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:

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:

March 2010 was a great month for existing home sales!

Existing home sales soar in March

Apr 22: Existing home sales jumped 6.8% in March, with home buyers racing to get a tax credit that expires in April, according to a real estate industry report released Thursday.   Click Here to read more

Jumbo Mortgage Market Heating up!

Jumbo mortgages and housing market begin to heat up with spring

By Renae Merle

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Since the collapse of the housing market, home buyers trying to a secure mortgage of more than $729,750 have faced higher interest rates and tough new standards to even qualify for a loan.
Now the market for these "jumbo" loans is starting to thaw. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage stood at about 5.8 percent this week, according to HSH Associates. That is near historic lows and down significantly from the height of the financial crisis, when it was near 8 percent...

Washington Post Reports: Click here for full story 

Rosedale Neighborhood in NE DC

The Resurgence of Rosedale

 The "where we live" weekly section in the  Saturday 4/3/10 edition of the Washington Post   featured this great article on  Rosedale, a Neighborhood in NE DC, that has seen significant growth and positive development. Click the link to find out more about this neighborhood.

Guest Blog Post: Joseph Gilday of Gilday Renovations

Is One Inch Away From Perfect, Perfect Enough?
Nope. Not for us.
And, yes. Most of us are mature enough to accept that nothing is perfect in this world of ours. Being in the residential renovation business, we are faced with that every day. Figuring out how to gracefully marry new to old gets you humble pretty quick.
And yet, we strive. After all, we are in the perfection business. We make big promises and we’ve got to deliver. Here is a small example of how that works:

See the double window set on the second floor? Lead carpenter, Mike Gindlesperger, noticed something wasn’t quite right as he marked measurements for exterior trim on this Tudor style addition. His trim boards running from the first to second floors, weren’t lining up exactly with the second floor windows.
Mike and project supervisor John Lowe decided to move the windows—an inch and a half. So the windows were taken out, the rough opening adjusted, and the windows reset. We could have fudged it by adjusting the trim and nobody would ever have known.  But we would know. We have promises to keep. So we made it right—so right that the project won an award from NARI and was featured in the March 2010 Home & Design Magazine.



Joseph Gilday
301.565.4600 x22
http://www.gilday.com/

PDF of article

New listing! 8804 Wooden Bridge Rd Potomac md

Fresh on the market , Sunday  March 7, 2010:

8804 Wooden Bridge Rd, Potomac Md 20854

COPENHAVER BACKING THE PARK! This is the one you have been waiting for. 5 big bedrooms upstairs, lovely foyer & formal rooms,large bright family room off updated eat in kitchen, renovated baths, fresh paint, gleaming hardwood floors, finished daylight lower level walks out to gorgeous lot & patio. Move in ready for a lucky buyer - no disappointments here!  Don't miss it!