Real Estate Talk

Not for the Faint of Heart

2009-10-31T07:18:00.004-04:00

I've been selling real estate since 2004 and what I'm finally understanding is that this is not a business for the faint of heart. These days people understand how important the real estate sector is to the economy. What many people who venture into this business don't understand is just how hard this is, emotionally, physically, mentally. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy what I do but man can it be difficult. It's so easy to get off track too. I was so excited about writing this blog when I started many years ago and I lost interest because the work of just selling real estate became so tough. We'll be in a new year in two months and I've promised myself that I will be the best that I can be and sell the heck out of this market. What I've gained over the years is a greater appreciation of my ability to solve problems, to bring people together and to manage expectations. So let the fun continue! Oh by the way, I'm never too busy for your referrals either.
The Washington Post's Real Estate section today has an interesting story about the lack of affordable housing in the DC area. I'm not sure I agree with the article but take a look and see what you think: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/29/AR2009102905141.html.

Until next time, remember you can rest when you die.

Living Green

2008-06-30T16:21:00.004-04:00

Make your home energy self-sufficient in some surprisingly simple steps: as indicated by an article in Saturday's Washington Post

Passive Solar Energy

Advantage: Energy that costs nothing, unless a couple of trees need to be cut down to allow the sunlight in.
Disadvantages: Most new houses are built in subdivisions where the front of the house faces the street. Passive solar design might mean your house would face the back yard or side yard.

Tight Building Envelope

Advantages: Allows a tight envelope to be formed around your house so little energy escapes.
Disadvantage: Slightly higher initial cost.

Renewable Energy

Solar: The electricity you generate from the sun powers anything in the house.

Advantages: Clean and, once paid off, an investment that keeps on producing. If you make more energy with the sun than you need, it can go into the utility grid, spinning your meter backward and generating a credit.
Disadvantages: Expensive: It would cost $40,000 to $60,000 to take an average American house completely off the grid with solar.

Wind: Wind energy has improved dramatically in the past few years. Systems are now quiet, and if the wind blows at more than 8 miles per hour, it creates energy that can be used for anything that requires electricity in your home, including heating or cooling.

Advantages: Takes your system 20 to 30 percent off the grid when there is a good wind. If you produce more energy than you need, it goes into the utility grid, spinning your meter backward and generating a credit.
Disadvantages: No wind, no energy. There are often ordinances on tower height.

Efficient Heating, Cooling

Heat pumps: A high-efficiency heat-pump system provides the same comfort as its standard-efficiency brethren but uses 10 to 20 percent less energy. A heat pump is the most efficient system for the money invested. The expense is about 15 percent to 20 percent more than the cost of a standard system and, as a result, these pay for themselves in three to five years.

Advantages: Refrigerant that's less damaging to the environment than the refrigerant used in standard systems. Zoned systems put energy only where needed instead of everywhere. Why heat the whole house when you need the warmth only on the first floor? Will cool even when outside temperatures top 100 degrees.
Disadvantages: Costs more initially. Needs a backup heat source if temperature goes below 20 degrees outside. This backup can be electric or fossil fuel (propane, fuel oil) and is designed to kick in as needed.

Geothermal: This system uses the natural heat of the earth to heat and cool a house. It works well in large and small homes but requires electricity to run.

Advantage: Extremely efficient.
Disadvantages: The initial outlay is sizable, and although it is efficient, you remain on the grid.

Radiant heat: This system consists of pipes installed beneath the floor that heat the floor. Similar to hot water baseboard heat, it is a low-temperature radiator system that runs through every square foot of your floor. Electricity does not work well for this system and so is not recommended. Propane is the fuel of choice, though solar energy can complement this system.

Advantage: Less expensive than geothermal.
Disadvantages: Not necessarily less than high-efficiency heat pumps, especially when you factor in the cost of propane vs. the cost of electricity. Does not cool.

Water Heaters

On-demand hot water: On-demand systems heat water only as it is needed. They have been used throughout Europe since World War II. Important note: If the water needs to be treated, it must be treated before it enters the hot water heating system.

Advantages: Saves energy, cost-efficient.
Disadvantages: You are still on the power grid. The systems that run on electricity do not work nearly as well as those that use propane. Propane costs have almost doubled in the past year.

Solar water heaters: A water system requires only a couple of solar panels and heats water throughout the year. Given the tax incentives, this system earns back the cost in three to seven years and then keeps going.

Advantages: Tax credits, heats water off the grid.
Disadvantage: Cloudy days mean your backup system, usually electric or propane, will turn on automatically to make sure you are never without hot water.

Go Green...Toward Energy Self-Sufficiency In Some Surprisingly Simple Steps

Angela Jones
www.AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

A Look at Affordable Security Systems

2008-06-23T09:04:00.004-04:00

There is some new technology when it comes to home security. Do your research, some new systems can keep you safe while possibly even saving money.

As examples of the expanding choices available, here's a quick look at four systems that use modern options -- high tech and low tech, centrally monitored or able to notify you directly if there's an issue.

1. For flexible direct alerting without monthly fees, Sensaphone's Model 400, list price $395, monitors electrical power, high or low temperature, and noise level.

2. For people who have replaced land-line telephones with cellphone or Internet voice service, McLean's Alarm.com takes a different approach. The system connects via a two-way cellular network to an operations center. This system handles traditional alarms such as intrusion and fire as well as non-emergent activities like children returning from school or someone opening a liquor cabinet. This system can also sound an alert if a desired event doesn't happen, such as an elderly parent occasionally moving around. Video connections provides a remote "grannycam" if that option is needed. Monitoring is always on, unlike with many home alarm systems. Price ranges from $300 on up to over $1000 plus monitoring fees.

3. A simple, self-installed intrusion-detection technology comes from LaserShield. Its starter kit, costing $199.99 (plus monitoring fees), includes a master alarm unit, an infrared wireless detection unit, two key-chain remotes and a device to prevent animal-triggered false alarms. Only the master unit needs a telephone connection; units have panic buttons and battery backup.

4. For flexible and modular security, AT&T's Remote Monitor system provides functions ranging from minimal (one door/window intrusion sensor and one camera) to comprehensive (multiple cameras including pan and tilt capability; water, temperature, motion and intrusion sensors; power controller, lamp dimmer; thermostat). Four starter kits are available, ranging from $199 to $899 plus monitoring fees.

All systems have disadvantages as well as the touted features; he pointed out that initial and monthly cost, troubleshooting procedures, customer service, and coverage hours all affect long-term satisfaction. Do your reasearch to find the best system for you and your family. Click here to read the entire Washington Post article.

Stay Safe...

Angela Jones
www.AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Pouring Cash Into the Bath

2008-06-16T08:09:00.003-04:00

Every home seller who's serious about the job knows that scrubbing, de-cluttering, and all manner of primping are mandatory. But how far should you go in making expensive repairs to a bathroom?

Buyers pay a lot of attention to bathrooms. They know it's expensive to remodel, and they're mightily turned off by disrepair. And plenty of homes in this area have bath tiles in horrid hues of yellow, pink, blue and green that cry out for replacement.

A bathroom rehab can move to the top of the to-do list when other parts of the home have already been updated. Buyers tend to expect that a whole house is of similar quality.

If you have already updated the kitchen and other parts of the house, a shabby, old bathroom can stick in buyers' memories, turning your lovely, reasonably priced home into the one shoppers remember as "the house with the ugly blue tiles."

But is it worth remodeling just to help along a sale? To find out, read the following Washington Post article "Pouring Cash Into the Bath".

See You Next Week...

Angela Jones
www.AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Relaxation, in Rotation

2008-06-09T07:06:00.007-04:00

Have you and your family been thinking about purchasing a vacation home but think that you just can't afford 2 mortgages? You may find an answer to your problem in this Washington Post Article written by Karen Tanner Allen. Relaxation, in Rotation discusses the trend of families and friends purchasing vacation homes together, kind of like a "mini timeshare". Allowing families to get away without breaking the bank. This arrangement has multiple families sharing the mortgage as well as the day to day expenses.

If this is something that you may be serious about, you might want to also read Preventing Conflict, Preserving Fun. This related article may give you some helpful hints on drafting a vacation home contract.

Stay Cool...It's Hot Out There!

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

For First-Time Buyers, Tempting Prices but Tougher Rules

2008-06-02T13:06:00.003-04:00

If you're a first-time home buyer, you'll find it a little harder to qualify for a mortgage than your counterpart did two years ago. There are loans out there...read this Washington Post article written by Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin...to see what kinds of loans are available and might fit the bill for you.

Happy June!

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

America's Most Expensive Homes

2008-05-27T10:02:00.003-04:00

Are you as interested as I am in how the uber-rich live? Check out some of America's Most Expensive Homes. There are quite a few homes featured, from a $165 million dollar mansion in Beverly Hills to a $125 million dollar manor in Greenwich, CT...we can dream can't we?

Have a good week!

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Where Does Your School Rank?

2008-05-19T17:16:00.005-04:00

More than 100 LOCAL high schools are included in the latest list of the nation's best....with 15 of them in the top 100! If you are looking for a new home and have school age children, this list may help you decide which house to buy...or at least in which area to look.

#16 a school in Arlington, VA
#32 a school in Rockville, MD
#76 a school in Washington, DC

Check it out and see how your school ranks.

Have a wonderful week...

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Hang Tight -- It Can't Be This Bad Forever

2008-05-12T14:57:00.003-04:00

By Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
Washington Post
Saturday, May 10, 2008

If things aren't looking good for you in today's real estate market, take a look at the Hang Tight -- It Can't Be This Bad Forever article from Saturday's Washington Post. There are some interesting questions about Short Sales, Bankruptcy, Loans, Marriages and Divorces (with homes involved) as well as a few others. Just remember, there is help out there!!

Thanks for looking...

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

2008-05-05T08:31:00.006-04:00

Looking for something fun to do tonight? Check out the Washington Posts City Guide to find the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta that best fits your needs. Want free drinks and salsa lessons? Or does your kid want General Zaragoza painted on his face? Either way, there's a fiesta for you. Thanks for looking...and have a great week!

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Is Washington's Market Making a Slow Recovery?

2008-04-28T16:40:00.004-04:00

Elizabeth Razzi, Washington Post writer, chatted over lunch with two deans of the brokerage business, John McEnearney, 81, founder of McEnearney Associates, and P. Wesley Foster Jr., 74, founder of Long & Foster Real Estate. Her hope was to gain some perspective on the Washington-area housing market.

Some of the things the trio touched on were:
1. How does this market compare with others you've seen?
2. How much longer might the market go on like this?
3. How much of the run-up in prices was due to inflation, and how much to changes in the Washington area?
4. What should buyers do now?
5. Advice for sellers?
6. What if the economy doesn't recover soon?
7. Is traffic a housing issue?

If any of these questions are of interest to you, click here to read Brokerage Barons See Washington Making a Slow Recovery article from Saturdays Washington Post.

Until next week..

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

DO I NEED . . . A Carbon Monoxide Detector?

2008-04-21T18:47:00.004-04:00

WHAT IT IS: A device that detects the presence of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, potentially lethal gas produced by incomplete combustion.

WHAT IT COSTS: First Alert and Kidde sell battery-powered versions for about $40.

WHO NEEDS IT: Anyone who has a covered garage or combustion-fueled appliances such as those that run on gas, oil or wood.

WHERE TO FIND IT: Home centers, hardware stores and online retailers.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Buy a CO detector with a digital display that has a peak level recorder, which tracks the highest readings, and a battery backup.

Click here to read more on Carbon Monoxide in the Washington Post

Have a safe week...

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Is This Home Truly Affordable?

2008-04-14T14:10:00.006-04:00

Can I afford to buy this new home? What area of DC should I buy? Would it be easier if I left home earlier? Would I be better off riding a train? How bad will my commute be in five years? A new Web-based tool developed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology can help put facts behind questions like those. The CNT developed a Web site, at http://htaindex.cnt.org/, that takes into account household expenditures for transportation, along with home prices, to estimate whether a home is truly affordable for households with moderate incomes. This may be a good tool for you to use if you are planning a move, but a good rule of thumb is to also check things out the "old fashioned way". A few other tips may be:

1. Always do a trial commute during rush hour before you make an offer on a home. Time the ride and estimate your gas consumption. If you're thinking of taking Metro or commuter rail, price out the weekly expense.

2. As you size up neighborhoods, take the time to figure out where you will worship, buy groceries, go to the movies, enroll the kids in dance class or pick up an extra gallon of milk. Is bus or rail service available, even if only as a backup for days when your car is in the shop? Will your children be able to ride bicycles to the pool, or does a six-lane highway make that too dangerous?
3. It's easy to underestimate your total transportation budget when you house-hunt on a quiet Sunday afternoon. And misjudging your travel needs can seriously derail your after-purchase budget.

Click here to read the whole Washington Post article written by Elizabeth Razzi.
Click here to visit my website for some other very useful tools.

Angela Jones
http://www.angelajonesrealestate.com/

40 Years Ago Today...Thru the Eyes of a 6 Year Old

2008-04-07T08:32:00.006-04:00

F orty years ago today, the District was emerging from three days of riots that began after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This wonderful story recounts the days and months that followed...through the eyes of a 6 year old. Follow this link to read the whole WP story.

Have a great week!
Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

The Bottom Line on Fixing It Up

2008-03-31T09:47:00.006-04:00

Home Renovations' Return on Investment Varies at Resale

If you're trying to sell your house, you're probably going to need to grab a paint brush -- or at least a phone to call a contractor. But as you fix up the place, keep a close eye on costs, as major remodeling projects rarely add to a seller's bottom line.

This is a GREAT article written by Mary Ellen Slayter of the Washington Post. If you are a seller in todays market, read this article...it will help you decide what fix-ups are a must and which are a bust!

Have a wonderful week...
Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

N.Va. Foreclosures Form 'Ring of Fire'

2008-03-25T10:00:00.005-04:00

Chain of Housing Crisis Hot Spots Indicates Disparity in Market Downturn

By Nick Miroff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 23, 2008

As the surge in foreclosures continues and banks repossess more and more houses, property values are declining -- but not everywhere, and not by equal measure, Thompson and other real estate agents said. No part of the region is untouched, but most foreclosures are clustered in certain neighborhoods and several troubled Zip codes. Rather than a sea of slumping housing, Northern Virginia has an island chain of hot spots.

As a whole, the Washington region was doing much better than other parts of the country, mostly thanks to low unemployment. "All the local fundamentals remain strong,"

This is an interesting article...please click here to read the entire "Ring of Fire" article.

Have a great week...

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Swooping In From Overseas

2008-03-17T15:09:00.003-04:00

By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 15, 2008

With the U.S. dollar at its weakest level in decades, international buyers are chasing housing bargains here, eager to take advantage of their purchasing power and the declining prices in some of the best-known U.S. cities.

Against that backdrop, the Washington area is luring more than the usual crowd of diplomats. Now that the dollar is cheap, the region's appeal has broadened, enticing international business types and sophisticated investors who find comfort in the area's global reputation as a recession-proof market.

Click here to read the entire Swooping In From Overseas article

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

The Washington Post's Going Out Gurus

2008-03-10T14:30:00.006-04:00

The City Guide's staff of experts, called the Going Out Gurus will be posting daily on what's new in Washington and what's worth revisiting, from the best concert tickets to the latest shopping trends, cool bars and top theater. They deliver the news that lets you plan your happy hours, family outings and special events. And remember that they still want to hear from you; so post your comments on our "GOG blog."

Every week, the Going Out Gurus suggest ways to enjoy Washington's cultural scene without spending any money. What a great way to explore the city...For Free!

Other very useful things that are available on the blog are: Movies, Music, Museums, Theaters, Restaurants, Best of 2007, Bars and Clubs, Shopping, Snow Days, and Special Upcoming Events.

Please check it out, there may be something that may interest you...

Have a great week!

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Something to Get You Going on Spring Cleaning in Your Garden

2008-03-03T15:37:00.005-05:00

Rake, Prune, Clean And Cultivate Before Spring Growth
By Joel M. Lerner

Saturday, February 23, 2008; Page F03

Until now, fallen leaves and other winter debris have been protecting your plants. Now it's time to clean up before new growth begins.

After cleaning the beds, assess which woody broadleaf evergreens need to be rejuvenated. Renewal pruning of broadleaf evergreens is best done now. Hard pruning is necessary only if a plant has overgrown its boundaries and is losing ornamental value.

A few pruning caveats:

1. In extreme shade, shrubs will be slow to renew and should be pruned only if necessary.

2. Never prune when plants are wet; it's the easiest way to spread disease.

3. Don't cut more than 15 percent of foliage on newly installed shrubs.

4. Never cut conifers (needle- and cone-bearing trees and shrubs) using these methods. They do not renew in the same manner.

5. Most deciduous shrubs should be pruned after they bloom, not now.

Begin to cut beds and prep new ones; add plants; move others where necessary. Dig those big clumps of daylily, hosta, Siberian bugloss, astilbe, ferns, liriope, echinacea, black-eyed Susans, coreopsis and other plants you have been meaning to divide.

This is a great article to get you going on spring cleaning in your garden. Read the entire Washington Post article and get raking!

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Renovating Your Home for Resale

2008-02-25T08:45:00.003-05:00

Shane Tallant
Host, HGTV's Designed to Sell
Thursday, February 21, 2008; 2:00 PM
Washington Post

Thinking about selling your home? Need tips on how to make it stand out from others on the market? You've come to the right place. Thinking about selling your home? Need tips on how to make it stand out from others on the market? You've come to the right place.

Shane Tallant, host of HGTV's "Designed to Sell," along with a crew of design and real estate experts, helps homeowners get the most bang for their buck during resale.

This is a great transcript...It may help some of you sell your home faster AND for more money!

ENJOY

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Ailing Economy's Lower Rates Provide Opportunity to Refinance

2008-02-18T14:03:00.008-05:00

When should you refinance?
By: Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
Washington Post
Saturday, February 16, 2008

Do not do it to go on vacation, buy shoes or go out to dinner. Do not mortgage your house for something like that.

If you're going to pay off your credit card and cut it up, or if you need to do it so you do not go into default on your loan, then, absolutely, you should refinance.

You should never do a mortgage refinance just to get a tax deduction.

Do not refinance to lower your payment but lengthen your loan, unless you are facing possible foreclosure.

When you refinance, the goal should be to lower the amount of interest you're paying, either by lowering the interest rate or shortening your loan term.

This is just a tiny glimpse of the larger picture, there is so much wonderful information in this article...please click here to read the entire Washington Post article...you will be glad you did!

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Romance in the Nation's Capital...Who Said Washington Was Not For Lovers

2008-02-11T12:29:00.000-05:00

Valentines Day is February 14th and approaching very quickly. Are you looking for some ideas of ways to express your love to someone special? Here are some helpful ideas for a romantic night including some special events for Valentines Day in the Washington, DC area.

Dining out is popular, and DC has some fine romantic spots that offer gourmet meals in stylish, cozy settings. Georgetown's historic row houses provide a wonderful backdrop for couples to stroll and browse galleries, book shops and boutiques or eat at a cozy cafe.

The posh Four Seasons hotel is a wonderful spot for a Valentine's weekend get away. Many couples will dine out over the Valentine's Day weekend but how about making the entire weekend special or prior to a romantic night out, why not treat your special Valentine to a full spa day?

The Washington DC area is a town rich in theaters, art galleries and monuments, and time spent among them can provide romance combined with culture for a spectacular Valentine's Day treat.

Remember, when giving gifts this Valentine's Day, less is often more. It is alway the thought that counts!

Click Here for more details on these wonderful ideas and to read the entire DCPages.com article.
By:Leslie Yezerinac of the
Washington DC City Pages

Without love, the rich and poor live in the same house. ~Author Unknown

Angela Jones
AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Appealing Possibilities: If the Housing Slump Doesn't Lower Taxes, a Challenge Might

2008-02-04T15:54:00.000-05:00

If you are like many people in Montgomery County, you have recently received a property tax assessment. Some homeowners were stunned by what they saw prompting them to adopt new strategies and question their assessments.

In Maryland, assessments are rotated among neighborhoods every three years, so those receiving notices this year have not been assessed since 2004. The lag time means some residents will see an increase in their assessments despite a recent drop in local home prices.

This year, the state issued assessments to 728,185 homeowners, who will see an average increase of about 33 percent. Meanwhile, in other parts of the Washington region, assessments may not be declining as quickly as some homeowners expect.

In Maryland, for the first time, homeowners have also received an application for their homestead exemption along with their property tax assessment. They must return the application to document that their home is their principal residence and not a vacation or rental property. The homestead-exemption qualifies homeowners for a cap on property tax increases.

Homeowners who want to appeal their assessments have limited time to act; the deadlines are set by law. There are a few things that you can do to get the ball rolling.

Begin by making sure the local assessor has the correct physical description of the home, including the proper square footage and the correct number of bathrooms and bedrooms. Mistakes can happen, and they can change the assessed value of a property significantly.

Homeowners should also compare assessments and sales records for nearby homes. It's all public information and is usually available online.

The trick, experts say, is to present the assessors with facts and not emotional complaints about the numbers. Sometimes the assessments may have been set before a recent spate of sales in the neighborhood that illustrate further declining prices.

This is just a small excerpt from Renae Merle's Washington Post Article that appeared in the Saturday, February 2, 2008 issue.

Click Here to read the entire article
"Appealing Possibilities: If the Housing Slump Doesn't Lower Taxes, a Challenge Might"

Angela Jones
www.AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

Protect Your Home From Winter's Chill

2008-01-28T17:24:00.000-05:00

Written by: J. Scott Wilson, Staff Writer for NBC4.com

Unless you live in the Deep South, you are probably being hit with some fridged temperatures by now. Jack Frost can not only nip at your nose, but also at your wallet, especially with the rising cost of oil and gas! The long, cold nights are here, and little things you can do around your house will increase your comfort and safety and help reduce your energy bills. Here is a list of a few easy things you can do to help keep out the cold.

1. Clean the Flue
2. Check the Heat
3. Seal it Up
4. Wrap 'em Up
5. Finishing Touches

Click Here to read the entire article
"Protect Your Home From Winter's Chill"

I hope this article helps warm your home!

Angela Jones
www.AngelaJonesRealEstate.com

News you won't hear at 11

2007-11-16T08:37:00.000-05:00

News you won't hear at 11.

from Shane at Realnews...

Here's a typical example from USA Today, October 26, 2007 (p. 1B)"New Home Sales Unexpectedly Rise.New homes sales posted an unexpected increase in September. But analysts were highly skeptical given the credit crunch and predicted further sales declines. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent last month..."By the way, here's what they didn't report. Sales in the West were up36.6 percent. The media totally discounted these statistics. How about a different headline--"Great News! Real Estate Sales Surge Despite Biggest Credit Crunch in Decades."Here's another example. In an article entitled "New Mortgage Foreclosures Set Record, (9/6/07)" Martin Crutsinger provided the following summary of a speech given by Doug Duncan, the Chief Economist for the National Mortgage Bankers Association. Here's how it was reported:"The number of homeowners receiving foreclosure notices hit a record high in the spring, driven up by problems with sub prime mortgages.The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday that mortgage-holders starting the foreclosure process in the April-June quarter reached 0.65 percent, marking the third consecutive quarter that this figure has set an all-time high.""The delinquency rate has risen to 5.12 percent...The worsening performance was driven by two factors--heavy losses in the Midwest states of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, and the collapse of previously booming housing markets in California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona...Analysts said the problems in the formerly red-hot housing markets of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona reflected in part speculators walking away from mortgages they can no longer afford."This article ends with the negative media's favorite theme for scaring their readers and/or listeners: "Two million people will face foreclosure in the next two years."Here are the numbers that the negative media did NOT report from Duncan's speech:1. 35 percent of the homes in the U.S. do NOT have a mortgage.2. 94.88 percent of the loans ARE performing.3. The foreclosure problem in this country is really a story about seven states.4. The biggest foreclosure problems are in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. These are manufacturing states that had horrible job losses.Since 2001, Michigan has lost 300,000 jobs. These states would probably have experienced problems no matter what the market was doing.5. The other four states, California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona,experienced significant over building. Twenty-five percent of the foreclosures in these states are on properties that are held by investors who were speculating.6. Only 25 percent of all mortgages are sub prime and of these, 75percent are performing.7. In the other 43 states, foreclosures have fallen in 2007 from2006.(Data from Michael Clawson, Vice President, Central Texas Mortgage.)RealtyTrac is reporting that only 1 out of every 196 households is facing foreclosure. Putting it a little differently, out of every1,000 households, only five are having foreclosure difficulties.Furthermore, the seven states mentioned above account for 59.6percent of all foreclosures. The other 40.4 percent is spread across43 other states. Given the amount of speculation and flipping that has taken place across the country, this is an amazingly small number.There's more good news from California. Buyers who are waiting to purchase when the so-called bubble pops in major metropolitan area sin California, are going to be sitting on the sidelines according to the latest data from the California Association of Realtors.According to Leslie Appleton Young, Chief Economist for the California Association of Realtors, the areas being hardest hit in California are the outlying areas where there has been overbuilding.The resale market in California's major markets continues to be strong. In fact, the closer you are to a metropolitan area, the better the sales are. In the million dollar plus price range, there has been essentially no change from 2006 to 2007.There's no question about the fact that there is bad news in some markets. There is also a lot of good news that is either being buried or is not being reported at all.

Good news doesn't sell!

2007-11-14T09:21:00.000-05:00

I'm almost sick of the question but I keep being asked if the market has hit bottom yet. The answer is what bottom. The media continues to report about the housing slump and how bad things are an people are buying in to it enough to do nothing. Here's the deal; all real estate is local. This article from the Washington Business Journal echos what I've been trying to get across to people for months now. Thanks WBJ and Erin Killian.

Home prices up in D.C. area
Washington Business Journal - by Erin Killian Staff Reporter

The average selling price for homes in D.C. and the close-in suburbs rose in October compared with last year, while those in further away counties like Prince George's fell.
The largest price jumps from September to October were in D.C., Arlington and Alexandria, according to a study released Friday by Rockville-based Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.
The average selling price for a house in D.C. rose nearly 6 percent to $499,526 as compared with the city's prices in October 2006. Alexandria prices increased 6 percent to $490,476 and those in Arlington jumped 7 percent to $556,517. In Montgomery County, homes cost on average $317,221, up 2 percent from last year.
The results defy the national market trend, showing there are still buyers in the market willing to pay a premium to be near D.C.
"Prices continue to rise in the central jurisdictions," said John McClain, a senior fellow at George Mason University's School of Public Policy, in a statement. "By comparison, outlying suburbs of Northern Virginia have been particularly hard hit."
Selling prices in Prince George's County dropped 9 percent to $317,221 compared with a year ago. Fairfax County's prices feel 2.85 percent to an average $520,186.
The suburbs further from D.C. may be more affected by the housing slump in part because they have the highest rates of new construction and new homes cost more than older homes, according to MRIS.

If you're still thinking about whether now is the time to buy, there's no time like the present.

New you can use

2007-11-01T18:40:00.000-04:00

The market is changing so rapidly these days. It helps to stay informed. Here's some news you can use:

http://www.yourhome123.com/infocenter.asp?UserID=30138&ArticleID=80&m=11&SubjectID=1&p=1&HC=0.557308.....10205.10162

If you'd like to get this newsletter on a regular basis, e-mail me and I'll add you to it. Enjoy your day!

Should I buy?

2007-10-31T22:35:00.000-04:00

Good article on Saturday in the Washington Post. Many of the buyers I run across these days want ask the same thing, should I buy? Check this out and let me know what you think.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092800749.html

What are you waiting for?

2007-10-22T21:18:00.000-04:00

There's so much news about the real estate market and what's going on with it. So much so that many people have no idea what to do. Should you buy or sell now or wait until the market settles down a bit. For all or you who may be thinking that, my question to you is, what are you waiting for?

The Top Ten Reasons It's a Great Time To Buy Real Estate!
by Paul Pastore

Selection, selection, selection. There are about 57,000 resale homes on the market in Maricopa county(Phoenix). Regardless of the price range a buyer desires, there are plenty of houses from which to choose. Just a few years ago the resale inventory dropped below 5,000 units. A buyer was forced to make compromises if they were going to locate the home of their dreams. There is a great selection of attached homes, condos, and townhouses. You can find large lots, small lots, and a lot that will accommodate your boat or RV. There are lots of options in this market.
No Bidding Wars. In 2005 we had one client that made an offer on ten homes. They lost the first nine to the 'feeding frenzy' that existed. Other buyers bid the properties up substantially from the original listing price. There were escalation clauses where buyers authorized their agents to outbid other offers by thousands of dollars. There is no competitive bidding in this buyer's market.
You can make an offer. A few years ago when you made an offer, the only question was how high above the list price could the buyer reach in hopes of being the best offer on the table. Today the sell price list vs. price ration is about 96%. A seller will not be insulted if you 'make them an offer they can't refuse'.
Patience is tolerated. In the hot seller's market that existed everything was rushed. Find a house before other buyers did. Hurry up and make the offer. Today a buyer can take their time. Look at several homes and think about your decision for a few hours.
Due diligence is welcomed. In this market a buyer is encouraged to obtain a home inspection, termite inspection, and appraisal. In 2005 many buyers waived these contingencies in order gain an advantage with multiple offers.
There are plenty of specs. In the not too distant past buyer had to 'play games' if they wanted a new home. There were lotteries and waiting lists in order to obtain new construction. Some buyers slept in their cars in order to get to the head of the lines. R.L. Brown estimates that builders have thousands of specs ready for immediate occupancy.
Repair requests are welcomed. After a buyer completes a home inspection, they are allowed to submit a repair request to the seller. In the past a seller might insist the home was sold 'as is'. Many times, there were back-up buyers waiting for a primary buyer to upset the seller whose home was increasing in value almost daily.
Few, if any investors. It is estimated that one third of all sales in 2005 were to investors. These non-owner occupied buyer caused the market to inflate and affordability to decline. Mortgage fraud became commonplace. It's a great time to buy without having to compete with hundreds of prospective landlords.
Location, location, location. Today's buyers can find homes closer to work. In the past buyers flocked to Maricopa and Queen Creek in order to find affordable homes. In this market, reasonably priced homes are within biking or walking distance to schools, rapid transit lines, and relatives.
Real Financing is available. The 'wink, wink' zero down, no doc, adjustable, sub-prime loans are gone. Fixed rates are back. FHA financing, first time homeowner bond programs, special loans for teachers, and police officers are back in business. It's a great time to buy real estate!
Again, I ask, what are you waiting for?

New on the marekt

2007-05-11T15:51:00.000-04:00

The housing market has been a little slow, but it's starting to pick up a bit. I have a new listing to let you all know about. It's a great first house, good for a first time home buyer who can do some work. Yes, it needs work! The address is 53 Crittenden St. NE, ironically it's right across the street from the first home I purchased nearly 20 years ago. The list price is $299,900, it's a three bedroom, one bath house on a tree-lined street nestled between two metro stops, Ft. Totten and Brookland. There's also parking in the back for one car. Let me know if you're interested in seeing it. You can go to my website to get more information on it. http://www.angelajonesrealestate.com.

Spring is finally in bloom, and so is the housing market

2007-05-09T16:54:00.000-04:00

Finally, Spring! Worked in the yard this past weekend getting new flowers and plants in. It looks great. I have to give all the credit to Donna though because it's really her vision that makes our yard look nice. With spring comes the spring housing market, more houses go on the market, more buyers are out there looking.
Parade Magazine had some really good articles this weekend about the housing market that I wanted to share. If you're selling, pay attention to this valuable information:
http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_05-06-2007/10_Tips.
If you're looking to buy, here's something for you too:
http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_05-06-2007/ABuy_or_Sell.
Parade also focused on renters too:
http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_05-06-2007/Reasons_to_Rent

I hope you find this information helpful. Remember, if you have any real estate questions or concerns, don't hesitate to give me a call. You can also visit my website at http://www.angelajonesrealestate.com.

What goes down, goes up (eventually)

2007-04-23T08:50:00.001-04:00

Home prices are beginning to rebound a bit in some parts of the country. Some good news on the housing front finally. Check this out.
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/markettrends/20070425-nutting.html
BTW, if you're considering buying new construction and you're wondering if you're better off taking the builder's incentives, read this first:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/21/AR2007042100094.html

Is it spring yet?

2007-04-09T09:11:00.000-04:00

Where did the warm weather go? I have the heat on in the house right now and I really shouldn't be surprised that it's cold. This is very typical of our weather here. Next week we'll rush right in to summer as we always do. Oh well, such is life here.

Lots of talk in the real estate and mortgage worlds about the importance of good credit scores. This past Saturday's Washington Post Real Estate section had a very good article on credit scores that I think you should check out:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/06/AR2007040600956.html

It's good idea to check you credit report at least once a year. I'm signed up through my credit card to get a quarterly report. I like taking a look even every month because you never know what can be there. Recently something showed up that wasn't mine and I challenged it immediately and now it's no longer there. Keep track just to be on the safe side.

That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of your day.

So many opinions

2007-03-26T10:33:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post ran its Mega Real Estate section this past weekend. If you didn't get a chance to read it, here are a few articles that I think are noteworthy.
It has become more of a buyers market so if you want to sell your home be sure to price it right. Price and condition go hand in hand now more than ever.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032202397.html
Lots of concerns about the types of loans that mortgage lenders have been approving. This is causing lots of concern for all of us in real estate. This article talks about getting back to basics. I agree.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032202445.html

BTW, I was quoted in the Washington Post Magazine a few weeks ago. It was a story about a new agent and how difficult the business can be. As I've mentioned many times here, this is not an easy business and it does take a lot of work.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022701472_3.html

That's it for today. Enjoy the rest of your day.

It's getting risky out there

2007-03-14T08:50:00.000-04:00

Not sure how all the stock market and mortgage issues will impact future home sales but it's a bit dicey these days. More and more foreclosures are coming on the market, there's a lot of concern these days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR2007031300505.html

If you have an ARM that's about adjust it's a good time to refinance if you can. The bottom line is don't get in over your head. It will have long term lasting consequences.

It's all so confusing

2007-03-12T10:36:00.000-04:00

No matter where I am, I always get asked how the real estate market. Everyone has an opinion and those opinions are as varied as the house styles in D.C. It's all so confusing. The Saturday Real Estate section of the Washington had an excellent article in it that I thinks explains a little why there are so many different opinions about how the market is:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030900882.html

The bottom line is that the market is doing what it's doing regardless of what anybody thinks it's doing or should be doing. People are still buying and selling homes, albeit a little slower than two years ago. A lot of the stats that you hear about are from a national perspective and thing are a little different in this area. I'm noticing that sellers are finally starting to price their homes correctly. When that happens homes will start sitting on the market a little less. We're also starting to see multiple offers again which we haven't seen in a while. Things are picking up and it's a great time to be in the real estate market, either as a buyer, seller or other interested party.

When is good enough, good enough?

2007-02-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

In today's buyer's market, buyers have more to choose from, more houses with more options. Sometimes, however, having too many choices isn't so good. If you have lots to choose from, you tend to not make a decision. I've worked with clients who will have a long list of things they want in their new house and sometimes get so stuck on trying to get everything that they end up with nothing at all. Here's my advice on that: if you have a list of ten things you want your new house to have, if you find a house with seven of those things, buy it! The Washington Post's Real Estate section has an article that talks abut this.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/16/AR2007021600815.html

The bottom line is don't get hung up on the must haves or the wants. I've heard of people buying million dollar houses and then tearing them down to begin again. In other words, no house is perfect. If it's yours, you can make it anything you want.

The spring buying season gets underway in the next several weeks, get ready. BTW, if you're a nurse, police officer, in the military or a teacher, Long and Foster is offering a special financing program to help get you in to your first home. You have to have a ratified contract by March 31 so call or email me for more details.

It wasn't a bad year in real estate

2007-01-28T05:30:00.000-05:00

The 2006 real estate market is behind us now and 2007's sales market is off to a good start.

End of year sales.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012600537.html

Real estate goes up and it goes down. If you own a home now you get to enjoy the benefits of home ownership. Enjoy.

Can we make it official?

2007-01-26T08:25:00.000-05:00

I'm hearing more and more news reports lately that it's officially a buyer's market. I think it's been a buyer's market a while now, read my past posts. The Wall St. Journal article below gives more detail about why it's now a buyer's market.

http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/markettrends/20070126-hagerty.html

Rates are still low, there are more houses to choose from and yes, it's a great time to be a buyer. Enjoy the rest of your day.

How do you score?

2007-01-22T08:36:00.000-05:00

Now's a great time to buy a house, however. the first things you should do, before you start to look, is to check your credit report. Many people have no idea what's on theirs and it can lead to serious problems when you start house hunting. When I bought my first house I took a first time home buyers class and that was one piece of advice I got from it. I'm glad I did because when I checked, there were four judgments on my report from another Angela Jones who also happened to live in New Orleans as I once did. It took me six months to get it cleared up. Now if I hadn't done that and I had gone out and found the house of my dreams, I would not have been able to buy it. Here's an article from Saturday's Post Real Estate section that sheds more light on the whole credit report, credit score mystery.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/19/AR2007011900097.html

Good information here. Be sure to email me if you have any real estate questions or concerns. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your day.

If the media says so....

2007-01-17T05:26:00.000-05:00

We get so much of our information from the news media and often whatever the media has to say about a subject, we take it as the gospel. That, I believe has been the case where the housing market is concerned. For the last year the media have told us all, Realtors included, that the housing market had cooled, that the bubble was about the burst. A lot of people believed it and began waiting for the crash so they good get a good deal on a home. What the market was actually doing was correcting itself, becoming more normal. That's what it should have done. Those people who wanted to buy, sat on the fence and waited and some are still waiting today.

Now the media say the housing market is rebounding, things are better and now is a great time to buy or sell a home. I watched a Channel 4 news report the other night that gave a very dramatic headline about the market recovering and when I watched the report, it basically said the same thing I've been saying here for months. And that is that the market didn't tank, it corrected itself, became more normal and now was a great time to buy or sell. So there, the media say it's true so it must be so.

The next few weeks will show if there truly is a rebound I think. More people are out looking today and more houses will come on the market in the next few weeks. But here's what I say about all of that. Regardless of whether you're buying or selling a home, it's always been a great time. So just do it! Enjoy the rest of your day.

Yes the tide is turning

2007-01-12T07:46:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned several times that the real estate market isn't or hasn't been as bad and the media would have you believe. Now they're telling us that the tide is turning.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/05/AR2007010500839.html?referrer=emailarticle

The bottom line is, if you're interested in buying a home, now is an excellent time. The spring market is right around the corner. If you're planning on selling your home soon get it ready for the market no later than the first week in March (sooner if possible). People want to buy. If you have any questions about the market, don't hesitate to give me a call or email me.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

Took a break- Happy 2007

2007-01-03T12:41:00.000-05:00

Happy 2007!
Can you believe we're in a new year already? The past year was a busy one in real estate for me. The last few weeks of Dec. I got a bit overwhelmed, I was a little brain dead. It was a busy couple of weeks, I had a couple of closings, Donna and I went to Miss. for Christmas (where we spent time with my entire family) and I got the flu when I got back. Anyway, feeling better now and looking forward to the new year. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and will have a prosperous and joyous 2007. Here's some information for you homeowners that may be useful.
New Tax Law Gives Home Buyers a Break or Two
By Benny L. KassSaturday, December 23, 2006; F06
President Bush this week signed a law that includes almost 200 tax changes, at least two of which are potential money savers for home buyers.
First-time D.C. home buyers: If you are buying your first home in the District, and it will be your principal residence, you may be eligible for a credit against your federal taxes of up to $5,000. It makes no difference if you have owned -- or still own -- property anywhere else. The law defines "first-time home buyer" to mean "any individual if such individual (and if married, such individual's spouse) had no present ownership interest in a principal residence in the District of Columbia during the one-year period ending on the date of the purchase of the principal residence to which this section applies."
Thus, even if you owned a house in the District several years ago, as long as you did not own any property in the city for at least one year before purchasing a new one, you could be eligible for the tax credit.
If this sounds familiar, it is. It dates back to a law enacted in 1997, which expired Dec. 31, 2005. However, Congress reinstated the law, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006. It will expire again on Dec. 31, 2007.
Economists and real estate professionals have called the exemption a key factor in the housing boom in the District over the past several years. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who pushed the measure in Congress, said: "Even in today's cooling housing market, home prices are out of reach for many D.C. residents. The $5,000 home buyer credit is desperately necessary in this town today."
A tax credit is different from a tax deduction, and more generous. It reduces the amount of tax you owe by the amount of the credit, dollar for dollar.
There are no restrictions on the amount of the purchase price, nor on the location of the property in the District. There are, however, income limits that phase out the credit for higher-income buyers.
? Joint tax filers get the full credit until their modified adjusted gross income reaches $110,000. Then for every $1,000 of AGI above this number, the credit is reduced by $250. Once the AGI exceeds $130,000, no credit is available.
? Single tax filers get the full credit until their modified AGI reaches $70,000. Then, for every $1,000 of AGI above this number, the credit is reduced by $250. Once your AGI exceeds $90,000, no credit is available.
Although the concept is simple, the law is complex. Congress wanted to continue to encourage taxpayers to move into the District and purchase homes. If you are planning to buy a house soon, consult your tax and legal advisers before signing that purchase and sales agreement.
It is important to note that the law is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006. So if you purchased a house, condominium or cooperative apartment this year, you can take advantage of the credit when you file your income tax forms next year.
You should obtain IRS form 8859, "District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit" which is available online from the Internal Revenue Service ( http://www.irs.gov/; click on Forms and Publications).
Deducting private mortgage insurance premium payments: When you make mortgage payments to your lender, the law allows you to deduct the portion of your payment that is interest. For many years, a number of legal scholars have been arguing that payments for private mortgage insurance should also be deductible.
But the IRS took the position that payments to a private mortgage insurance company are not interest and accordingly disallowed any such deductions.
The new law -- as least for mortgage insurance issued next year -- allows such deductions.
What is private mortgage insurance? Don't confuse PMI with homeowner's or hazard insurance, which protects homeowners in the event of loss, such as from fire or theft. PMI protects the lender against financial loss if the homeowner defaults on mortgage payments and the house has to be sold at foreclosure.
For example, if your house has a loan of $250,000, but at foreclosure sells for only $200,000, PMI will pay the lender part of the difference.
You, the homeowner, pay the premiums. You generally have no choice if you do not put down at least 20 percent of the purchase price. (To avoid PMI, many home buyers obtain what is called an 80-10-10 loan. In other words, you get a first trust of 80 percent of the price, a second trust of 10 percent and pay the remaining 10 percent yourself. The second trust is at a higher interest rate than the first.)
Lenders have learned that if you have less than 20 percent equity in your house, you are more likely to default on your mortgage. Statistics are starting to show a significant number of foreclosures, especially for home buyers who obtained "100 percent, no money down" loans.
The new law trumps IRS rulemaking to allow deduction of PMI payments. But the law is limited. First, it does not apply to existing mortgages; it covers only PMI policies that will be issued during 2007. Second, the deduction is not available for single filers who make more than $50,000, or for joint filers whose income is more than $100,000.

Benny L. Kass is a Washington lawyer. For a free copy of the booklet "A Guide to Settlement on Your New Home," send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Benny L. Kass, Suite 1100, 1050 17th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. Readers may also send questions to him at that address.

2006-12-08T09:13:00.000-05:00

This is shaping up to be a very interesting next few weeks, months even, in the housing market. Perception certainly plays a big part in what's going on. Here's my take:

The media are finally saying that the housing bubble has not popped and that the slow down in the market is turning around. People who have been thinking about buying and have been listening to the media tell them to wait because the market was about to hit bottom have realized that the bottom is not there and if they want to buy, they need to do it soon. I'm hearing from buyers who wanted to wait several months ago and they feel now's a good time. Well it is a great time to buy if you're in the market. Anyone who tells you to wait is someone who doesn't want to work in Dec. and Jan. I do want to work in Dec. and Jan. so call me. Interest rates are historically low and are expected to go lower for another three months before starting an uptick by April or May of next year. Here's a summary of what the National Association of Realtors has to say about rates:

The 30-year fixed rate decreased to 6.24% down from the latest week as 6.33%. The 1year adjustable rate was 5.53%, slightly up from the last week. This week, the 30-year fixed rate dropped to the lowest level since March because of reduced inflation threats as shown from the release of wholesale prices and consumer price index in October. Lower mortgage rates should help the housing market bounce back from the slump. Mortgage interest rates will drift upward, but around 6.7% through out the year.

As rates rise you're able to buy less house for the money so now's an excellent time to be out there. Let me know how I can help.

I'm having an open house this weekend. My listing at 3212 14th St. NE will be open this Sunday, Dec. 10 from 1-4 pm. It's listed at $449,000. Go to my website for more information: www.angelajonesrfealestate.com. Have a great weekend and don't shop too much.

Are you doing it for the first time?

2006-12-04T06:06:00.000-05:00

This is a great time to be buying a home. If you're a first time home buyer, you have lots to choose from and the interest rates are lower than they've been historically. The condo market is a great place to start too if you want to buy but don't want the responsibility of maintaining a home. The incentives to buy are better now too. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/01/AR2006120100017.html. First time home buyers are driving the market today. Of the 17 transactions I've had this year, 8 have been first time home buyers. Dive in, the water's just fine!

2006-11-28T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm a little rushed this morning. It's been a busy few days and will be even busier as the week goes on. I was going through the real estate section of the Washington Post and saw this feature that I thought would be helpful to those of you planning to buy a home. Check it out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/realestate/features/2006/finding-your-way/features/cheat-sheet/gallery.html

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Where's the bust?

2006-11-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

It's the day after Thanksgiving and I hope all of you had a wonderful and joyous holiday. Donna and I spent the day with some of my family from Miss., Chicago and New York City. Two of my nephews, a niece and a grand-nephew were here visiting. It was so good to have them here, I usually travel to Miss. to see everyone on Thanksgiving so it was nice to be home for a change. It's amazing to interact with my nephews and niece as adults who have children of their own. It seems like yesterday that I was changing their diapers and now I have grand nieces and nephews. I think I mentioned here before that one of my grand nephews came five months early. The doctors didn't give him much chance of surviving. I am happy to report he is just fine. He was running around the house all day yesterday enjoying the heck out of himself. He sat at the table and ate mashed potatoes, squash, turkey and sweet potato pie. He's great! We're headed out shopping today before they get on the plane to go back to Miss. It's been a good week.

Not only did I have family here, I sold a house this week too. People are still buying homes even if some people think they should wait to see what the market is doing. Here's something from the Wall St. Journal that says the market slow down is over. I agree. http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/markettrends/20061122-izzo.html. This is absolutely the best time to be in the market. Please keep in mind that interest rates are still extremely low and there are more houses out there. Stop thinking about it and jump in.

Do you need any more reasons?

2006-11-17T08:13:00.000-05:00

I mentioned here on the last post that now was an excellent time to buy a home. There are many reasons, there are more houses to choose from, interest rates are historically low and sellers are more willing to negoiate. The Washington Post business section had an article on Wednesday that addressed that. I agree with it's conclusions. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401253.html

Went to New Orleans last week for the annual convention of Realtors. Donna and I flew in on Thursday and headed straight to Cafe DeMonde for beignets and coffee. We then took a ride in a horse drawn buggy through the French Quarter. It was loads of fun. The area we were didn't show the signs of despair that we saw on tv last year. We didn't get to those areas but we were told that it's still awful and nothing has been done to rebuild and people are still waiting for help so many months later. Things are bogged down in red tape. What a shame. We did get to see Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush. They were great. Bush was very funny and Clinton said that Bush's revenge on him (Clinton) was that he (Clinton) would forever be his (Bush) straight man. It was a great trip. Learned some things about buying and selling homes that I'll be able to use. The overriding theme was it's a good time to buy.

Why haven't you bought that house yet?

2006-11-15T07:01:00.000-05:00

I've said it here many times, now is a perfect time t buy a home. There's inventory (more houses to choose from), interest rates are low (historically) and the market is becoming more normal. This past Saturday's Washington Post Real Estate section addressed that issue and I think it's worth noting here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111000727.html. You can't win the game if you don't play the game.

I've been in New Orleans for the last several days attending the Realtor convention. I'll write abut it in my next post so stay tuned.

Enjoy the rest of your day and remember, you can rest when you die.

The buying season has begun

2006-11-03T12:07:00.000-05:00

This is an excellent time to be out there looking for a house if you want to buy. The sky's not falling and nor is the bottom falling out of the housing market. There are lots of houses to choose from and if you're in the market, it's a great time to find the house you want. Interest rates remain low and that's good if you're on a tight budget. Interest rates are hovering around 6.3% these days which is very low.

If you plan to sell your home and you've decided you can do a better job than a Realtor, check out this article from Sat.'s Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110300666.html.

I've got a couple of new listings. One is in Brookland, it's for sale at $449,000. It's a two bedroom, 1.5 bath Cape Cod w/ granite counters in the kitchen, extra bedroom space in the basement, central AC, new windows and a garage. The address is 3212 14th St. NE. Call or email me if you want to see it. The photo's on the right.

The other listing is a rental in Tyson's Corner on Leeds Castle Dr. in Fairfax. It's a two bedroom, 2.5 bath condo renting for $1975. Photo is on the left. You can get more info on both by going to my website at http://www.angelajonesrealestate.com.

Enjoy your day!

Happy Monday!

2006-10-16T10:11:00.000-04:00

There are a couple of websites that offer you an opportunity to express your opinion about a home. This is great if you go to a lot of open houses as I know many of you do. As a Realtor I think honest feedback is good. I tell my clients I can tell them the truth or tell them what they want to hear. So far I haven't had anyone opt for the latter. Here's more info on the sites. Check them out and let me know what you think.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101300627.html

This is why you should be buying right now:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101300664.html

I have a new listing in Greenbelt, MD. If you're looking for a great first home, check out this condo located at 8461 Greenbelt Rd. #202. Go to my website for more details and more photos:http://www.angelajonesrealestate.com

Busy day today. Go enjoy the rest of yours and remember, you can rest when you die.

How much does your commute cost?

2006-10-13T06:56:00.000-04:00

I work with a lot of buyers and often they say they want to live out in the burbs. Their reason is not because they like the burbs but because housing is cheaper and they can get more bang for the buck, or so they think. The reality is that money spent driving in and out of the city eats any savings you get from having a house in the burbs. The Washingpost Post had an article yesterday that talks about that: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101883.html

By the way, the Post had a very good Mega Real Estate section so if you missed it, link here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/realestate/features/2006/finding-your-way/index.html

I've got a new listing, this one is in Greenbelt, MD. It's a wonderful condo in the Chelsea Wood complex. It's two bedrooms, 1 bath. The bedrooms are spacious. It's well cared for with new paint and new carpet. The seller is also offering closing help with a full price offer. The list price is $215,000. The address is 8461 Greenbelt Rd. #202. Let me know if you are interested.

I've got a busy day today so let me go get started. Enjoy the rest of your day and remember you can rest when you die.

If Donald Trump says it, it must be true!

2006-10-10T08:12:00.000-04:00

Donna and I were flipping through the channels on the tube last night and came across Larry King's show on CNN (I used to work with Larry when I was at Mutual/NBC Radio, got lots of great books from him). Anyway, Donald Trump was on there talking about real estate and making people rich. Of course that got our attention because we both want to be rich! An audience member asked how was the real estate market and was it about to burst. His answer was the same answer I've been telling people for a while now. He said that real estate is still a good investment, while the market may not be as hot as it was two years ago, it's still a very good market and people should be in it.
My take on it is that while it's not as hot and fast as it was a few years ago, people are still buying and selling homes. Prices are coming down because in many instances, prices were too high to begin with. People who have urgency and need to sell right away are bringing prices down to sell (if it wasn't priced right to begin with). People who have less urgency are willing to wait until someone makes the offer they want and if that doesn't happen, they take it off the market and wait for things to improve. Things will improve, maybe not to where things were two years ago, but they will improve.

Speaking of things selling, I've got two new listings, both in Ledroit Park. The first one is at 128 Adams St. NW, priced at $435,00o. The other is at 334 Oakdale Place NW, priced at $280,000. My website has more info on both: http://www.angelajonesrealestate.com. Adams St. is a three bedroom, three-level Victorian and Oakdale is a two bedroom. two-level federal style. Contact me if you'd like to see either one. I've got to start my day now, you enjoy the rest of yours.

No Johnny, the sky is not falling

2006-10-07T06:39:00.000-04:00

The bottom's not falling out of the housing market after all. Read on.

Hopeful Glimmers in the Housing Slump
Sure, prices fell. But look at the big picture: The market is adjusting to reality and some of the news is better than expected.
By Peter Coy, BusinessWeek Economics Editor

More From BusinessWeek.com
If you're a homeowner, the recent movement of home prices is as sickening to watch as a mountaineer falling off a cliff. As recently as a year ago, prices of existing homes were rising an amazing 15 percent a year. But the rate of increase has been going down, down, down. In August, the year-over-year change went below zero for the first time since 1995. The National Association of Realtors announced Sept. 25 that the median price nationally in August 2006, was $225,000, 1.7 percent lower than in August 2005.Time to punch that pulsing-red panic button? Not yet. Because several other pieces of news in the Realtors report were better than expected, indicating that the housing downturn may not be quite as bad as some fear. For example:• The decline in the number of existing homes sold was less than economists expected. It fell 0.5 percent to 6.3 million. There was no change at all in the number of single-family homes sold in August. The decrease was entirely in the category of condominiums and cooperative apartments.• The inventory of unsold homes, albeit the highest in terms of months' supply since April, 1993, increased from July to August by a modest 1.5 percent, the smallest amount so far in 2006. If inventories start to top out, it will be a good sign for housing.• According to an analysis by JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the inflow of "new offers"—that is, existing homes coming onto the market—held steady in August and was down 5% from a year earlier. (Those numbers are not seasonally adjusted.) This shows the market is adjusting to reality.FED RELIEF? Investors certainly saw a silver lining in the Sept. 25 news. The stocks of D. R. Horton (DHI), KB Home (KBH), Lennar (LEN), Pulte Homes (PHM), and other homebuilders all rallied for the day. Pulte led the way as its share price rose more than 4 percent, to $32.66.Stocks overall were lifted by hopes that the Federal Reserve will hold off on further interest rate hikes, at least for a while. Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve, said after a speech in Mexico that the slowing U.S. economy is likely to tamp down inflation. Lower inflation would give the Fed more latitude to hold the line on interest rates (see BusinessWeek.com, 9/25/06, "Stocks Climb on Fed Remarks, Housing Data").Make no mistake, housing is slumping, and things are probably going to get worse before they get better. Global Insight, the forecasting firm, wrote, "The housing slowdown is about a year old. It probably has another year to run." The firm expects that existing-homes sales will drop nearly 10 percent in 2006 and nearly 15 percent in 2007, and begin to turn around in the second half of '07.PRICING REALISM. The point is, things could be worse. For one thing, mortgage rates have been falling lately. Freddie Mac (FRE), the big mortgage buyer, says that the national average commitment rate for 30-year fixed-rate loans fell about a quarter-point in August, to 6.52 percent, from 6.76 percent in July. And they've fallen more since, to 6.40 percent last week. That increases consumers' buying power.You can even put a positive spin on the price decline, as the National Association of Realtors did in its announcement. NAR president Thomas M. Stevens said, "sellers are starting to become more realistic" and cut prices in order to move the merchandise.The Realtors' own numbers lend credence to the "realism" theory—by region, it appears that sellers in the Northeast were the most realistic and ones in the Western region, which is dominated by California, were the least realistic. Prices fell the most in the Northeast, but at least volumes were up. California had a slight increase in prices, but volumes fell the most.

Sales slow

2006-09-28T07:59:00.000-04:00

Existing home sales are down according to the latest survey from NAR.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092500357.html

More inventory, more buyers looking but not making offers. On one knows why. If you're a buyer out looking for a new home and you haven't made an offer yet, please email me at angela.jones@longandfoster.com or call me at 202-494-6797. I'd like to hear from you to get an idea of what's going on. Hope to hear from you.

I have a new listing coming on the market next week. It's a three bedroom, 1.5 bath Victorian in Ledroit. It's got lots of original stuff, including hardwood floors, pocket doors, 9 ft. ceilings, bay windows. It's actually very similar to the house I live in currently. It needs a little work though but you can move into it and do the work over time. I'll post pictures and more info next week.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

My favorite time of the year

2006-09-25T09:33:00.000-04:00

Fall is officially here, although the fall home buying and selling season kicked off weeks ago. I love this time of the year, especially when the leaves change colors. It is such a restful time spirit wise. Not restful in the real estate arena though. Things really get busy this time of the year. People who have been thinking about selling their homes, finally decide to put the For Sale sign up. People who have been thinking about buying finally decide they need to go on and jump in, especially before we move into the holiday season and they get too busy to do anything but shop for holiday gifts. Unfortunately these days the media are so busy telling people how bad things are that some people have bought in to the motion that the bottom is falling out of the housing market. Believe me, that is not the case. More houses are on the market, true, but more people are out there looking and what the market is actually doing is becoming more normal. Sure sells are down slightly from last year but a 2 percent decrease does not mean the bottom's falling out. If you want to buy get out there are start looking. If you want to sell, look at your house from the buyer's perspective and do all those things you've been meaning to do to spruce it up and get it on the market now. If you wait until Nov. or Dec. you'll be setting yourself up for a long winter. If you have questions about the market give me a call, email me or go to my website at http://www.angelajonesrealestate.com

If you have a home equity line of credit and it's creeping up slightly because of interest rate increases, the Post had an article Sat. that is useful: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/22/AR2006092200023.html

That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of your day. Truly enjoy it because remember, you can rest when you die!

Busy times

2006-09-21T10:36:00.000-04:00

Busy times these days, sorry I haven't been able to post something until now. I've been traveling a little to check out other real estate markets and what's happening elsewhere. I was on the Miss. Gulf Coast last week checking out things down there. There are properties to buy if you can insure them. That's the trick. I used to live on the Coast and it was heartbreaking for me to go back and see all those old homes destroyed and businesses I used to patronized totally devastated, restaurants I used to go all the time, nothing's there but the sign. It will take time for things to recover there for sure. Found something that I wanted to purchase but it turns out I'm going to have a difficult if not impossible job finding affordable insurance. I expected the premiums to be high but not as high as I'm encountering.

Here in our market, prices are going down slightly. The Washington Post had a good article Sat. about that:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091500653.html

One more thing the Post noted, the number of realtors getting into the business. I've got to tell you, if you're thinking about becoming a Realtor make sure you are ready to work your butt off because this is not an easy gig. It's rewarding, absolutely, but you work hard for that reward.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091500654.html

My listing on Seaton Place is open this weekend. It's listed at $599,900, 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, renovated and ready for you to move in. Come by and take a look. I'm there from 1-4 pm this Sunday, Sept. 24. Hope to see you there and bring your checkbook, you'll want to make an offer.
You can get more information by going to my website at http://www.angelajonesrelestate.com.

The end of summer

2006-09-07T08:23:00.000-04:00

I'm back from the beach and playing catch up now since there were a few things that didn't get done while I was away. Of course it rained the entire time Donna and I were at the beach so we didn't have the trip that we expected. We did get some shopping in (what else was there to do at Rehoboth?), we saw a really sweet movie, Little Miss Sunshine, we rode bikes to the beach on Sat. when it wasn't raining and we spent time with some friends who have a condo there. While not the trip we planned, it was a nice time away.

Now for an update on the housing market. Summer's over and we're moving to a time when buyers begin to realize they should buy something soon. The market is slowing a little but there's still houses out there to buy if you're out there looking. The Wall St. Journal is a resource that I use often to stay informed about the market. It has several articles of interest that I've included here.

Advice for sellers from the Wall St. Journal
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20060615-kim.html

Advice for buyers
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20060906-kim.html

Unmarried couples advice
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20060906-bernard.html

53 Seaton Place will be open this weekend. Come by and take a look. If you have friends or relatives interested in moving to the neighborhood, send them by as well. The list price is $624,900. It will be open Sunday, Sept. 10, 1-4 pm. Hope to see you there.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your day.

Hump day

2006-08-30T08:50:00.000-04:00

It's hump day and my mini-vacation begins in 24 hours so I'm not as focused today. I've got three closings coming up in the next couple of weeks, buyers who are ready to buy and a few sellers who are getting their houses ready for the fall market. It's a busy time.

The Washington Post had an interesting article on Sunday about the prices of homes in the burbs: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501197.html. What that means for you is if you want to buy something there are so many things to consider including your commute.

I'll be out of town for the next few days. Donna and I are going to Rehobeth. I probably won't update this on Friday so forgive me if I don't enlighten you until Monday. In the meantime my listing at 53 Seaton Place NW will be open this weekend. The list price is $624,900. It's open Sunday from 1-4 pm. Hope you all have a great holiday!

Fall is in the air, get ready to sell/buy!

2006-08-28T08:46:00.000-04:00

Fall is in the air and the fall home buying season is about to get underway. If you're selling you house, get ready. The traffic will pick up very soon. If you're buying, get ready. There will be more buyers out there competing with you.
The Washington Post has some items of interest over the weekend. Interest rates are going down:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082500551.html

There's more concern that the market is slowing: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401714.html. Remember what I keep saying though, the market is doing what the market is doing. Don't worry about what the pundits say. If you're trying to buy, it's a great time to be out there looking. If you're trying to sell, it's a great time to be realistic about what your house is worth and what you can get for it. Now is not the time to reject offers that you might get, counter the offer if it's not what you want. If you're buying, now is not the time to sit and wait to see what happens. If you find a house you like, make an offer on it!

I love the fall! Enjoy the rest of your day.

What are you waiting for?

2006-08-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

This is the time to buy a house if you're in the market for one. Interest rates are still relatively low and there are plenty of houses out there. What happens if you continue to wait? Interest rates go up, supply of houses goes down as more people take there house off the market (because of the gloom and doom that the media keep hyping), more buyers start looking and guess what, you end up spending more for less house. More news from the media today about the housing market. Here's the Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/23/AR2006082300551.html.

We don't have crystal balls so we don't know what will be going on in the housing market months from now. There are no guarantees that the house you buy today will double its value by this time next year. It likely will increase in value but no one knows how much. If you buy now you get the benefit of owning a home now. So what are you waiting for?
t

Vacation's almost over

2006-08-21T12:43:00.000-04:00

August is winding down, school's about to start in many areas, vacations are coming to an end and the housing market is starting to pick up again as we race toward the end of the year. Those folks who didn't buy in the summer are gearing up to hit the sidewalks and try to see as many houses as possible. The serious buyers are trying to beat the tax hike that takes effect on Oct. 1 if you buy in DC. The serious buyers are also trying to buy something so they don't miss the boat. No one knows what the housing market is going to do in the coming months so if you're in the market, you need to be in the market.
The Saturday Washington Post had an item of interest. Check it out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/18/AR2006081800476.html

If you're out there looking and you don't have an agent, give me a call. I can make the process a lot smoother for you and open a lot more doors than you'll be able to open simply by going to open houses. And when you find your dream home, I can help make the buying process a piece of cake. Call me.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Home sales drop

2006-08-18T09:51:00.000-04:00

The Post and USA Today are reporting the decline in home sales over the past several months. Here's what the Post has to say about it all:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/15/AR2006081500373.html

Sales are dropping because the prices that houses were going for two years ago aren't there today. The market is becoming more normal. It's a good time for everyone, including sellers. If you're in the market, here's what's open this weekend for $750000 or less: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=15348757363

Have a good weekend.

The selling frenzy

2006-08-16T06:05:00.000-04:00

I recently met with some buyer clients to explain the home buying process to them and to help them understand what to expect. One thing I told them was not to believe all the media hype about what's going on with the market, listen but don't take everything to heart. I said this because everyone has an opinion about the market and there's so much information and misinformation that it can get so confusing that a buyer won't buy and a seller won't sell. It's all about selling newspapers or getting good ratings so there's a story almost everyday about what's going on in the market. The latest one was brought to my attention yesterday, a Good Morning America piece called How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days or less. Here's the link:http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/PersonalFinance/story?id=2312643&page=1.
I won't trash the ideas in the story but the reality is it takes more than five days to sell a house and while there are some good suggestions in the article, it takes a very simplistic approach to one of the largest assets you own, your home. I would proceed with caution.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Price is everything

2006-08-14T08:39:00.000-04:00

These days when you're trying to sell your home, price isn't the only thing, it's everything. Where it used to be location, location, location, now it's price, price, price. If you missed this past Saturday's Washington Post Real Estate section, here's info that I think is useful to those thinking about putting a house on the market in the coming months or if your house is currently on the market and it hasn't sold yet: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081100259.html

Getting it right the first time is hard. We all want houses to sell and sell for as much as possible. If your house is on the market and it hasn't sold, it's time for a price adjustment. When you reduce the price you get a whole new set of buyers who are looking in that price range. Throw in a little closing help and it makes people at least interested in making an offer. Hang in there though. It will sell, it may take a little longer, but it will sell.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

What's your loan?

2006-08-11T07:39:00.000-04:00

Beware of your financing options if you are buying a home soon. There are so many programs available to people to help get them into houses but if you don't read the fine print or understand exactly what it means to you, it could cost you your home in the long run. This Wall St. Journal article explains:
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/mortgages/20060811-simon.html

Also when you buy your home you need insurance. The Journal points out ways to make sure you don't get dropped by your insurance carrier:
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/taxesandinsurance/20060811-loeb.html
Good information to have so I hope you find it useful.

Not many houses open this weekend. It's August and things usually slow a little right around this time. Here's the list of what's open this weekend for under $625,000, 3 or more bedrooms: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=15222490812

Enjoy the rest of your day and the weekend.

The lazy days of summer

2006-08-03T08:35:00.000-04:00

August is usually the time of year when everyone heads out of town. It's hot here and no one wants to be here in 100 degree temps. The heat also makes you very tired and lethargic. I'm feeling a little bit that way these days. It's hard to focus too.
Real estate is a bit lethargic these days too. People are waiting for things to cool off, not only the weather but the housing market too. The market's usually slow around this time of year. If you're planning to buy in the coming months and wondering where to look, check out this from the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/26/AR2006042601192.html

Stay cool and enjoy your day!

Catch it Today

2006-08-02T08:52:00.000-04:00

Lots of great information on buying and selling lately in the media. They often get it wrong but yesterday's Today Show got it right. Check out this clip from the show's 6 Tips for buyers, sellers:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/
Let me know if you have trouble opening this and I'll summarize it for you.

Many buyers say they want a good deal. The bottom line is if you find a house you like, it's a good deal. Just food for thought.

We need each other to survive

2006-07-31T07:23:00.000-04:00

Lots of homes on the market these days and a lot of people out there looking. As more for sale signs go up, it becomes more important for sellers to set their homes apart from everyone else's home. The best way to do it is with price. This past weekend's Real Estate section in the Washington Post had a very good article that everyone who is selling now or in the future should read. Here it is if you didn't get a chance to see it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/AR2006072800764.html

If you're buying a home soon, remember my house buying mantra "if you like the house, make an offer." Even if your offer is less than list, always make it. Be sure it's a reasonable offer though. If the house is listed at $800,000 and you can only pay $400,000 it's probably not reasonable to expect a seller to come down $400,000 on price. But if the house is $600,000 and you offer $540,000, that's more reasonable and it gives you a chance to negoiate. Buyers and sellers need each other so you want to at least make an effort to come to a meeting of the minds.

Hope the open house list on Friday was helpful. Of course you know that open houses don't give you the complete view of what's on the market, that only a fraction of the houses that are for sale are open on any given weekend. Open houses give you a small sample of what's available but it's a good way to get to know a neighborhood.

Busy week ahead so I'm going to get started on my day. Enjoy the rest of yours..

The weekend's here, what are you doing?

2006-07-28T11:24:00.000-04:00

I'm doing an open house this weekend. My listing at 53 Seaton Place NW will be open from 1-4 pm so be sure to come by. If you want to see what else is open this weekend, click on the link here and get the list. It's not everything open just houses that are listed for more than $375,000, 3 or more bedrooms and with a basement. Still there are 54 houses open.
Here's the link:
http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=15004002546

I mentioned in the last post that buyers are "grazing" and I'm curious as to why. Anyone who's out there looking for a house right now and haven't made an offer on something yet, email me your reasons. I'm trying to understand what's going on. I tell all my buyers to make an offer if they see a house they like regardless of whether they offer the list price. Give the seller an opportunity to make a counter offer and see if you can work something out. That is a prudent strategy every day of the week. Make offers, you may get the house you want at the price you can afford too. Just a suggestion.

I'm getting ready to send out my quarterly newsletter, The Jones Report. With it I'm including a fact sheet on taking charge of your credit. I send it out snail mail so if you'd like to receive it e-mail me your info so I can include you. Busy next couple of days.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

Grazing in the grass

2006-07-26T08:10:00.000-04:00

Everyone is trying to figure out what's going on with the real estate market, sellers, buyers, Realtors, economist, everyone. I my friends, have the answer. Stop trying to figure it out, it's all a mystery and the market is doing what the market is doing. Here's what I do know: there are a lot more houses on the market today than a year ago, there are more buyers out there looking than there were a year ago, and houses are staying on the market longer. Prices are down because they were unrealistically high to begin with. Even with the price shifts and the increased inventory, buyers are still waiting. At our sales meeting yesterday we discussed this and concluded that buyers are grazing. I like that term because that's really what's happening, buyers are grazing. They want to sample everything that's there and then think some more. What's happening while buyers are thinking is interest rates continue to go up ever so slightly, tax assessments go up, the cost to record and transfer property is going up and in the end by the time that buyer decides to buy something, even if the price of the house goes down, it'll cost the same or slightly more because he/she waited. And while he/she waited, the benefits of home ownership aren't realized. The stories in the newspaper aren't helping either. Here are two Washington Post articles. The first from today's paper and the second from Saturday's Real Estate section. When you read them keep it in perspective and remember what I've been saying for a while now about the housing market:
Article 1:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072501513.html
Article 2:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072500538.html
And if you're blue about finding something in this area, think about Baltimore (I also sell in Baltimore):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/21/AR2006072100663.html
Lots to digest I know. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. Enjoy the rest of your day.

The condo market

2006-07-24T05:41:00.000-04:00

I've been in New York City the past several days. I was there for a real estate conference and also had time to enjoy a little of the city. Donna and I got to see a couple of Broadway shows, the Producers (don't know what all the raves are for on that one) and the Lion King (absolutely loved it!). Also saw a great exhibit on the human body called Bodies. If you get a chance to see, go. Anyway, it was a busy week last week. No only was I away but I also had two closings during the week, one the day before I left and the other on Friday. I wasn't there so a colleague helped. Needless to say my week was a little stressful.

Someone asked me how the condo market is and whether they will get a good price on their current condo when they sell two years from now. Not having a crystal ball, I can't say what kind of price you'll get. What I can say though is that there are a lot of condos out there and the thing that will make your condo stand out and sale faster and possibly at a higher price is pricing. I've said many times that now more than ever it's so important for the condition of the property and the price to match. Keep your condo in good condition, update it if it needs it and price it competitively. Don't overreach because it will just sit there if you do. Here's the latest condo stat from GCAAR: http://gcaar.com/statistics/2006/dccc0606.pdf
Remember, if you have any real estate questions or concerns, please give me a call or shoot me an email. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Buy now or pay more later

2006-07-19T06:52:00.000-04:00

The cost of buying a house in the District is going up. No, I'm not talking a bout the cost of housing going up as it continues in DC and other parts of the area. I'm talking g about the price you pay to transfer property in DC, that cost is going up. Whenever you buy and sell a property in the city you pay the city a transfer and recordation tax. Currently the cost is 1.1% of the sales price. So if the house you're buying is $470,000 your cost will be around $4700 for both the buyer and the seller. The buyer pays $4700 and the seller pays $4700. The DC City Council being the brilliant folks they are decided last week to increase that cost. Yeah, it's already expensive to buy a house in the city, so let's just make it a little more expensive. Now it will cost you 1.4%, effective Oct. 1, 2006. So come Oct. that same house will cost you around $6,020 to transfer and record. That's an increase of more than $1300. If you think it's ok to wait to buy or sell, just to see what the market's going to do, that waiting will cost you. Stop waiting. the market's doing what it's doing and waiting to see what happens means you go another year without the benefit of owning your home or without the benefit of selling a house in a market that clearly has not died.

Are you in the market?

2006-07-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

If you're thinking about buying a house and you're waiting to see what happens, you may want to reconsider. Getting in to a house now is the best strategy for your future because not only do you reap the benefits of home ownership right now, but as interest rates continue an upward trend, you'll spend less if you buy now. There's so much to choose from too. If you're in t he market for a condo, there's plenty out there. The Washington Post article Saturdays points to that: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071400080.html

There are a lot of houses out there too. Took some clients out this weekend to look at houses. We saw about 15 or so. I'm still seeing houses where the condition doesn't match the price. We are way past the days where you could just put a sign in front of anything and it would sell in two days. Now more than ever, the condition of the house has to match the price. If you're selling your house there are things you can do:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071400711.html

Remember, if you have any real estate questions don't hesitate to contact me either by phone, 202-494-6797 or email, angela.jones@longandfoster.com. Enjoy there rest of your day.

So little time

2006-07-10T19:50:00.000-04:00

It's been a week since my last post. No, I wasn't being lazy. Actually I've been out of town. Donna and I spent the week in Sin City, Las Vegas baby! We had a good time but found it a little difficult to truly relax and enjoy ourselves. Donna had a work issue hanging over her head and I had a settlement that was supposed to have happended June 29 but moved to the week we were going out of town so I was dealing with that. We did have fun playing Blackjack and seeing some shows. It was fun. We'll go back. We almost bought a timeshare out there though. Donna wanted to buy it but I had to keep a cool head and just say no. It was a good deal but not good enough. Maybe one of these days.

The housing market here continues to be strong. The market is not cooling. Some areas of the city are experiencing a slight slowdown. The Urban Institue is doing regualr studies about the Dc housing market. Good info, here's the link:http://neighborhoodinfodc.org/housing/DCHousingMonitor_2006sum.pdf

The market is still hot so it's time to buy if you haven't already and if you're thinking about selling, it's time to get the house ready. IKf you are planning on selling and you need help getting it ready, give me a call. That's all for now. Be back Wednesday.

How's your title?

2006-06-26T08:19:00.000-04:00

Busy weekend. Lots of open houses. The market has changed enough that it's fashionable to do open houses again. Many agents say that open houses are just to get you, the agent, new clients but I've sold three houses from an open house so I'm always happy to do them. Mine yesterday at 53 Seaton Place was busy. There were two other houses open on the block.

If you didn't get to read the Real Estate section of the Washington Post this weekend, here's an article that everyone who has bought a house or is buying a house with a friend or significant other should read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/23/AR2006062300646.html

Interest rates continue to go up slightly but they are still low. Dive in the water's fine!

The tax sale

2006-06-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

The tax sale list came out yesterday. Is your home on it? Actually mine was a few years ago. Not because I hadn't paid my taxes. Because DC applied my tax payment to someone else. It took me six months to clear it up. It's always a good idea to go to the DC real property database to check your status just in case.
Anyway, people always ask if they should buy a property from the tax sale. The answer is yes, if you have the time and the money. It takes about a year for you to actually get possession of a housed purchased through the tax sale but even if you buy it, there's no guarantee that you'll get it. Oftentimes it could be a mistake that caused the house to end up on the list (like my situation a few years ago-someone actually tried to buy it too). The owner has a year to pay the taxes and get straight with the city. In the meantime, the money that you put down for it is sitting earning a small amount of interest until it's even sent back to you because the owner paid the taxes or until you actually get the house. There's a little more involved but that's basically how it works. I don't know about you but I rarely have a couple thousand dollars or so I can stand to part with for a year or so.
I have a new listing. It's in the neighborhood at 53 Seaton Place NW. The list price $645,000. It's the house in the picture. It's a beautiful 6 bedroom, 2.5 bath Victorian in the heart of Eckington. For more information about it go to my website at www.angelajonesrealestate.com. I'm having an open house for it on Sunday, 1-4 pm.
Hope to see you there.

It's not down for the count yet

2006-06-21T08:03:00.000-04:00

All the pundits continue to inject gloom and doom into reports about the housing market and what's going on. People continue to buy and sell houses though so I don't think you can say that the housing market is down for the count. Granted, the frenzy isn't there like it was two years ago but the market is still robust. Here's an article from the Wall St. Journal that points to the fact that housing starts are up: http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/markettrends/20060620-blackstone.html

What that means to you is this. Ignore what the pundits say. Yes houses are staying on the market longer. Some sellers haven't figured out yet that they probably won't get as much for their house as they would have gotten three years ago. They're still in denial about it and are less willing to reduce the price when they need to. Get over it. The market is what it is, today. Deal with it. And some buyers are still waiting to see what happens. To them I say, what the heck are you waiting for?

The dog days of summer

2006-06-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

It was so hot this weekend, not just the temperature, although 95 degrees was pretty darn hot. The real estate market was hot too. These are the dog days of summer and in real estate, this is when people who have been thinking about buying or selling usually decide to act. I'm busier now than I've been all year. A lot of my clients have decided they want to make a move so things have been hopping. Fortunately for them all, there's more out there to choose from so they have greater selection now. There's no way to tell how the market will be in the coming months, I certainly don't have a crystal ball. But if you're still on the fence about buying or selling, now's the time to do it. Sure things will slow some in the coming months, prices may even go down slightly. If you wait, however, you lose the benefit of having a house now and all the advantages that come from that and with interest rates edging up still, you'll basically pay more even if prices go down. Now's the time to strike.

The real estate section of Saturday's Washington Post the past two Saturday's had two excellent articles. One was on how deals can fall apart at the settlement table. I have three settlements in the coming weeks and I always worry about what can go wrong. So much so that I often don't get much sleep the week of a settlement. I had one last week and for several days prior to the closing, I was waking up at 3 a.m. and I couldn't go back to sleep. Here's the Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061600749.html

The other article was on loans. When choosing the type of loan to finance your home purchase, be careful. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/09/AR2006060900027.html

There's a lot involved when buying or selling a house so keep me in mind if you have questions or need the services I can provide. Enjoy the rest of your day and remember you can rest when you die.

2006-06-12T01:16:00.000-04:00

So much happening in real estate these days. The inventory is high and the buyers are out there looking like crazy. If you have a house to sell and you want to take advantage of the developing buyer's market, there are some things to do to get your house ready for sale. Check out this info from the Wall St. Journal: http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20060606-hoak.html

If you're buying and you want to take advantage of the market, make sure you are prepared, meaning make sure you are already pre-approved by a lender. Stay away from Internet lenders though because you can't be assured that your loan will get to settlement and listing agents don't like dealing with the prospect of a home not going to settlement. If you have questions about that process, give me a call or email me.

2006-05-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

We continue to hear news that the market is cooling. Pundits all around say that the hot housing market has slowed and the ride is over. I don't agree with that thesis, especially in the area. Certainly things are not selling as quickly as they did this time last year and certainly the prices may not be at the same level they were this time last year but what that really means is that the market is becoming more normal. Every month the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors (GCAAR) compiles stats showing what's happening. Here's the link for the April figures for single family homes in DC: http://gcaar.com/statistics/2006/dcsf0406.pdf

The condo market is a different animal, however. There are so many condos on the market now and so many yet to come, if you wait a few more months before you buy a condo you may be able to get a good deal. Here's the link for the April figures on condos in DC: http://gcaar.com/statistics/2006/dccc0406.pdf

Lots more open houses these days too. If you're doing your house shopping exclusively through open houses though, you aren't really getting a full picture of what's available. On any given weekend there is a handful of houses that are open. It's a good way to get started but when you're really ready to kick your search into overdrive the best way to do it is by working with an agent (me) to get you in to those properties that aren't held open. If you just like to look at houses and what a list of what's open, send me an email. I've got an open house this weekend. The address is 3105 12th St. NE. The photo of the house is above this post. Hope to see you there this Sunday, 2-5 pm. I've got to start my day now. Enjoy the rest of yours.

We're still having fun!

2006-05-22T08:26:00.000-04:00

Busy, busy weekend this past weekend. There were tons of open houses. If you got my email you know there were over 400 homes listed as open this past weekend. If you didn't get my email and would like to, just shoot me an email requesting to be added to the list of folks receiving a weekly list of what's open for the weekend. Anyway, I held a really nice condo in the Eckington open yesterday. It's unit 303 and the price is $325,000. It's a two bedroom, two place condo on the top floor, with parking and a washer and dryer in the unit. It's a great place. If you're in t he market for something like that and would like to see it, let me know.

Lots of inventory out there these days. As there's more out there to choose from, sellers have to be very careful when pricing there properties. Here's an interesting article from the Wall St. Journal about that: http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20060519-loeb.html

The housing market can be tough to navigate so keep in mind if you have any questions or concerns about what's going on, I'm an email (angela.jones@longandfoster.com) or a phone call (202-494-6797) away. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Is it time yet?

2006-05-17T07:48:00.000-04:00

If you're trying to figure out the right time to buy a home, here's something to ponder. Thanks to our friend Art Herling from Long and Foster's Philadelphia region:

Picking the Right Time to Buy
The pundits are currently having a field day, speculating on whether we are in a buyer’s market, a seller’s market, or seeing a period of transition. This presents puzzlement to anyone contemplating the purchase of a home. Activity reports and trend predictions are as abundant these days as roadside litter, and only slightly more useful to prospective homeowners, to whom we offer the following counsel:

The truth is that the proper time to buy is ANY time when your “DNA” is right. That’s regardless of what the experts say, particularly the harbingers of impending turndowns or stagnations. (Many doom-shouters predict four or more major market slumps for every one that actually comes to pass.).

Those last three words, incidentally, are significant ones, because all market changes literally come to pass; they never come to stay indefinitely. If you haven’t lived through these phenomena in the past, just ask someone who has.

Given the fact that real estate historically “goes up” in the long run, even those buyers who find that they’ve overpaid for a home need only wait for the price tide to rise in order to refloat their economic boat. Meanwhile, chances are good that the “bottom fisherman” who held off in anticipation of an elusive bargain almost certainly missed opportunities to own a desirable home and may later have to settle for something less and/or pay even more.

About that DNA reference: It is one of those acronyms (home-made in this case) that are so popular these days, but it’s in no way related to the crime show plots so prevalent on the TV screen. Rather, it points to three elements that, when they are present, not only suggest that a home purchase is appropriate, but mandate immediate action – notwithstanding negative news from the pundits

The “D” stands for desire – what you and your family really want in terms of lifestyle. A home is more than just an acquisition of land and building materials. It’s also more than just where your family lives. It is HOW you live as well. This sets homes apart from other forms of investment, wherein the price paid may be a paramount consideration. The “desire to acquire” a new lifestyle must be a major force in the purchasing procedure, and if it is present, it should be given the highest priority. Failing to do so will invite later regrets, which are much harder to live with than, perhaps, slightly elevated mortgage payments.

“N” means that the home must satisfy practical needs, such as space, safety, community services, schools and creature comforts, including a reasonable degree of luxury. Don’t discount pride of ownership in this category! Human nature being what it is, when the desire is strong enough, needs will be either manufactured, rationalized or both, but the practical side should always be recognized.

“A” stands for an ability to pay for the subject property. Regardless of how passionately a home is desired or how badly needed, unless the price and terms are manageable, the transaction is simply not doable. That said, and getting back to an earlier comment, when the home is wanted with sufficient level of intensity, the budget will be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to the absolute limit.
A cautionary note: The “A” factor should be explored in depth before the actual house-hunting begins; do this to avoid the pain of satisfying both desire and need, only to find that the dream is beyond reach. However, if, when and as soon as all three DNA elements have been identified, the time to buy is always – that is to say without exception – NOW!

Those who are persuaded by the pundits to “wait an see what happens” are in imminent danger of joining the forlorn (and crowded) ranks of those who now observe present pr ices with dismay, ruefully commenting, “why, I remember when I could have bought those places for (whatever $), or even less!” (Ah, but they DIDN’T – and there’s the point!) If you find yourself on the fence, be mindful of a genuine American pundit (and poet) names John Greenleaf Whittier, who wrote: “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: “it might have been.”
Thinking about a change? Check out your “DNA,” then go for it!

Are you open?

2006-05-15T09:56:00.000-04:00

Busy weekend for real estate. Lots of open houses this weekend and lots of people out looking. Open houses are a great way to find out what's out there but it's really a good way to find a home. I do open houses all the time and I've only sold two houses from an open house. Most Realtors will tell you that open houses are to get more clients. I've gotten several new clients from open houses. In fact I got a new client from one of the first open houses I did (this was for another agent) and I've handled two sales for them in the last two years. The Washington Post had an interesting article about open houses. Here it is if you didn't get a chance to see it. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/12/AR2006051200859.html

BTW, if you like to go to open houses and you want o know what's open on the weekends, send me an email and I'll send you the list so you don't have to wait on the paper for the list. Busy week ahead so I must get to it. Enjoy the rest of your day

How's the market?

2006-05-08T06:19:00.000-04:00

The real estate market is really hot here lately. Every time I talk to people the question is always the same. What's the market doing? The market is as strong as ever. Houses are sitting on the market longer though and that's because there are so many house son the market and buyers have more choices owe and they want to see everything that's out there before they decide. What's also making houses sit longer is the fact that prices haven't adjusted to large inventory that's out there. Sellers still believe they can put any number on a house and it'll sell immediately. Those days are gone, for a while anyway. These days, property condition and price have to be on the same level. If you want $600,000 or more for your home it had better have all the bells and whistles. Buyers expect that. A client of mine told me yesterday about seeing a home that was listed for $975,000. Nice house but it hadn't been fixed up. The floors weren't refinished, the bathrooms hadn't been renovated and the house didn't show very well. If you pay that kind of money for a house you expected it to be in good shape and not require any work at all. If you're planning on selling your home in the near future, look at it with a buyer's eye. Anyway, that's my two cents about the housing market.

May day, may day!!

2006-05-01T07:47:00.000-04:00

Wow, we're in a new month already and spring is in full bloom. I've been so busy these days and I'm just coming up for air. I've mentioned here that I've been taking classes to get my GRI (Graduate of Real Estate institute) designation. It's been a long few months of weekly classes but I'm finally done! I won't have the designation until I apply for it but at least the coursework is behind me. I do feel like I learned something but it certainly took a lot of time away from my real estate business. I haven't updated this in a while so forgive me. I actually was able to squeeze three settlements in over the last three weeks. Both my listings on S St. and Buchanan St. settled last week and I help a young man buy his first home a couple of weeks ago. The main thing I love about this gig is helping people achieve their goals.

By the way, the housing market continues to be strong in spite of all the dire predictions by the media. March housing figures were strong, although not as strong and the same time last year, but still strong. Here's info from the local association for you to take a look at.
http://gcaar.com/statistics/2006/dcsf0306.pdf.

That's all for now. I'll give you some more info about the market in a couple of days. Oh, one more thing. I have a rental listing in Alexandria if anyone is looking for a place there. It's a one bedroom, one bath condo in Northampton Place off of King St. It's a great building and the unit has a fireplace is is partially furnished. Parking is included and it rents for $1500. Let me know if you're interested.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

The bubble babble continues

2006-04-19T07:25:00.000-04:00

Saw this article from Bank Rate:

Bubble watch: 10 cities that will top out
These bubble sitters have had a good run, but will likely see little more price increases. Job losses, affordability and available land are challenges for many of these towns.By Pat Curry
Washington, D.C.: The D.C. market ranks 10th on John Burns' list of markets facing a potential housing bubble, and home sellers in the metro market report that it's taking longer to sell than it did a year ago. Plus, builders are offering significant incentives to try to move inventory quickly. Fortune's survey suggests the market will decline slightly in 2007. Still, D.C. has a healthy economy and job market; Forbes ranks it fourth on its list of great places for business and a career. And where there is business, there are home buyers.
Fort Myers/Cape Coral, Fla.: Is it overvalued? Yes. Local Market Monitor reports annual housing appreciation of between 9% and 11% between 2001 and 2004 and then a 33% leap in 2005. Has the market topped out in housing appreciation? Not yet, but it can't absorb much more, say the real estate gurus. The market is still affordable and more reasonably priced than Sarasota (43% overvalued) to the north or Naples (a whopping 72% overvalued) to the south, but the amount of building in the market is staggering -- most of the country's major builders have strong presences in Lee County -- and land prices, once quite affordable, have increased as much as tenfold in recent years.
Chicago: The Midwest hasn't had the kind of dramatic price increases as cities on the two coasts and those in the Sun Belt. As such, Chicago isn't as susceptible to a pricing bubble as some of the other major urban areas of the country, the real estate pros say. However, the ratio of housing costs to income in the market far exceeds that of other markets in the state and job growth has been sluggish. "The big challenge in Chicago is work-force housing," Gollis says. "We're always looking at likely income growth and affordability growth or lack thereof."
Honolulu: Because of its remote location, Honolulu is tough to compare to anywhere else. After a drop-off in population in the 1990s, people have started returning to the island, Winzer says, creating a housing shortage that has contributed to rapid increases in housing prices. In 2003, the median price of an existing single-family home was $380,000, according to NAR. By the end of 2005, it was expected to be at $620,000. Currently, the economy on the island is good, Winzer says, driven by economic conditions in Japan. Fortune predicts a small, but realistic increase in values this year followed by a slight drop-off in 2007.
Tucson, Ariz.: Tucson's housing market is dwarfed by Phoenix -- new construction in Tucson is roughly one-fifth of the number of units built annually in Phoenix -- but it has joined its much-larger neighbor in attracting the attention of real estate investors. The NAR reported a 32% increase in appreciation over 12 months. The current pricing is about one-fourth higher than it should be, Local Market Monitor says. The pros look for the market to stabilize in 2006, with an increase that roughly tracks the inflation rate, increase this year, followed by a decline in pricing in 2007.
San Francisco: With a median home price of nearly $720,000 at the end of 2005, according to the NAR, San Francisco remains one of the country's most-expensive cities to live in, outpacing even Honolulu and New York City. Housing prices are unlikely to decline because of short supply -- surrounded by hills and its famed bay -- there's just nowhere else to build anything less expensive in the city. But realistically, there aren't that many people who can afford to buy at those prices, which should keep prices from going much higher.
Detroit: Detroit hasn't been on anyone's list of hot markets for a long time. In the most recent report from the NAR, The Motor City was one of only six metro markets in the country to show a decline in housing appreciation in the past year, with prices down about a half percent. It's a trend that Local Market Monitor has been tracking since 2001; annual price increases have dropped from 7% that year to just 2% in 2005. Fortune doesn't predict any better performance in the market through 2007. John Burns Real Estate Consulting actually gives the Detroit market its worst possible grade, an F, based largely on a large loss of jobs and the highest unemployment rate of any metro market in the state.
Minneapolis: Minneapolis made our list for a couple of reasons. In a year when the majority of metro markets showed double-digit increases in appreciation, it barely surpassed the rate of inflation, according to the NAR. And for the next two years, the prediction is that appreciation won't even see the left side of a decimal point.
Baltimore: Like its pricier neighbor to the south, Washington, D.C., Baltimore has seen double-digit increases in appreciation in recent years. But several reports indicate the market is overpriced compared to its history. Local Market Monitor indicates that prices are overvalued by 17%; Fortune's number crunchers forecast a slight increase in values for this year, followed by a small drop-off in 2007, perhaps signaling that prices have leveled off.
Denver: Gollis has been big on Denver for some time, seeing it as a market that went through a rough time -- it lost thousands of telecom jobs a few years back -- but it is returning to a level state. The market has caught the attention of national builders in recent years, there is major construction underway and the Stapleton Airport redevelopment is one of the largest projects of its kind in the nation. Yet the NAR reports that in a year when the vast majority of markets showed double-digit increases in appreciation, Denver's rate was 4.4%, and Local Market Monitor reports that it hasn't been above 5% since 2001. The good folks at Fortune predict that for the next couple of years, Denver's rate of appreciation won't see half that number.

News you can use

2006-04-12T07:59:00.000-04:00

Here's a very interesting article from the Wall St. Journal:

Housing Bubble? The MarketWon't Pop, Expert Predicts
By Christopher C. Williams From Barron's
From his perch as president of Purchase, N.Y.- based Alpine Woods Capital Investors, Samuel Lieber sees slivers of sunshine stealing through the gloom enveloping the U.S. housing market.
Speculative buying has driven housing prices to nosebleed levels -- giving rise to fears that there's a bubble and that rising interest rates will be the pin that makes it explode.
But housing's fundamentals remain strong, argues Lieber, who directly manages or helps oversee some $3 billion of assets through nine mutual funds, including chart-topping Alpine U.S. Real Estate Equity, Alpine International Real Estate and Alpine Realty Income & Growth. The portfolio manager says that he won't retract his horns unless the job market tanks, and he sees little chance of that happening soon.
Based on his record, his opinion is worth heeding.
Eschewing pricey real-estate investment trusts for the most part, Lieber has guided the U.S. fund to an annualized 29% return in the past five years, through April 4, beating 99% of his rivals, according to Morningstar. His International offering was up 26% over five years, while Realty Income, managed by Robert Gadsden, is up 23% for that span.
Late last month, Lieber visited Barron's offices in New York, where condo prices are flattening. Drawing on 25 years of real-estate experience, including stints as a broker and urban planner, he discussed many topics, including the U.S. property market, what he views as blossoming investment opportunities in Hong Kong, Germany and Sweden, and some stocks to avoid.
Barron's: Thirty-year mortgages are still pretty low, interest rates aren't spiking; the economy is still relatively robust, and the job market remains solid. Yet we have this doom and gloom over housing. Is it that folks are just tired of a good thing after years of crazy growth?
Lieber: We've seen a number of [housing] cycles globally, and this one is not that different. We've just gone through a 14-year up cycle for housing, and prices were up because of supply-demand considerations. But, fundamentally, we'll get to a point where, all of a sudden, the market will say: "The Fed is basically done. They will go from a tightening mode to neutral." When that happens, the bond market will do well, and housing will start to take off again. That is going to happen, in all likelihood, within the next nine months.
How many more rate hikes will the Fed do?
At most, we're going to get two more moves. So rates get up to the 6 3/4% to 7% range on mortgages and, as a result, we think the market stabilizes. We do not expect to see a robust recovery, as we saw in 1995. But home-building stocks are trading at just 6 1/4; times earnings multiples, in spite of having had 35% annualized compounded earnings growth over the past seven years. We're going to go through a transition in which the market will look forward to sustainable earnings growth in the mid-teens over the next three to five years. The stocks will be revalued higher by 50% to 100%, in terms of their multiples, in 18 to 20 months.
So there's no housing bubble bursting?
We don't see a bubble. Historically, home prices just don't go down nationwide unless we are in a significant recession. The last time home prices fell nationwide was in 1990. It's employment that really counts. The underlying fundamentals of real estate are still very positive. Job creation and household formation drive housing.
How high can rates go before you'd consider them dangerous for housing?
An 8% mortgage rate would be a problem. My guess is that the Fed will stop short of crippling the housing market. They simply want to slow it down.

Second homes on the rise

2006-04-05T05:21:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting articled from USA Today that I'd like to share with those of your thinking about getting a second home.

Second Homes 40% of Market
By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
Americans snapping up second homes — as investments or vacation properties — accounted for four out of every 10 sales of existing homes last year, a record that helped drive the real estate market to new highs, according to a report being released today by the National Association of Realtors.
Nearly 28% of homes bought last year were for investment purposes, and an additional 12% were vacation homes, the figures show. Most of the buyers were baby boomers in their top earning years, looking toward retirement and hoping to build wealth or find a more desirable place to live.
"Baby boomers are such a powerful economic force," said Dave Jenks, co-author of The Millionaire Real Estate Investor. "They're using their wealth to go buy second homes."
The typical investment buyer last year was 49 years old with annual income of $81,400. He or she paid $183,500 for the median-priced investment home, up 24% from 2004.
"Real estate, over the past five years, has outperformed virtually every other investment vehicle," said Ron Peltier, president and chief executive of HomeServices of America, the country's second-largest residential brokerage firm. "A lot of people have just speculated in real estate."
The trend really started after 1997, when Congress changed the tax code, allowing most homeowners to duck capital gains taxes when they sold their homes. The exemption is $500,000 for married couples, $250,000 for singles, if it was their primary residence for two of the past five years.
Under the old system, the only way to avoid the tax was to "roll" the gains into another home of equal or greater value. Americans bought bigger and costlier homes. But now, they can downsize and use the equity built up in their homes to buy second homes.
"That's what spurred all this on in the beginning," says David Lereah, the NAR's chief economist. "It's like all the stars are aligned. The tax situations helped, but at the same time, baby boomers were entering their peak earning years. That's why we just boomed in second homes."

Life stages

2006-04-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

It was a great weekend this past weekend. The weather was wonderful and lots of people were out. I held two houses open this weekend and both had very good traffic. It was a busy Sunday for Donna and me. When I talked to people at the house I held open (3105 12th St.) most of them were buying for the first time but a few were people who were downsizing. There are many life stages to the home buying and selling process and at some point everyone who has a house or wants to buy one will experience one them. If you're buying for the first time and you're single or a new couple without children, your needs will be different from someone who's been married or partnered for a while with a couple of children. If all the children are grown and you've finally gotten them to move out of the house, your needs are different too. You're not likely to need the house with five b bedrooms, and three baths anymore. Whichever stage you're in currently, there's a home out there for you. If I can help you, please feel free to respond to this blog, go to my website atwww.angelajonesrealestate.com or call me on my cell at 202-494-6797.

BTW, I wish the Washington Post would stop with the gloom and doom articles about the housing market. The housing market is very brisk, people are buying and selling like crazy. Those who aren't buying probably never will so they'll complain about how high prices have gotten and awful the properties are because they're afraid. Fear keeps you stuck right were you are. Sometimes renting is better for awhile if you're trying to save for a down payment for a house, but there comes a time when you have to stop paying someone else's mortgage. It's a great time to be in real estate! Enjoy the rest of your day and remember you can rest when you die.

More houses are on

2006-03-30T06:51:00.000-05:00

As the spring season begins more houses are coming on the market. This is a great time if you're a buyer because you have so much more to choose from. If you're a seller, it's also a great time because you have more people out there looking and even if there's more competition, you're still in good shape if your house is priced properly. You'll know within a couple of weeks how well your house is priced. If it's on the market and no on is going to see it, it's not priced right. Price is a big factor for people making a decision about a house. Property condition is another factor. The price of the house should reflect the condition of the house.
The local realtor board releases stats every month about what's sold in the area the previous month. Here a link to take a look at the stats for Feb. http://gcaar.com/statistics/2006/dcsf0206.pdf

I have a new listing by the way. It's located at 3105 12th St. NE. It's a three bedroom, 2 bath home in Brookland. It has a sleeping porch, hardwood floors, living room, dining room, a nice kitchen, lots of light and loads of space. It needs some TLC but it's in good shape. The list price is $350,000. Let me know if you want to take a look at it. The photo is on the right.

It's been a busy week for me. My listing at 122 S St. is under contract. The listing at 3468 24th St. settled on Monday and I'm finishing up my GRI classes for the 200 series this week. Today is the last class. I'll have five more classes next month and then I'll have my GRI designation.

On a more personal note, not related in any way to real estate, I started belly dancing classes last night. It's really hard to isolate one part of your body. It goes for 11 weeks so we'll see. Enjoy the rest of your day and remember you can rest when you die.

Back with the Living

2006-03-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

I have not updated my blog in weeks. Sorry about that. I have been out with a terrible flu bug which had me out for the count for several weeks. When you're self-employed though, there's no one to call in sick to and you basically have to keep working no matter what. I was forced, however, to take a couple of days to do nothing but recover because I had a temperature of 103.5 for two days. I've never had that happen so needless to say both Donna and I were a bit concerned. She took off work to nurse me back to health. I'm happy to report that I'm much better.

Anyway, lots of real estate matters to address. Hope you saw the Washington Post this past weekend. Very good articles about the market and what's going on. The one thing I didn't like though is that the Post didn't really point out how different the Washington area is from other parts of the country. What's happening here isn't reflected in the data that's collected in other parts of the country. One of the articles talked about the median price for the area. Here's a link if you didn't get a chance to see it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/24/AR2006032400844.html?sub=AR.

As I've said here before, the market is changing and as it changes everyone is trying to figure it out. We don't have crystal balls so no one can predict what will happen. What I tell all my clients is at the end of the day you want to feel good about your transaction. Think about what you consider a success and work toward that. Everyone wants to get the best price but these days it's more difficult to know what that is. If you want more real estate information go to my website at: www.angelajonesrealestate.com. I'll have more info for you Wednesday. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Half full or half empty

2006-03-15T08:47:00.000-05:00

How you view the current real estate market is more about how you preceive things and less about what's actually happening. If you view the market as declining, tanking, stalling or anything else negative you can stick on it, then that's what it's doing in your world. I have a more optimistic view but I'm also a realist. I know that the market has been so hot for so long, that all you had to do was put a for sale sign in front of something and it would sell right away. That's not happening as much now, we're having to work a little harder to get things sold and a lot people aren't used to it. All is not lost. When interest rates were 18% houses were still selling. However, there is one piece of this puzzle that is a bit troubling. The Wall St. Journal has an article that speaks to what happens when the market is so hot and so many people get in to house they really can't afford. Again, depending on how you look at things, this could be seen as danger ahead or an excellent opportunity. You decide.

Millions Are Facing SqueezeOn Monthly House Payments
By James R. Hagerty From The Wall Street Journal Online
Millions of Americans who stretched themselves financially to buy homes face a painful adjustment -- some could even lose their houses -- as monthly payments on adjustable-rate mortgages are reset higher.
In the hot housing market of recent years, many households took advantage of "affordability" mortgage loans -- heavily promoted by lenders -- that hold down payments for an initial period. Now the initial periods are coming to an end on many of these loans, leaving borrowers to face resets of their interest rates that can cause monthly payments to shoot up between 10% and 50%.
More than $2 trillion of U.S. mortgage debt, or about a quarter of all mortgage loans outstanding, comes up for interest-rate resets in 2006 and 2007, estimates Moody's Economy.com, a research firm in West Chester, Pa.
Most borrowers will be able to cope with the coming wave of resets, in some cases by refinancing with new loans, lenders and mortgage industry analysts say. But some borrowers will have trouble meeting the higher payments and may be forced to sell their homes or could lose their homes to foreclosures. A recent study by First American Real Estate Solutions, a unit of title insurer First American Corp., projects that about one in eight households with adjustable-rate mortgages that originated in 2004 and 2005 will default on those loans.
Resets will "eat into discretionary spending" for many Americans, says Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc., an economic consulting firm in New York. He expects consumer spending to slow in the months ahead but says the job market remains strong enough to keep most people out of serious trouble.
Still, a barrage of negative trends is making things tougher for already-strained borrowers. Interest rates are rising, which can increase the size of each mortgage reset and make refinancing more expensive. The housing market is cooling, making it harder to sell homes or build up a cushion of home equity.

Is it cool yet?

2006-03-08T06:48:00.000-05:00

Everybody wants to know if the housing market is cooling yet. My answer to that is no it's not, it's just leveling out. Granted the market has been a little overheated of late but it's a long way from cooling. I think when the weather warms you will see such an uptick in the market that all the Chicken Little pundits will be surprised. Also the rental market is picking up too. What does that mean? Buyers who are trying to figure this out this market but aren't having any luck are deciding to wait it out to see what will happen. Also sellers who have had trouble selling their homes for whatever reason are now willing to become landlords so there's more rental inventory. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out tin the coming months.

In the meantime, I'm busier than I've ever been. I have several buyer meetings set up in the next several weeks, I have two closings this month and I have a new listing and a couple more coming in April. I love my job!

The new listing photo is to the right. The house is located at 812 Buchannan St. NE in Brookland. It's 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, beautiful hardwood floors, lots of space, newly renovated, big backyard and parking in the rear for two cars. If you'd like to see it, come to the open house this Sunday 1-4. Check it out.

No one's blinking

2006-03-06T07:25:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned here several times that buyers and sellers are still trying to figure this market out. Here's an article from the NY Times that I think truly hits the mark on what I and other agents see happening with real estate these days.

March 4, 2006
Hoping for Best in Home Sales, 2 Sides Sit Tight
By VIKAS BAJAJ and DAVID LEONHARDT
Along much of the East and West Coasts, home buyers and home sellers are engaged in a stare-down. Many buyers, having heard that the real estate market is a bubble in danger of popping, are refusing to offer the asking price on a house, convinced that it will soon drop. But many sellers are not blinking either, thinking that offers will improve when the weather does and biding their time until then. As a result, the housing market is now in a deeply confusing state, with average prices still rising even though homes are taking much longer to sell and the number on the market has soared. Sometime soon - probably in the spring, the peak sales season - one side or the other will have to capitulate, many economists and industry executives predict. "In my opinion, the jury on housing is still out," said Antonio B. Mon, the chief executive of Technical Olympic USA, a home builder. "The period from now until May will tell the tale."Many real estate agents argue that the current slowdown is merely a pause, pointing out that interest rates remain low and that Americans still seem convinced that houses are a great investment. Buyers, on the other hand, are hoping that the rising number of unsold homes is a signal that a slump is coming. It was an early sign of the last housing slump, in the early 1990's.Nationwide, the number of existing homes for sale jumped 36 percent between January 2005 and January of this year, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. In Manhattan, 42 percent more co-ops and condominiums were available for sale at the end of last month than was the case a year ago, according to Miller Samuel, an appraisal company in New York. More Manhattan apartments were on the market in late February than at any point in at least five years.For now, though, average selling prices have continued to rise, even in the markets that had already experienced the biggest leaps in prices and the increases continued even in the final months of last year. Prices rose 40 percent in the Phoenix area during 2005, according to the federal government. In Manhattan, the median price of an apartment was $760,000 at the end of last year, up from $605,000 at the end of 2004.The latest statistics on house prices appear to be dominated by sellers who, for one reason or another, quickly received good offers. That has kept average prices rising. Builders of new homes have also offered bonuses to buyers, like enclosed sunrooms or top-of-the-line appliances. So the builders have been able to continue selling homes without cutting the list prices.But many houses in the Northeast, Florida and California are, in fact, selling for less than they would have six months ago. In parts of the Northeast, the drop has been about 5 percent, estimated Robert I. Toll, chief executive of Toll Brothers, the biggest luxury home builder in the country. Other sellers have cut their price and still not found a buyer. In Buxton, Me., a suburb of Portland, Geof and Cheri Toner put their three-bedroom Cape Cod-style house on the market for $379,900 late last year, shortly before moving to Raleigh, N.C., for Mr. Toner's job. They have received only one offer - for $350,000, which they rejected - and recently reduced the price to $374,900. Mr. Toner said he assumed that more buyers would look at the property as the weather warmed up. In the spring, they would not have to wonder whether snow covered up flaws in the lawn or the roof. He expects that the eventual buyer will be a transplant from elsewhere in New England who is willing to pay significantly more than $350,000. "We're not panicking over it," said Mr. Toner, 48, the regional sales manager of a video equipment maker. "It's just a matter of sitting it out and seeing what happens."
Many real estate agents argue that people like the Toners are doing the right thing and that the market will not slump as it did a decade ago. The job market is now improving. The interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage remains just 5.79 percent, according to Bankrate.com. And the number of homes on the market remains far lower than in the early 1990's, relative to sales volumes, despite the recent increases.The current slowdown is simply a transition, the agents say, from a scorching hot housing market to a normal, healthy one. "All we are seeing is a pregnant pause," said Richard A. Smith, chief executive of Cendant's real estate division, which owns Coldwell Banker and Century 21, "a disconnect between sellers and buyers."But many buyers say they have a sense that the long boom has finally come to an end.In the San Jose, Calif., area, where the average house price increased 21 percent last year, Sathish Pottavathini, a programmer at eBay, said he was taking his time with the search for a new home and trying to find a good deal. "I don't want to rush into things especially in this kind of situation," Mr. Pottavathini, who is 32, said, "where you hear about a slowing down everywhere." He and his wife, Madhuri, spend $1,200 a month renting an 800-square-foot two-bedroom apartment, where they live with their 21/2-year-old daughter, Siri. They would like to find a three-bedroom town house with a two-car garage for less than $500,000. Although he does not expect prices to fall significantly, he does not think they will rise either and hopes he can find a bargain - a goal that seemed all but impossible in Northern California in the last few years. Now, Mr. Pottavathini said, "If I wait, I might get a better place." Buyers who showed similar patience in the early 1990's were rewarded. From the summer of 1989 to the summer of 1990, the number of homes for sale rose about 10 percent, according to the Realtors association. At first, many sellers refused to accept lower offers, thinking that they would get their asking price or close to it. But they eventually had to unload their houses, and in the Northeast and California that often meant reducing the price. In the Los Angeles area, the median sale price of existing houses fell 22 percent from 1992 to 1996, before taking inflation into account. If a similar slowdown were to happen again, Mr. Toner said he would consider changing his mind and his asking price. "At some point, if this were to become protracted, I would consider lowering the price to attract a buyer," he said. Mr. Pottavathini, meanwhile, is giving his San Jose search four months. After that, he plans to take a break and wait until his daughter is a bit older and his wife returns to work. With more money coming in, they might be able to pay more. If they still have not succeeded, they would then consider leaving Northern California - which he called "the best place in the world" - and returning to their native India. "If the condos become $600,000, it doesn't make any sense to live here," he said. "Imagine owning a house and paying your whole life for that house. I would rather move back to India."
Copyright 2006The New York Times Company

Prices keep going up

2006-03-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

I thought you might find this information on housing prices interesting. This report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight indicates that for states from Maryland to Florida, home prices grew by 17.81 percent between the fourth quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of 2005

HOUSE PRICE APPRECIATION CONTINUES AT ROBUST PACE
OFHEO House Price Index Shows Annual Rise of Nearly 13 Percent;
Unprecedented Increases in 26 Metropolitan Areas

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Average U.S. home prices increased 12.95 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004 through the fourth quarter of 2005. Appreciation for the most recent quarter was 2.86 percent, or an annualized rate of 11.4 percent. The increase during 2005 is similar to the revised increase of 12.55 percent for the year ended with the third quarter of 2005, showing no evidence of a slowdown. The figures were released today by OFHEO Acting Director Stephen A. Blumenthal, as part of the House Price Index (HPI), a quarterly report analyzing housing price appreciation trends.

"Despite recent indications that a slowdown may be forthcoming, house price appreciation during 2005 continued to hover at near-record levels," said OFHEO Chief Economist Patrick Lawler.

House prices continued to grow considerably faster over the past year than did prices of non-housing goods and services reflected in the Consumer Price Index. House prices rose 12.95 percent, while prices of other goods and services rose only 4.3 percent.
"While deceleration continues in some areas, appreciation generally is still extremely strong," said Lawler. "Mortgage rates climbed significantly during the second half of last year, but the effect of that increase on price appreciation so far appears to be limited."

This HPI report ranks 10 additional Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) due to an increase in the number of mortgage transactions in those areas.

Significant findings in the HPI:

1. Four-quarter appreciation rates were at record levels in 26 metropolitan areas including Orlando-Kissimmee, FL; El Paso, TX; and Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC.
2. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ continues to be the MSA with the greatest appreciation rate of 39.7 percent.
3. Appreciation in Arizona continues to surpass price growth in other parts of the country by a wide margin. Appreciation was 34.9 percent between the fourth quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of 2005. This is more than eight percentage points greater than the rate in Florida, the second fastest-appreciating state.
4. The Mountain Census Division became the fastest appreciating area of the country, edging out the Pacific Census Division. The area with the slowest price growth continues to be the East North Central Division, which includes Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
5. Price growth in the South Atlantic Census Division which includes East Coast states from Maryland to Florida, was at its highest rate since 1975, the beginning of the period covered in OFHEO's House Price Index. Home prices grew by 17.81 percent between the fourth quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of 2005.
6. For the first time since the third quarter of 2003, one of the MSAs included in OFHEO's appreciation-rate ranking experienced a four-quarter price decline. Prices in Burlington, NC fell by approximately one percent between the fourth quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of 2005.

Changes in the mix of data from refinancings and house purchase transactions can affect HPI results. An index using only purchase price data indicates somewhat less price appreciation for U.S. houses between the fourth quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of 2005. That index increased 10.81 percent, compared with 12.95 percent for the HPI.

Tips for Selling

2006-02-27T09:08:00.000-05:00

Last week I told you that if you want to sell your home you need to look at it from the eyes of the buyer. There's an article in the Wall St. Journal that goes into more detail on that pooint that I thought was interesting. Here it is:

Tips for Making Your Home More Saleable
Before you put your home on the market, there are some things you can do to differentiate your house among the competitors.
When preparing to put your home up for sale, your first concern is the home's exterior. If the outside, or "curb appeal" looks good, people will more than likely want to see what's on the inside. Keep the lawn and landscape nicely manicured. Trim the bushes and season permitting, plant some flowers. Be sure your front door area has a "Welcome" feeling. A fresh coat of paint on the front door looks great.
Of all the rooms inside your home, pay special attention to the kitchen and bathrooms. They should look as modern, bright and fresh as possible. It is essential for them to be clean and odor free. A fresh coat of paint just may do the trick. Have any leaky faucets taken care of. A call to a plumber is a wise investment.
For Your Home
Our home improvement section features how-to tips and important information about repairing and remodeling your home.
Since you want your home to look as spacious as possible, remove any excess or very large furniture. Make sure that table tops, dressers and closets are free of clutter. Don't use your garage, attic, or basement to store these extra things. These areas also need to have the impression of space. Instead, put them into storage. Make sure walls and doors are free of smudges and look for anything that might indicate a maintenance problem, such as cracked windows, holes in the wall or stained ceilings.
Finally, if your basement shows any signs of dampness or leakage, seal the walls.
Quick tips for showings:
Keep counter tops cleared
Replace all burned out lightbulbs
Open all drapes and window blinds
Put pets in cages or take them to a neighbor
No dirty dishes in the sink
No laundry in the washer/dryer
Clean or replace dirty or worn carpets
Put on soft music
Burn wood in the fireplace on cold days, otherwise, the fireplace should be clean
Always look at your home from the buyer's point of view. Be objective and be honest.

The weekend is here

2006-02-24T08:23:00.000-05:00

Weekends are extremely busy for realtors usually. Last weekend was crazed for me, I had two open houses. This week I have one so it's not so bad. I have 122 S St. NW open this Sunday, 1-4 pm so if you're in the neighborhood come by.

Went to a real estate seminar yesterday. The speaker was a guy named Darryl Davis. He was very good and offered excellent tips on how to improve your real estate bottom line which of course I was certainly interested in hearing. This is a business that requires a lot of creativity, energy, imagination and patience. It's a challenge sometimes especially when you're dealing with difficult people. I'm learning not to take it personally though because sometimes people are just having a bad day and if you're person who calls or comes by right when their in the throws of their drama, you get the smack down. You do develop a thick skin over time. I'm having a great time and I refuse to let anyone take my joy away from me.

Those are my thoughts for the day. Enjoy the rest of your day and remember you can rest when you die.

How's the market?

2006-02-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

I get that question all the time. The answer: the market's great, dive in! The market is leveling. It's not quite a buyer's market but it's also not the seller's market that it used to be. The spring market is right now so if you're waiting until March or April to start looking for a home because you think that's when the spring market is, you won't be getting the jump on those folks who are waiting just like you. Get out there now and begin your search. The housing market in the DC area will remain strong for a long time. This area is experiencing record low unemployment so all those folks who are finding jobs in the area also need housing. Our unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country.

DC continues to offer the $5,000 tax credit too. What that means to you if you are a first time home buyer is that you can take $5,000 off the taxes you owe. That's so cool!

If you're selling your home and you want to get top dollar, look at your home with a buyer's eye. Ask yourself if you were buying your home, what would you like or dislike about it. Buyers want perfection. Think of it like you're selling your car. If you were selling your car, wouldn't you clean it up, get it detailed maybe or anything else you could do to make it shine? Think about your house that way. If it would be useful to you for me to send you an email of tips to get your house ready for sell, let me know and I'd be happy to do so.

Having an open house this Sunday at my new listing at 122 S St. NW. Go to my website and get more information. Here's a photo.

Busy Weekend

2006-02-20T08:45:00.000-05:00

Had an extremely busy weekend this past weekend. Held two houses open, Donna did one for me. I have three listings currently: 2006 Bunker Hill Rd. NE, 3468 24th St. SE, and 122 S St. NW (just got this one last week). We had Bunker Hill and 24th St. open. Lots of traffic through both houses. Bunker Hill is a cute alternative to a condo, it's one bedroom, one bath but it's a detached home in Michigan Park. 24th St. is a semi-detached home in Randle Heights. It has two bedrooms upstairs and one in the basement. It also have one bath upstairs and one in the basement. It's a good house for someone just starting out but it does need some TLC. 122 S St. is a big Victorian in my neighborhood ( I live right around the corner form it). It's a great mix of old and new and would be a great place for something who likes the old style but also wants some modern conveniences too. It has five bedrooms, parking for two cars in the back, granite countertops in the kitchen, a powder room downstairs, bathroom upstairs, a finished basement with rental potential (one bedroom and one bath) and lots of fireplaces. It's a great house! It's a must see and if you're interested, give me a call at 202-494-6797.
The market isn't cooling as the news media continue to say. Things are certainly picking up. People are out there looking and will buy something when they find what they like. What they want is something that offers bells and whistles, especially if they're paying a lot for it. If it doesn't have the bells and whistles they don't want to pay too much. Realtors have to work to find a happy middle ground for both buyers and sellers. That's some I struggle with. It's all good though. Gotta run. Enjoy the rest of your day and remember you can rest when you die.