Open House: Columbia Heights

Today's open house is in Columbia Heights. If you're seeking a unique home that offers luxury and convenience, this 2br/2ba condo may be just what you're looking for. In fact, the condo at The Randolph offers many things one might expect - granite and stainless in the kitchen, but also offers two master suites and a semi-private terrace (used only by two other units) for morning coffee or for grilling meals.

The Randolph is a short walk from Metro and shopping or dining experiences galore. And the bus line stops just steps away.

A hundred years ago, Columbia Heights was the northern edge of downtown Washington, D.C. and included a track and stadium for horse racing. Today, the neighborhood that overlooks Washington from atop a hill, is a thriving, dynamic community that caters to a rich cultural diversity. The city government was wise to designate Columbia Heights as among its Main Street communities to receive public/private funds for development. There are new shopping and dining establishments located at 14th and Irving to accompany Columbia Heights Metro Station and scores of smaller, family-owned businesses.

Click here to find out more about The Randolph.

And think about paying us a visit today or sometime soon.

That's My 2 Cents' Worth!

Signs of Stabilization?

There is no doubt that for sellers and purchasers alike, the real estate market in 2008 was a truly confusing time. A home that may have been listed at $600,000 may have gone under contract at $582,000 only to be appraised at $560,000, while a similar home on the same block may have been priced at $585,000, gone under contract at $585,000 and appraised at $585,000.

Thank goodness for 2008 - or rather relief from it. During 2009, the most popular home among consumers in the Washington, DC Metro Region, is priced between $400,000 and $600,000. And within this price range, the last three months have brought some stability.

In fact, the spring market has brought much-welcome buyers back to the table in several area neighborhoods, including Del Ray (in Alexandria, VA), Dupont Circle (Washington, DC) and Bethesda, Maryland. Home in these neighborhoods have held there value, and in some subdivisions, we're actually seeing more homes under contract than active listings.

What does this mean?

With buyers back on the market snatching up existing inventory, homeowners feel more at ease with listing their homes, thus increasing new inventory. And the supply chain moves forward.

We're not likely to find homes appreciating at 80 percent in one year's time for a long time to come, and hopefully never. Consumers are craving stability, and it looks like that may be just what we're getting.

That's My 2 Cents' Worth!

MarketWatch - June 2009

It's Two, Two, Two Markets In One! With a tip of the hat to the old commercial for Certs (It's a breath mint...no, it's a candy mint!), there really are at least two very different markets in Washington, DC, and DC's markets vary widely from those in the inner and outer suburbs. Cert-ainly (sorry about that), a home's location and condition still matter enormously, yet we have never seen markets that differ so dramatically depending on price range. So, when someone refers to "the market," dig a little deeper. The chart below compares the active inventory (the red line) to the number of ratified contracts (the blue line) each month since January 2005 for homes priced between $500,000 and $999,999. It is clear that, in the first half of 2005, homes in this price range were getting snapped up just as soon as they came on the market. Home prices soared as a consequence. But, as we have all seen, there were limits to how long prices could continue to rise at a pace that greatly exceeded the growth in real income, and in mid-2005 things started to change - and change rapidly. Supply jumped from one month of inventory in May 2005 to more than 4 months just one year later in May 2006. And, with the huge increase in inventory, came a steep drop in contract activity, and the result was downward pressure on prices. Overall supply in this price range peaked in January of this year at almost 9 months. However, and as the charts on page two demonstrate, DC's market is unique among area jurisdictions because everywhere else in the region the market for homes priced under $500,000 is the strongest. Everywhere else, the slowly-emerging market recovery is starting with entry-level homes, yet in DC, the mid-level price range is the most balanced. Current supply is hovering right around 4 months, while there is a 6-month supply of homes priced less than $500,000 and a 9-month supply of homes priced at more than $1,000,000. There are also major differences among the three property types in the District. Through the first four months of the year, contract activity for condos and co-ops is off 7.9% compared to the same time in 2008 - and there more condo/co-op sales than attached homes or detached homes. The overall market is going to remain sluggish in DC until the condo market rebounds. By contrast, contract activity for attached homes is up 15.6% year-to-date, while contract activity for detached homes in essentially unchanged from last year.

Contracts vs. Active Listings - Homes Priced Less Than $500,000 In the first half of 2005, demand exceeded supply - but a transitioning market soon forced a very wide disparity between supply and demand. Then the gap narrowed considerably toward the end of 2006, but the gap opened up again in the late Spring of 2007 and has stayed wide since then. In general, the market for homes priced less than $500,000 is still a buyers' market, with a current supply of more than 6 months.

Contracts vs. Active Listings - Homes Priced $1,000,000 and Higher For homes priced at more than $1,000,000, the market never saw the huge imbalance we saw in the lower prices ranges in early 2005. But those were great times for million dollar home sellers nonetheless. During the past nine months, the inventory of upper bracket homes on the market has soared, while contract activity is running well below the peak times in 2005 and 2006. There is no doubt that it is a buyersí market in the upper brackets.

New Contract Activity The number of new contracts ratified in April 2009 was up 7.5% from the number of contracts ratified in April 2008. Note that the only price category with any consequential increase in activity was for homes priced less than $300,000. Contract activity for 2009 year-to-date is up just 1.9%. 41.3% of all homes going under contract in April 2009 had a price reduction before going under contract.

Open House: Cameron Station

Cameron Station is simply one of my favorite communities in the DC Metro Area. It offers a range of condos and townhouses - big and small - and its location is very convenient. We're talking 5-10 minutes to Old Town Alexandria and 10-20 minutes from downtown DC.

Today's open house - 5241 Bessley Place in Alexandria, Va. - is an enormous townhouse with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a 2-car garage and a private patio. For those with discriminating tastes, this home has been impeccably designed.

Please join me today, Sunday, May 24th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to have a look...

That's My 2 Cents' Worth!

Making Your House Hunting a Reality... vs Reality TV

Stories are running rampant. "First Time Buyers Benefit from Slump;" "$500k Home Fetches $250k Price Tag." Realtors are finding that stories in the news are setting expectations a little higher than reality. If a home sells at $250k, was it really in $500k condition? Perhaps... but perhaps not. It depends on the condition of the home as much as the condition of the local real estate market.

Reality often has many more dimensions that that perfect story a reporter searches for and then writes - no offense to my journalist friends.

When searching for your home - be it a condo, coop, townhouse or single family home, be armed with your financial limits as well as your financial comfort zone. Then have your Realtor assist in finding the best bang for your buck - the neighborhood that most closely supports your home purchasing goals, including location, price and accommodations.

Prepare yourself for sellers that are every bit as savvy as yourself. Some will be unwilling to bend, while others might be willing to negotiate. When preparing an offer price, be reasonable. Rare is the seller willing to take a low-ball offer.

Lastly, should you find that perfect home with a seller unwilling to concede on price, be mindful that the home MUST undergo appraisal, many of which are still coming in below sale prices throughout the Washington Metro Region. If the sale price is $450k and it appraises at $435k, you stand a strong chance of getting the buyer to reduce the sale price to the appraised price as no bank will financing the home at a price above $435k.

There are many stories beyond that which are read or broadcast in the news media. It's your choice to pursue reality versus reality TV. The advice of this Realtor is to take the route of reality.

That's My 2 Cents' Worth!