Washington Business Journal Reports : DC Home Price Gains Best in the Country

D.C.-area home price gains in April best in U.S.
Washington Business Journal - by Tucker Echols
Read more: D.C.-area home price gains in April best in U.S. - Washington Business Journal

The Washington area led the nation in home price gains in April.
Median prices in the Washington market rose 2.4 percent in April compared with March, the best gain of the 20 markets surveyed in the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index. Nationally, prices rose 0.9 percent compared with March.
The Washington area also surpassed most markets in annual gains. Median home prices in the area rose 7.3 percent in April 2010, compared to one year before. Only four cities in the index posted better annual gains, led by San Francisco where prices advanced 18 percent in the last year.
The S&P/Case-Shiller survey of 20 major U.S. cities uses the “repeat sales pricing technique” to measure housing markets. This methodology collects data on individual single-family home resales and uses the re-sold sale prices to calculate price declines or gains.
Read more: D.C.-area home price gains in April best in U.S. - Washington Business Journal

Own A piece of the Magic, Walt Disney, Luxury Vaction Homes

Disney plans to build Luxury Vacation homes

By JULIET CHUNG

Walt Disney Co. plans to unveil Wednesday its first foray into residential real estate in more than a decade with a pricey vacation-home development in Florida's Walt Disney World.


It's a risky move. Disney will offer homes priced between $1.5 million and $8 million in a state where the foreclosure rate remains among the nation's highest. In Orlando, where brokers say home values have dropped between 50% and 60% from the peak, Disney's pricing would put its homes near the top of the market. According to Realtor.com, the average price of new listings in greater Orlando this year is just over $243,000.
But Disney believes the market for luxury homes is rebounding. Despite adding wine-tasting events and VIP park tours in recent years, "The affluent market is an area where we haven't offered a lot of product," says Matt Kelly, vice president of Disney resort real-estate development...
Click Here for full Article

New York Times monthly Feature: Property Values What You Get for ... $275,000

Property Values

What You Get for ... $275,000

  Click picture for Full story

How Low Can They Go? Mortgage Rates Down even more

Mortgage rates at lowest point since mid-1950s

National average for a 30-year fixed loan dips to 4.69 percent

 

Mortgages are cheaper today than they've been in a half-century. If only most people had the job security, the credit rating and the cash to qualify for one or refinance.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan sank to 4.69 percent this week, beating the low set in December and down from 4.75 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows. Click here for full article

Open Houses this weekend

Harrison is holding his brand new listing open today from 1-4pm
7310 Joplin St Capitol Heights Md 20743. Offered at $220,000
Click image for virtual tour




















 Tom Is holding  his listing in Columbia Maryland open today also, 1-4pm
9038 Phillip Dorsey Way, Columbia Md, 21045, Offered at $489,000
Click image for virtual tour

Washington home prices had the strongest growth in the country

By ADRIENNE WELSCH

Updated 4:13 PM EDT, Wed, Jun 23, 2010

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Finally, some good news for homeowners in the Washington area.  Home prices throughout our region saw the strongest climb in the country in April.

The Washington Examiner reports that housing prices jumped 6.5 percent from April 2009 to April 2010, according to data from CoreLogic.

 

Click here for full article

Washington Business Journal Reports- Tyson's Corner Plan approved by Fairfax County Board

Fairfax board approves landmark Tysons Corner plan


Washington Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors late Tuesday night approved the massive overhaul of Tysons Corner, signing off on a long-term vision to transform the office and shopping destination that has been years in the making.
The 8-2 vote on two measures, the land-use plan and the accompanying zoning ordinance, came at about 11 p.m. after the board held a final hearing on the plan beginning Tuesday afternoon. Nearly 70 speakers — including local developers, nonprofits and political leaders — gave their final input during the hearing.
Read more: Fairfax board approves landmark Tysons Corner plan - Washington Business Journal
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New York Times Reports: Banks Requiring More Extensive Verification of Income

Verifying Borrowers’ Finances

MORTGAGE brokers and lenders will often caution borrowers against charging up their credit cards or changing jobs before the closing date on a home loan. Now that advice seems especially prudent.
On June 1, Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored company that establishes the underwriting standards for most of the nation’s mortgages, started requiring lenders to recheck a borrower’s finances shortly before closing the loan. If a broker or lender finds significant changes, the loan could be delayed, or in some cases, denied. Click Here for full article

Washington Business Journal Reports: DC Property Up for Auction This Summer

 D.C. to sell off vacant properties

Washington Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb
Read more: D.C. to sell off vacant properties - Washington Business Journal

In the second auction of its kind, D.C. will sell 18 vacant single-family homes, multi-family buildings and vacant lots located in six of the eight wards in the city.
The properties currently sit in the Department of Housing and Community Development’s portfolio, which is coordinating an auction to dish out the buildings. It will be held June 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at 2 p.m. and conducted by Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc.
Read more: D.C. to sell off vacant properties -  Click For full article Washington Business Journal

Better Homes & Gardens Reports: storage solutions for smaller items

Storage Ideas for Small Items

Top-Drawer Solution

Control clutter in a junk drawer with this low-cost solution. Here silicone cupcake liners hold small, loose items. An egg carton stashes items such as thumb tacks and staples in the egg cups and larger items such as pencils, a calculator, and a pair of scissors on the other side. Click Here for Full Article

Nytimes Reports: Astonishing Correlation Between Mortgage Default & Borrowers Being Bad At Math

Study Says Math Deficiencies Increase Foreclosure Risk

By BOB TEDESCHI

IF you can’t divide 300 by 2, should you qualify for a loan?
That is one of the questions raised by a new study led by a Columbia University assistant business professor, Stephan Meier, who found that borrowers with poor math skills were three times more likely than others to go into foreclosure. Click Here for Full Article

Washington Post Reports: Crown Molding Can Help Make Your Home Look Like a Jewel

The crowning touch: Moldings span a range of styles, materials and prices

By Maryann Haggerty

Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Look up toward the ceiling. You may notice that it's ringed by a strip of crown molding along the top of the walls. This sometimes simple, sometimes ornate strip of architectural embellishment represents a mix of classical Greek aesthetics, Victorian sensibilities and modern ingenuity.... Click HERE for full article

 

CNN Money Reports: Politicians Pulling for Tax Credit Extension

Homebuyers could get more time for tax credit

By Tami Luhby, senior writer

 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- First-time homebuyers looking to land an $8,000 federal income tax credit may have a little more time to close on their purchases if a Senate amendment unveiled Thursday makes it into law. Click HERE for full article

Forbes Online Asks: Will The Home Buyer Tax Credit Help?

Will The Home Buyer Tax Credit Help?

Francesca Levy, 06.08.10, 06:25 PM EDT

The government incentive gave real estate a short-term boost, but critics wonder if it was worth the money.

t looks like a strong recovery is underway in the real estate market: Contracts on new homes surged in April, and the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales was up 6% from the previous month, and 22% from a year earlier.

But don't let appearances fool you. Gains in new home sales were likely due to last-minute bargain-hunters scrambling to take advantage of a federal tax credit for new home buyers, before it expired on April 30. And after that rush passes, sales are expected to fall during the usually active summer season.

Click Here for Full Article:

Washington Post reports: severe weather inspring homeowners to invest in generators

Generators, portable or automatic, can help homeowners survive weather's wrath

By Kimberly Lankford

Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, June 5, 2010 

Home generator sales surged after this winter's snowstorms left many people without power -- and heat -- for days.
Roy Cranford, president of CDS Emergency Power Services, a Baltimore-based company that sells and installs generators throughout the mid-Atlantic region, did 40 estimates for permanent home generators from January to March 2009. The number swelled to 400 for the same three months of this year, when snowstorms blew through the area.
Click Here for full article

 

CNN Money Reports: In Your City, Should You Rent or Buy?

Should you rent or buy?

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Is it better to buy or rent in Omaha, Neb.?
If you guessed buy, you'd be wrong. According to the new Trulia Rent vs. Buy index, it makes more fiscal sense to rent in this farm city due to the huge gap between rental and purchase prices.

Click here for full article

 

Area Home Prices Increase

DC Area Home Prices Increase 9 Percent

 By MARK WELLBORN

The Washington Examiner is reporting that home prices in the D.C. area “soared about 9 percent” between May 2009 and May 2010.

The latest data comes from a report released by real estate analytics company Clear Capital. To be exact, home prices in the area increased 9.3 percent over the past 12 months and they rose 6.8 percent nationally, the biggest jump since July 2006, according to The Examiner.

Click here for full article:

Have some millions to spend? These vacation homes could be yours

Extravagant Getaway Homes Around The World

By Jennifer Alsever, contributor

 Click Image above for full story

Bethesda Farmer's Markets

Saturdays, June 19 - October 30
9am - 1pm
Norfolk Avenue between Fairmont & St. Elmo Aves.

 Click the image above for more information from  www.Bethesda.org 's  Farmer's market page 


Support local business, eat locally produced food this summer!

New York Times monthly feature: What You Get for $500,000

What You Get for ... $500,000 

 By MIKE POWELL

Published: June 1, 2010 

 

 

  Click the image above for a slideshow of the  Homes in 3 different cities all for sale for $500k, see what your money could get you in 3 different US cities.

MSNBC reports that Mortgage rates Raise slightly

Mortgage rates up from yearly lows

National average for a 30-year fixed loan ticks up slightly to 4.79 percent

Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages ticked up this week from the lowest level of the year.

Freddie Mac says the average rate rose to 4.79 percent, up from 4.78 percent last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.29 percent.

Rates dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent in December, pushed down by a Federal Reserve program that reduced borrowing costs for consumers. That campaign ended in March. 

  CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE: