U r b a n T r e k k e r

Homes' SUVs

It's so true... home appliances is only getting bigger. [Real Estate Journal]

Real Estate Links

Here are your Friday links to selected stories from around the Internet on real estate:

* New Tool Likely to Save Clarendon's History [Sun Gazette]
* C. Board Votes to Preserve 'Lustron House' [Sun Gazette]
* Cooler Market Taking Toll on Average Home-Sale Prices [Fairfax Gazette]
* The Bath: Enjoy It Before You Sell It [Realty Times]
* Sales Slow, Buyers Still Active [WHG]
* No Docs May Ease Credit Woe [WHG]
* Americans Are Moving to Cheaper Housing Market [Realty Times]
* First Potomac Plans New Building in Haymarket [Washington BizJournal]
* Townhome Within Unfinished Condo Tower Sells for $4.5M [So. FL Business Journal]
* Put Your Gas Where Your Mouth Is [Planetizen]
* Who Pays the Property Tax? [Planetizen]
* Refrigerator Heaven: Appliances Get Massive [Real Estate Journal]

picture: in Clarendon

It's the Reality...

Washington Post has a story about the difficulty finding single family homes under $500K in Northern Virginia neighborhoods. It is the reality now.. unless something dramatic happens to the economy, either by way of higher interest rates or, no end in rising gas prices.

Via Washington Post.

Northern Virginia is home to some of the region's most expensive single-family houses and townhouses.

The median sale price of a single-family house or townhouse in the Virginia suburbs in 2005 was $491,447, up more than $100,000 -- 26 percent -- from 2004, according to a Washington Post analysis of government records around the region.

Condominium prices in Northern Virginia appreciated even more quickly last year, rising 31.1 percent, to $308,000. The median is the point at which half the sales were more expensive and half less.

Sometime last month there was a listing for an 4BR/3 bath colonial SFH sold AS-IS in Falls Church listed for $450K. One of my clients interested to make an offer. So, I called the listing agent want to find out if it's still worth pursuing the idea. He said that they received 36 contracts!! They received multiple contracts even in this cooling market, because it's such a rarity to find SFH home for the price.

Prices of SFH in Arlington has flattened out, via Sun Gazette.

Despite the flattening sales prices, overall home sales did surprisingly well across Arlington in March, bucking lower regional sales trends.

A total of 105 single-family properties changed hands during the month, up from 104 a year before. And the 131 condominiums sold in March represented a 12-percent increase over the 117 such properties that sold in March 2005.

But the flattening average sales prices suggest that there is an upper limit to how much a typical home purchaser can afford to spend.

There are still pockets of neighborhoods in Northern Virginia where SFH are still under $500K. In Fairfax County, you can find homes under $500K in Pimmit Hills. Some neighborhoods in Falls Church. Route 1 Alexandria. Reston. Chantilly. Herndon. Find out more neighborhoods, here.

Even with higher home prices in this area, there are options, condos or townhomes, maybe? SF has more expensive homes than here. Now you know why condo becomes the option for many.

* In N. VA, a $500,000 House Has Become a Rarity [Washington Post]
* Single Family Prices Flattens in Arlington [Sun Gazette]
* 30-Year Mortgage Rates Rise for 5th Week [Washington Post]
* Top Area Zipcodes

photo: new condo construction in Falls Church.

Gas Prices and Housing Market

After watching gas prices go beyond $3 a gallon mark sometime last week, I thought about the impact on housing market. Not only it is more expensive for people to drive around but also our disposable income shrink. Less disposable income affected everything. Mortgage payments would now consume more of our earnings. That means people who want to buy now, could reconsider their decisions.

Steal this from Matrix. He has a good analysis of what gas prices mean to housing market. 

Mortgage News daily presented the following points in their commentary: The Effects Of High Gas Prices On The Housing Market [MND]:

• Could revitalize urban areas as the cost of commuting outpaces the higher cost of housing in city centers.
• Will place more pressure on city workforce housing issues.
• Will cause the Fed to continue to raise the federal funds rate, tempering prices further as mortgage rates rise.
• Will increase cost of construction materials and labor. These are already stressed due to the high demand and inadequate supply situation the market is currently experiencing.

Who's afraid of $3 gasoline? [econobrowser] there is the possibility that Americans will be shocked with the discovery that more expensive oil is here to stay and decide that significant changes in lifestyle are immediately called for. If as a result, consumers make sudden changes in plans for spending on such things as cars, durable goods, and vacations, vendors of those products may find themselves left in the lurch. This does not bode well for housing, especially investor and second home markets.

Why $75 Oil Does Not Mean Recession [Rutledge] In Washington today Senator Specter earned his 15 minutes on TV by calling for windfall profits taxes on oil.

That would be the single dumbest thing we could do in a world where oil is scarcer by the day. It would decrease investment in energy and mark one more example of our “capitalism when convenient” school of policy.

But why is the US economy still growing when oil is above $70 per barrel? One reason people cite: it would take $95 oil to be as high as it was in 1981 relative to other prices.

Can you imagine what it would be like if oil prices hit $95? Couple that with higher interest rates. All industries will suffer. You think the cost of a cup of Latte at Starbucks could double by then? Scary.

Chart via Matrix. Via Big Picture. Full size chart, here. [gasbuddy]

* Housing: It's Time to Fill Up the Tank [Matrix]

Real Estate Links

Here are the links to selected stories  from around the Internet on real estate:

* Home Prices in MD Push Upward and Outward [Washington Post]
* Neighborhoods in Transition Send Home Prices Up [Washington Post]
* New Faces, Accent Reshaping County [Washington Post]
* New Home Sales Up 13.8% But Prices Fall [USA Today]
* Home Loan Demand Lowest Since November 2003 [USA Today]
+ Late for the Party [Matrix]
* Housing: It's Time to Fill Out the Tank [Matrix]

Photo: Washington Post

Streetcar Plans for Columbia Pike

There's been a lot of talk about the possibility of streetcar for Columbia Pike, one of the few Urban Villages in Arlington that is a little bit away from Metro station. The Arlington County board took the recommendation to add streetcar as one to the alternative transit options. Via Arlington County.

The new five-mile line would connect the activity centers of Pentagon City in Arlington and Skyline in Fairfax County along the Columbia Pike corridor. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will consider endorsing the streetcar plan in May. Action by the Arlington and Fairfax County Boards will allow the project to proceed to the next phases, which include environmental studies and detailed system design. (click to enlarge)

The streetcar would be modeled after Portland's and Tampa's. I just read this morning on Washington Post how neighborhoods in transition drive home prices up. In some pockets within Columbia Pike neighborhooods (zipcode 22204)..you still can find some of the most affordable homes for the area. Want to learn more about the Pike's Streetcar, information is here.

* Board Endorses Streetcar for Columbia Pike [Arlington County]

Mega Projects in MD Move Forward

Two mega projects in slated for Montgomery County, MD, finally received approval from City Councils. Crown Farm for redevelopment of land in Gaithersburg and Rock Spring Center, an upscale living condominium and spa for North Bethesda. By the way, Crown Farm redevelopment plan was rejected not too long ago because Councils wanted more for units set aside for affordable housing. And they got their wish.

Where is Crown Farm anyway? If you are not familiar with Montgomery County, this map here shows you where it's located. [map courtesy of Washington Post]

According to Washington BizJournal, City Councils approved the annexation of Crown Farm, a 180-acre of land on what would be the last piece of undevelop land in Gaithersburg.

The project only needs approval from the city of Gaithersburg to get started, and infrastructure work would begin by the end of the year in a best-case scenario, according to a vice president at KB Home, one of Crown Farm's developers.

The school would eventually be turned over to Montgomery County and would serve Crown Farm properties as well as more than 6,000 residences planned nearby at the Shady Grove Metro station. Crown Farm's residential mix would include 850 condominiums in a high-rise structure, 200 single-family detached homes and 460 townhouses. The project's developers -- KB Home, Centex Homes, Lebling Development and investor Aris Mardirossian -- will reserve 250 of the units for affordable housing.

The other project is slated for Bethesda. Via Washington Post.

The Penrose Group of Tysons Corner, which is developing the North Bethesda project, secured a partnership deal with Canyon Ranch, which calls for the spa company to receive an upfront payment and ongoing management fees to run the development. But the land -- 53 acres at Interstate 270 and Old Georgetown Road -- belongs to the Camalier family, which developed the Rock Spring office park in Bethesda, home to Marriott International.

Apparently developers are still gung-ho with future housing market outlook.

* Crown Farm Project Moves Forward in Mont. County [Washington BizJournal]
* Big Projects Advance in Montgomery [Washington Post]
* Crown Farm Annexation: X-182 [City of Gaithersburg]
* Development on Old Farm by Gaithersburg was Opposed [Washington Post]

Real Estate Links

Here are the links to selected stories from around the Internet on real estate:

* Raw Land for Retirement [BW Hot Property]
* West Elm Grabs $4M Incentives for New Store in DC [Washington BizJournal]
* Real Estate Blog: Record Prices and New Home Buying Trends [Real Estate Jounal]
* Deeding Home to A Relative Has Some Risk [Real Estate Journal]
* Tourism Leaders Eye 6 Cent [Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space]
* Ah, To Live in a Zip Code of Luxury [The Walk-Through]
* Tunnel Back on Table on Dulles Rail [Washington Post]
* A Place Formerly Fit for Nation's Finance Chief [Washington Post]

Photo: Condo construction Rosslyn

Tax Cuts Galore

Just a few months ago, Northern Virginia residents received big property tax increases. Since then, many of the residents (probably) have jammed up their county tax assessors' phone lines with calls. That's when things started to turn around.

Many of the same counties that raised taxes in the beginning now decided to change gear. Fairfax County offers the most aggressive tax redux solutions to Ffx homeowners.

Here is a list of counties that decided to offer tax reliefs to some of their residents or adjust the tax bills (read: cut):

• Falls Church Will Cut Their Tax Rate by 2 Cents
• Clarke County Expanded Tax Relief for Seniors and Disabled
• More Tax Cuts Proposed for Fairfax County
• Arlington County Expanded Tax Relief for Seniors
• Prince William County Tax Relief for Seniors and Disabled
• City of Alexandria Cuts 10 Cents Real Estate Tax
  

Builders Will Go Nuts Over Kaine's Proposal

The Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, vows to preserve 400K acres of land in Virginia before he's done with his term in 2010. Via BBOL.

Kaine made it clear that his administration's policy includes an aggressive drive for land preservation.

More than a quarter of the development that's taken place in Virginia since Jamestown's founding 399 years ago has happened in the last 15 years, Kaine said. If the current rate continues, the commonwealth will develop as much land in the next 40 years as in its first 400.

Saying he will convene a summit this year to talk about how to protect Virginia's land and improve its water quality, Kaine quoted Theodore Roosevelt's speech at Jamestown's 300th anniversary.

"The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem in our national life," Roosevelt said.

Less land for redevelopment? For sure builders aren't going to be happy camper with Gov. Kaine's promise. Maybe the Gov. will be interested in protecting Ft. Monroe from redevelopment.

* Governor Vows to Preserve VA Land [BBOL]