husband, Andy Briscoe, who as President and CEO of the Sugar Association is a member of the Committee of 100 (top trade associations in DC) through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Community support is at the heart of the program’s success. More than 300 volunteers comprised of area teens and adults assist the student riders and the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, NARHA certified riding instructors. Lift Me Up! serves over 100 riders with special needs in ages ranging from age three to adult. B.I.T.S, which stands for Back in the Saddle, is the latest program offered by Lift Me Up! and was developed to assist wounded warrior riders from the military.

Karen Briscoe has been a Board member of LMU! since 2006 and served as the Gala Chair in both 2006 and 2007. Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy, partners of the HBC Realty Group pride themselves on being involved in the community and giving back to the community.

Karen and Lizzy are both Realtors ® in the Northern Virginia, Washington DC market place and would be delighted to assist whether for home buying or selling. The Huckaby Briscoe Group was recognized in September 2011 as one of the Wall Street Journal Top Real Estate Teams in the United States. Please contact via the means most convenient for you: www.HBCRealtyGroup.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com.

After reading the entire article and not just the headline, I discovered that it depends on which real estate market you are speaking about as to whether a triple dip is predicted. And as is the case with ice cream and roller coasters, what matters is your perspective. The market area I practice real estate in is the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, which is delineated by Fiserv as DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division and has a forecast change second quarter, 2011 to second quarter, 2012 of -3.2% and a forecast change for second quarter, 2012 to second quarter, 2013 as +2.3%. This is the link for predictions for the DC market area: http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/homepricedata/index.html?iid=EL

If I was counseling a buyer, I would say: “What are you waiting for, prices to go up? It is a tremendous time to buy”. Waiting too long may very well mean higher prices. It is actually a tremendous time to be a seller as well because the buyers recognize that prices are on the verge of going up and are coming back into the marketplace.

I entered the real estate business in 1982 in Dallas, Texas with Crow Development Company, a division of Trammell Crow Residential. In 1982 the economy was in a recession and interest rates were close to 18%, yet we developed lots and sold them to builders who built homes for people. Just last week I had the privilege of having dinner with my first boss at Crow Development, Ron Haynes. Ron and I commiserated over the current market, and then realized how good we actually have it currently compared to 1982. Interest rates are historically low, oftentimes below 4% and prices relative to earnings are in line for most markets in the country. Ron commented that this isn’t his first down cycle, so that must mean that he has had just as many up cycles. What goes down must go up.

Actually, the entire cyclical theme is Biblical: remember the 7 years of plenty and 7 years of want in the Old Testament, read Genesis 41:29-30. From 1982 to 1989 there was 7 years of mostly upward mobility in real estate values. In 1990 to 1997 there was 7 years of mostly downward values in real estate. In 1998 to 2005 there was 7 years of predominately upward trends in real estate. And in the last 7 years of 2006-2011 there has been a mostly downward focus of real estate values. That means 2012 should be the start of the upswing in real estate values.

If you are a buyer and wait too long, you might miss it. If you are a seller and this is the right time for you to make a move, then just do it. 2012 is right around the corner!

Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy are Realtors ® in the Northern Virginia, Washington DC market place and would be delighted to assist whether for home buying or selling. The Huckaby Briscoe Group was recognized in September 2011 as one of the Wall Street Journal Top Real Estate Teams in the United States. Please contact via the means most convenient for you: www.HBCRealtyGroup.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com.

The Goldilocks phenomena is described by author Christopher Booker as the “dialectical three”, where “the first is wrong in one way, the second in another or opposite way, and only the third, in the middle, is just right.” In working with purchasers in the home buying process, Realtors see the Goldilocks story play out frequently. Buyers oftentimes will change directions and criteria in the middle of the process, often to just check out what the “opposite” would mean to them. It feels like they are all over the map, and then just as suddenly tend to come back to “center” to something somewhere between the two extremes that they have been exploring.

There is a saying amongst real estate professionals that “buyers are liars”. Part of the reason I believe agents say that is that they see buyers being all over the place, having a hard time making up their minds. They are often like Goldilocks, sampling all the porridges for taste and temperature, trying out every chair in the house for size and checking out the beds for how it feels to them. I have found that once a buyer has been free to do this exploring, that they find out what is “just right” for them.

An application I see for this fairy tale to Sellers is remember that if you want to sell your home for a market price, the market will determine what is “just right”. Remember the Goldilocks principle of economics is based on being market friendly. I have seen Sellers build a home that is just too large for the lot or has a kitchen that is just too small; maybe it worked for them, but there are very few people that size will be “just right” for. Or the Seller will build a home that has very specific taste, the porridge appeals only to a select few in terms of that style. Again, the market is the indicator of what is “just right”, not the Seller. The third example that comes out of the tale for Sellers is in terms of architecture and décor. In Virginia where I practice real estate, it is a land of colonials. The majority of the market considers a colonial to be “just right”. Will there be that one buyer that wants a well done contemporary? Yes, but it isn’t the majority of the market. Just know that as a Seller you may have to wait for some time before a Goldilocks comes along that has enough gold that will buy your home. And perhaps the buyer will not want to pay as much gold for your house as you desired because it isn’t keeping with the market trends and the buyers is concerned about resale down the road.

Fairy tales are classics because there is a kernel of truth to them. In this case, the aspect of truth for real estate is to understand what is ‘just right’ for the market. The best way to do that is to engage the services of an experienced, professional Realtor that knows the market well.

Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy are Realtors ® in the Northern Virginia, Washington DC market place and would be delighted to assist whether for home buying or selling. The Huckaby Briscoe Group was recognized in September 2011 as one of the Wall Street Journal Top Real Estate Teams in the United States. Please contact via the means most convenient for you: www.HBCRealtyGroup.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com.

A special guest appearance was made on the golf course by someone that closely resembled Austin Powers. “Mr. Powers” brought great humor to the participants of the tournament, which made us quickly forget about all those shots that surprisingly made it to water or sand instead of the green. The backdrop of this shot is the Potomac River and is of the Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Realty Group foursome: Glenn Feagans, George Lodge, “Austin Powers”, Karen and Andy Briscoe:

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening reception was someone who closely resembled the owner of Trump National Golf Club. George Lodge, the co-chair of the Golf Tournament joined “Mr. Trump” at the podium to announce the tournament winners. Jerry Boutcher assisted “Mr. Trump” in the live auction, raising large sums of money for the selected charities.

Lift Me Up! is a therapeutic horseback riding program dedicated to helping children and adults with physical, mental and/or emotional disabilities improve both their physical and mental well being. By combining the unique and special presence of the horse and the skills and caring of our registered instructors, Lift Me Up! has been able to help hundreds of people gain confidence patience and invaluable self-esteem. The link to the website for Lift Me Up!: http://www.liftmeup.org/.

Our Military Kids provides substantial support in the form of grants to the children of National Guard and Military Reserve personnel who are currently deployed overseas, as well as the children of Wounded Warriors in all branches. The grants from Our Military Kids pay for participation in sports, fine arts, camps, and tutoring programs that nurture and sustain children while a parent is away in service to our country or recovering from injury. The link to the website for Our Military Kids: http://www.ourmilitarykids.org/.

The Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Realty Group is involved in the community. The agents in the group are Realtors ® in the Northern Virginia, Washington DC market place and would be delighted to assist whether for home buying or selling. The Huckaby Briscoe Group was recognized in the Wall Street Journal as a 2011 Top Real Estate Team in the United States. Please contact via the means most convenient for you: www.HBCRealtyGroup.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com.

All price brackets had similar number of sales in the first 3 quarters of 2011 compared to 2010. The best news again occurred in the $1.25 to $2 million bracket with 126 homes changing hands, up from 119 in the first half of 2010. As you may recall, the recovery of this price range began in the first half of 2011 and fortunately carried over into third quarter. The total number of sales for McLean and Great Falls was 684, which is down from 708 in the same time period in 2010, a drop of 3.5%.

My prediction for the last quarter of 2011 is much the same as the first three quarters of the year: recovery of the housing market will continue, but in a bumpy fashion. Dr. Stephen Fuller, Director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis is the foremost authority on the economy for the Washington DC metro area. Dr. Fuller spoke at the Economic Summit for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors on September 16, 2010 where he anticipated a rocky recovery. Fuller stated: “Recession is over when you stop declining,” he said, “not when you get back to where you were.” He predicted that it will be 2012 before we will be in an accelerating economy. Thankfully 2012 is just around the corner!

Keller Williams McLean/Great Falls participated in the RED day celebrations in May by collecting staples to fill the coffers of SHARE of McLean. This year the collections were held outside the local Giant grocery in McLean on May 12th and the Safeway store in Great Falls on May 14th. RED in Keller Williams Realty lingo stands for: Renew, Energize and Donate. It is an initiative dedicated to celebrating Keller Williams Realty’s year-round commitment to improving our local communities. Each year, during the second week of May, tens of thousands of KW associates from across the United States and Canada come together to give their time to renew, energize and donate locally where they live and work.

RED day for the Keller Williams – McLean/Great Falls office focused on securing donations for and raising awareness for SHARE, Inc. SHARE is an all-volunteer non-profit organization which is celebrating its 41st year of operations this year. SHARE is dedicated to assisting the less fortunate in McLean, Great Falls, Falls Church and surrounding communities. It is a designated Community Based Organization, created to serve people in times of personal and family emergencies.

The food pantry in 2010 had nearly 2,400 family visits; distributing just under 7,000 bags of groceries and other necessity items. In the spring and summer, the food bank is often severely depleted, thus SHARE has come to depend on the Keller Williams – McLean/Great Falls Realtor community to collect stapes to fill the shelves on RED day. Numerous truck loads were dispatched from the Giant in McLean and the Safeway in Great Falls filled with staples and food stuffs for SHARE to distribute to those in need.

The Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Realty Group participated in the Keller Williams – McLean/Great Falls RED day. The HBC Realty Group is committed to being involved in the market area that it works with buyers and sellers of real estate in Northern Virginia. The contact information for the HBC Realty Group is: www.HBCRealtyGroup.com; Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com and 703-734-0192.

Right size housing works for all ages and stages. Downsizing implies something being taken away; such as corporate downsizing means job losses. The opposite would be expansion.

The most common stages of real estate right sizing I’ve found are:
• college student leaves the familial home and shares a dormitory room/bathroom facilities, meals are taken in a cafeteria
• recent graduate rents an apartment
• marriage is the next step for most people and at this time couples may purchase a condo or townhouse
• after the first child arrives and the household expands, more space is usually desired both inside and outside and the couple looks to make their first move-up purchase, usually a town home or single family
• if more children arrive and as they grow, more space is needed for the expanding needs of the family members
• as the children begin to leave home for college, parents start to consider right sizing into a town home, smaller single family or a condominium
• as the adults age, many times require single level living to minimize steps or an elevator for easier mobility
• senior adults may require assistance in daily living needs and thus move into housing that provides those services that provides meals in a cafeteria setting
• many people come full circle in the “right size of housing” and move into the home of a family member for daily care

For me and Andy, the most significant improvement to our quality of life since we “right sized” is that we no longer have yard work. We moved into a brick, luxury town home in McLean that has minimal exterior maintenance. The square footage of our town house is about the same size as the single family with a yard, so it was a lateral move in that aspect. The town house was more expensive then the single family, so we expanded the financial aspect. In that one move the right sizing was on 3 levels.

Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy would be delighted to be of assistance in whatever real estate stage you and your family are in. The Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Realty Group was recognized by the Wall St. Journal in the 2011 Top Team List. Please contact via the means most convenient for you: www.HBCRealtyGroup.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com.