This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

I admit I’m partial to Lake Anne neighborhoods — they are beautiful and convenient to all the amenities Reston has to offer. Lakeside Cluster is a great Reston neighborhood that does not get as much attention as its famous neighbor, Waterview Cluster.

Frankly, the community likes it that way. This is a friendly, quiet, unassuming neighborhood.

Lakeside Cluster has everything all of the neighborhoods that border Reston’s Lake Anne share — access to the lake, a quick walk to Lake Anne Plaza, well-designed homes, many of which are direct lakefront.

Lakeside Cluster was built between 1965 and 1969, and comprises 90 lovely two- and three-level townhouses and patio homes with two to four bedrooms. They also have garages, which makes them different than most of their Lake Anne neighbors. All homes have lake access via a trail to the cluster dock, even if they are not direct lakefront property.

The cluster couldn’t be positioned better. It is located on Greenbriar Road and Orchard Lane off Fairway Drive, which is the south shore of Lake Anne. Fairway Drive provides easy access to both North Shore Drive and Wiehle Avenue.

For families with children, the cluster is an easy walk to Lake Anne Elementary. Children also attend Langston Hughes Middle and South Lakes High School.

For the parents, Lake Side Cluster is only 1.5 miles to the Wiehle-Reston East Station Metro station, and a short hop to Reston Town Center and the Dulles Toll Road. And, of course, a five minute walk to Lake Anne Village Plaza — home of the Reston Farmers Market and several great locally owned restaurants.

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

In my opinion, January is not too early to start thinking about Valentine’s Day. And let’s be honest, about the lovely chocolate treats that make it a day worth celebrating.

One of my favorite local Reston businesses for cakes and confections is Edibles Incredible Desserts at Reston Town Center. I can practically taste the fudge as I write this.

A common passion for desserts led couple Alan Furman and Robyn Hanna to pursue their dream of creating a shop specializing in irresistible gourmet treats. Edibles Incredible Desserts launched in 1999 with a kiosk in Fair Oaks Mall, selling fudge and toffee.

Today, Edibles Incredible Desserts is a local favorite — named winner of Northern Virginia’s best bakery and best kids cakes as voted by 150,000 readers of Northern Virginia Magazine. But the greatest joy for Alan and Robyn is when seasoned customers come in and begin telling others how great their treats taste.

Immediately after launching their business, their two flagship products “Robyn’s English Toffee” and “Alan’s Secret Recipe Fudge” became hot sellers at Dean and DeLuca in Georgetown. Soon after, they opened their first store in the Reston Town Center at 11917 Freedom Dr.

You don’t have to go to Reston Town Center to enjoy a delicious dessert as they ship their cakes, cookies brownies, candy and cupcakes, among others, anywhere in the country.

In early 2007, they opened a commercial kitchen and production facility in Sterling, just minutes from Dulles International Airport. This allows them to ship their baked goods and other desserts right out of the oven and ship fresh directly.

Their motto is “to please palates everywhere. ” And they do … in our stores and online.

Enjoy browsing through their site, and maybe order a cake online. Call them anytime to discuss their products 703-437-3008.

Photo: Cake by Edibles Incredible/Courtesy of Edibles Incredible.

This is a sponsored post from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Reston Architect Ken Bonner is well known in Reston for his contemporary, single-family homes.

But he also designed townhome communities. Among them, Colts Neck Cluster on Escalante and Greywing Courts, built in 1972-1973. These contemporary townhomes are three levels with cedar siding exteriors. The homes have between 1,600 and 2,000 square feet of living space.

This community is comprised of 60 townhouses in South Reston, near the intersection of Colts Neck Road and South Lakes Drive. Escalante Court is off South Lakes Drive and next to the South Lakes Drive Park. Greywing Court is off Colts Neck Road.

The Colts Neck community is close to the Reston National Golf Course and the Hunters Woods Village Center Shopping Center. It is also within two miles of the new Silver Line Wiehle-Reston East Metro station.

The community is within walking distance of the Reston Town Center, Reston Community Center, and Reston Association offices, as well as schools, public pools, tennis and basketball courts, athletic fields, a golf course, community gardens, grocery stores and restaurants, and much more.

These lovely homes are perfect for anyone looking for well-designed, contemporary architecture in a close-knit, townhome community.

Photo courtesy Colts Neck Cluster

This is a sponsored post from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

The year 2014 was an one in Reston real estate.

It was a year marked by rapid changes that made it tricky to get listings properly positioned in the marketplace. We had a protracted winter. When the spring finally came, houses were moving fast. Then suddenly in late May and early June, it was like the air sputtered out of the balloon and things started dragging along slower and slower.

It’s not that things were not selling — they were — but there was no sense of urgency in the market. By late July, it seemed that all the buyers had left for vacation.

The year-end numbers reflect this sluggishness — we sold 13 percent fewer homes in Reston than in the previous year. In 2013, 1,138 residential properties sold in Reston compared to 1,005 in 2014.

Overall appreciation for 2014 was up slightly, but when you dig into the numbers by different housing types you see that some segments of the market saw significant appreciation.

For example, small townhouses (attached two bedrooms or fewer) were up 10 percent in value as were large townhouses (attached four  or more bedrooms) up an average of more than 8 percent.

The smaller (three bedrooms or fewer) detached single family homes sold for an average of 8.15 percent more than last year, while the larger (four or more bedrooms) were up an average 4.13 percent.

The median sold price for a property in Reston in 2014 was $423,000, up 3.4 percent over last year.

So what does the future hold for Reston real estate? Low gas prices, good job numbers and vastly improved consumer confidence should translate into strong sales. The market is in the neutral zone — not overtly favoring buyers or sellers.

Mortgage rates are low allowing qualified buyers get more house than they may have in the past. Reston continues to be a great community with a wide range of options available to home buyers.

My Magic 8 Ball says “The Outlook is Go” for 2015.

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

I don’t typically believe that one time of year is better for selling your home verses another.

For as long as I’ve been selling real estate, I have always had at least a couple of transactions around the winter holidays, but conventional wisdom says that there is something magical about spring.

It is nearly the new year, which means the spring market is just around the corner. If you are thinking of putting your home on the market soon, pay attention to the “To Do” list to get it into top shape.

The first place to start is by cleaning. I don’t the mean the vacuum and dusting kind of cleaning; I mean the scrub the grout with a tooth brush kind of cleaning. I mean you do your best imitation of your crazy Aunt Sadie with the obsessive-compulsive cleaning disorder kind of cleaning.

Some clients opt for hiring a cleaning crew. If you’re going to do that, you should de-clutter your house before bringing in a cleaning professional. If your “To Do” list includes painting, save the professional cleaning for the last item on your list.

So what does the typical seller “To Do” list look like?

• Reduce contents of all closets by half. Stuffed closets speak to prospective buyers — they say “this house doesn’t have enough storage.” This may not be the case; maybe you’re just really bad about getting rid of the excess we all seem to accumulate.
• Neutralize your home: Pre-pack most of your personal items like family photos, your ceramic frog collection and other things that can distract buyers from seeing the house.
• Be prepared to put furniture and other items in storage.
• 50 percent of the houses I see prior to listing need to be painted — go neutral.
• Clean everything — every, nook, cranny, light switch cover, door jamb, door knobs, everything.
• Do not overlook the utility areas of your home, they should be thoroughly cleaned and organized including the area around the furnace, and water heater including the area around the furnace, and water heater

A super clean and orderly home says “I have been well maintained.” A clean house reduces buyer anxiety.

One of the first things I do for clients after signing a listing agreement is to drop off 100 office-sized boxes to be used to de-clutter, or as we like to call it, pre-packing. A home that is free of clutter makes room for the prospective buyer to mentally picture themselves with their own possessions in that home; which in turn helps to move the buyer from thinking to acting … writing a contract.

The more you can do to clean, organize, neutralize, paint, upgrade, the faster your home will go from being on the market to being sold.

This is a sponsored post from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

The holiday season will be winding down shortly. As I make my final Christmas preparations, I’m already thinking ahead to what I want to do this New Year’s Eve. Here are some ideas for celebrating New Years’ Eve in and around Reston.

Cocoa and Ice Skating

I do love watching the children skate while I sip a cup of hot cocoa. And you don’t have to leave Reston for this one; just head down to the Reston Town Center Pavilion. The rink is open New Year’s Eve until 8 p.m.

First Night Celebrations

Family friendly first night celebrations are among my favorites. Falls Church has a wonderful (free) one called Watch Night featuring live entertainment, activities for the kids and great vendors.

Holiday Lights

One of my favorite things to do is enjoy holiday lights. We’re lucky in this area to have two wonderful displays to visit: the regionally renowned Bull Run Festival of Lights or the extraordinarily breathtaking Meadowlark Garden’s Winter Walk of Lights. Both are open through Jan. 4.

Whatever you decide to do on New Year’s Eve this year, have fun and be safe.

Happy Holidays!

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Chanukah begins today, and Christmas and New Year’s Eve will be here very soon too.

With everything going on this time of year, many sellers opt to wait until well into the new year to list their home. Some believe summer is the best time to sell, and others simply don’t want to interrupt their favorite holiday traditions.

Selling at this time of year can actually be very beneficial to the seller. I recently came across an article on Realtor.com that discussed 10 reasons why you can sell your home during the holidays. There are three points in particular that I like.

1. More international buyers

The number of home buyers from other countries has increased dramatically — especially in Reston. These buyers don’t observe the same calendar of events as most Americans.

2. Seller competition is lighter during the holidays

There are plenty of buyers out there right now. But with sellers reluctant to list their homes during the holidays, there is a shortage of inventory. Take advantage of that.

3. You don’t have to forgo holiday decorating or take phone calls during the holiday feast.

You can set boundaries about when you show your house (and even set up blackout dates), and decorations don’t turn off most buyers. But having your house listed means it will be on the website, and during the holidays the number of online searches soars. This means your house will be viewed virtually, and that’s a good thing.

Read the article for more insights as to why this is a great time of year to sell your home. Or call me and I can help you get ready.

Or call me and I can help you get ready.

 This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Just 10 properties went from PENDING to SOLD this past week in Reston. Not a surprise as we roll into the height of the holiday season.

The average days on market for this group was a whopping 85! The home on the market for the longest period was on for 186 days before securing a contract, while the house on the market for the least amount of time was under contract in just seven days.

It is important to note that the house with 186 days on the market also only sold for 88 percent of its original list price. Listing your home high because “you’re not in a hurry” rarely results in the payoff the seller plans. In general, the longer your home is on the market the greater drop in price it will take to get it sold.

Here are the houses that sold this past week.

1715 BLUE FLINT COURT. 3BR, 3.5 BA. List Price: $549,999. Sold Price: $540,000. Seller Subsidy: $5,000.

11651 STONEVIEW SQ #2-B. 2BR, 2BA. List Price: $179,900. Sold Price: $178,500. Seller Subsidy: $3,570.

1401 GREENMONT CT. 3BR, 2.5BA. List Price: $419,000. Sold Price: $418,000. Seller Subsidy: $9,850.

1536 NORTHGATE SQ #32A. 1BR, 1BA. List Price: $210,000. Sold Price: $210,000. Seller Subsidy: $5,500.

11032 THRUSH RIDGE RD. 4BR, 3.5 BA. List Price: $684,900. Sold Price: $670,000 Seller Subsidy: $0.

1654 BARNSTEAD DR. 3BR, 1FB, 2 HB. List Price: $347,900. Sold Price: $349,000. Seller Subsidy: $9,000.

1162 MEADOWLOOK CT. 5BR 4.5BA. List Price: $1,067,000. Sold Price: $1,032,000. Seller Subsidy: $0.

11632 DEER FOREST RD. 4BR, 3.5 BA. List Price: $699,900. Sold Price: $689,500. Seller Subsidy: $0.

11739D SUMMERCHASE CIR #1739-D. 1BR, 1BA. List Price: $189,900. Sold Price: $189,000. Seller Subsidy: $5,000.

1447 WATERFRONT RD. 5BR, 4BR. List Price: $975,500. Sold Price: $965,000. Seller Subsidy: $0.

This is a sponsored article from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

There were 15 new listings that hit the market this week; total active listings are 230.

People always worry about listing at this time of year. It is true that the market is slower during the holiday season,there are always serious buyers in the hunt — just not as many.

Here are a few of the new listings.

11296 FAIRWIND WAY. 3BR 2.5BA. $495,000

12001 MARKET ST #441. 2BR, 2.5BA. $549,900

2405 RED MAPLE LN. 4BR, 2.5BA. $675,000

2069 ROYAL FERN CT #12B. 2BR, 1BA $219,900

12185 ABINGTON HALL PL #204. 2BR, 2BA. $420,000

11401O GATE HILL PL #75 2BR, 2BA. $360,000

This is a sponsored post from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. 

When you’re driving down Lawyers Road in South Reston, it is easy to forget that you are in the midst of increasingly urban Reston.

This twisting, winding, hilly and tree-lined state road embodies the beauty of Northern Virginia. The few homes with a Lawyers Road address sit well off the street, surrounded by woods (and the occasional horse paddock).

There are several charming streets that house tight-knit communities of people who take pride in their neighborhood. Among them: November Lane, Steeplechase, Myrtle Lane, Charlestown, and more.

Each street has it’s own style and community feel and range from small “starter” homes to larger estates. What they all have in common is natural beauty and friendly neighbors. Each neighborhood has easy access to Reston’s walking paths, making it perfect for families that enjoy the outdoors.

Not too many years ago, Lawyers Road was the primary way to get from Reston to Vienna and Fairfax. In fact, in fact the road leads straight to the county courthouse, so that may give you a clue to how it got its name. It’s still the fastest and and most scenic way to get to old town Vienna.

But that’s only if you choose to leave Reston. Lawyers intersects with Twin Branches, making it a quick jaunt to Lake Audubon, Lake Thoreau, and South Lakes Village Center. Or jump on Soapstone for a quick trip to the Walker Nature Education Center and South Lakes High School. It also ends at Reston Parkway at Fox Mill Center.

If you’re looking for a community of single-family homes that is in Reston, but slightly removed from the hustle and bustle, look at the areas on or near Lawyers Road.

This is a sponsored post from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. 

There were 18 properties that went from PENDING to SOLD this past week in Reston. The total number of homes for sale is 239, which leave us with about a 3 1/2-month’s supply.

The number of days it takes to get a property sold is at a high of 53 — that’s a lot of mornings to wake up and leave your house show room perfect! You can expect it to take a little longer to sell a property during the holiday season, but if you’re still sitting after 30 days it might be time to ask your agent for a new set of sales comparables to make sure your home is priced right.

Here are a few of the homes that sold in the last week.

1112 LAKESPRAY WAY. 3BR, 3.5BA. List Price: $729,000. Sold Price: $650,000. Seller Subsidy: $0

11412 FIELDSTONE LANE. 5BR, 4.5BA. List Price: $1,049,000. Sold Price: $880,000. Seller Subsidy: $0

12165 TRYTON WAY. 4BR, 2FB, 2 HB. List Price: $750,000. Sold Price: $750,000 Seller Subsidy: $6,000

12004 TALIESIN PLACE #14. 1BR, 1BA. List Price:$269,900. Sold Price: $251,900. Seller Subsidy: $3,000

1658 BACHAN COURT. 3BR, 2.5BA. List Price: $485,000. Sold Price: $469,000. Seller Subsidy: $1,500

10845 WELBURY COURT. 5BR, 4BA. List Price: $850,000. Sold Price: $846,500. Seller Subsidy: $0

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

I love Thanksgiving. Spending time with my family always fills with me with joy. Then the immediate consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday kind of sully that good feeling.

Not that I don’t love a good deal, but wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy the gratitude and good will of Thanksgiving a little longer? Now that those two shopping days are behind us, we can get back into the holiday spirit with #GivingTuesday.

Giving Tuesday — which is today, Dec. 2 — is a global day dedicated to giving back. Charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.

How can you participate? Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Below is a list of some of the more than worthy organizations in Reston and Fairfax County. Choose the ones you want to support, then tell everyone about how you are giving — this is where that hashtag thing really works. Use #GivingTuesday.

Here are some of my favorite places to give:

• Cornerstones: Cornerstones promotes self-sufficiency by providing support and advocacy for those in need of food, shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare, and other human services.
• Let’s Give Back: Let’s Give Back provides GiveBackPacks™ that contain items people may need when their child is admitted to the pediatric ICU. Receiving a GiveBackPack is comforting and helpful to the family in need.
• Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter: More than 5,000 animals, including cats, dogs, small mammals, reptiles and livestock, come to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter each year. The shelter opens its doors — and its heart — to care for each and every animal. But, the shelter can’t do it alone. Through donor and volunteer support, the Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter provides medical care, food, supplies and so much more to help the shelter care for these loving animals.
• Friends of Reston: Friends of Reston supports Reston Association in performing charitable, educational and scientific projects. In addition to raising $1.5M to help fund the Nature House, the organization has an RA Camp Scholarship Program and has organized the Re-energize Reston challenge with Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP).

These are just four of my favorites, but there are hundreds of charities in the area that could use your help. The Great Nonprofits website also lists some lesser-known charities in the area.

Happy holidays!

This is a sponsored post from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

There were 15 Properties went from Pending to Sold this past week. There were 248 active listings, which leaves us with just over four months of housing inventory.

The average Days On Market — the measure of how long it takes to get a house sold — is up to 43.

Sellers can shorten that number by making sure that they’re doing everything they can to be the best priced home for its condition in its category.

Here are a few of the properties that settled in the last week.

• 10992 CLOVER HUNT CT. 4BR, 4.5 BA. List Price: $925,000. Sold Price: $900,000. Seller Subsidy: $0
• 2257 CASTLE ROCK SQ #2B. 2BR, 2 BA. List Price: $179,999. Sold Price: $167,500. Seller Subsidy: $0
• 2012 LAKEWINDS DR. 4BR, 3.5 BA. List Price: $850,000. Sold Price: $825,000. Seller Subsidy: $0
• 1682 BAYFIELD WAY. 2BR, 1.5 BA. List Price; $310,000. Sold Price: $275,000. Seller Subsidy: $0
• 11503 WATERHAVEN CT. 3BR, 3.5 BA. List Price: $590,000. Sold Price: $572,500. Seller Subsidy: $0
• 1812 IVY OAK SQ #1812. 4BR, 2.5 BA. List Price: $375,000. Sold Price: $364,000. Seller Subsidy: $6,900

 This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.

Reston is known for its beautiful contemporary homes. About 65 of those homes (and some residential apartment buildings) are courtesy of architect Ken Bonner, who has lived in Reston since 1968.

In fact, Bonner built the first house in Reston. That home was Reston’s first detached single-family house. It still stands today on Stirrup Road. In a Fairfax Times article, Bonner recalls having to transport a portable generator to the building site because there were no power lines yet. This was back in 1964.

The house has been featured in national magazines, and today is still considered a technological marvel for its use of space, natural lighting and energy-conserving design.

A trademark of any Bonner home is using natural sunlight and preserving trees. In the Stirrup Road house, the sun lights the kitchen in the morning, lights the living room as it crosses the sky midday, and then lights the den as it begins to set. The home also is outfitted with several ceiling skylights, making electric lighting unnecessary on most sunny days.

Integrating a human living space into nature in an environmentally sensitive way was Bonner’s  passion. In the 1960s, Reston founder Robert E. Simon Jr. was eager to give Bonner a chance to build throughout Reston with that philosophy in mind.

My first home in Reston was a Bonner home on Buttermilk Lane. It backed up to beautiful, treed lot with a creek at the bottom of the backyard. We kept the walls painted bright white and let the color of the woods in through the wall of windows that ran across the rear of the house. It was a fantastic place to raise our family.

Ken Bonner is just one of the visionary architects who made Reston the unique community it is today. His designs continue to inspire those who believe in Reston’s vision as a place to live, work, and play.

Photo: Bonner home on Peppermint Court in Reston/Credit: Zillow