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

Real Estate News Roundup

* Run Up in Home Values Run Down in Fairfax [Washington Post]
"A six-year run of double-digit percentage increases in Fairfax County home assessments came to an abrupt end yesterday, as notices mailed to taxpayers showed that their properties have lost value for the first time since 1998."
* 2008 Brentwood Values to Rise 46% [Washington Post]
"Residents of Brentwood, a changing working-class neighborhood in Northeast Washington booming with economic development, will see a 46 percent increase in their 2008 property values, city officials said yesterday."
* Warm Weather Helps Home Sales Bounce Back in January [USA Today]
"Home sales rebounded in January, reaching the highest level in seven months, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday."
* Options for Tapping Equity in Your House [Real Estate Journal]
" It's a truism that for many people, their home is their biggest investment. Of course, when most people look at their house, they see it first as a place to live a life, maybe raise a family and fill with memories."
* Market Strong or Upscale Real Estate [Baltimore Examiner]
"Instead of moving out, local residents are moving up."
* Ballpark Apartment, huh [JD Land]
"An ad began appearing late last week (h/t Richard Layman) for "Ballpark Apartments", trumpeting income-limited units with "Views of the water and monuments/shopping and dining at Barracks Row/Metro Access at Navy Yard Station/Catch a Game at the New Ballpark."

Live Near Work And Get $2K

This is an interesting program. Baltimore has this program that if you buy a house near where you work, your employer and the city will each chip in $1,000 for a cool reward of $2,000.

Via CoolTown Studios.

If you live in Baltimore MD, work for one of these companies and buy a home nearby, you'll be rewarded $2000 via the Baltimore City Live Near Your Work Program.

That's $1000 from the City, and $1000 from the employer. The State used to contribute $1000 as well - don't know what happened to that. What's in it for the City? Less expense on public roads and transit.  What's in it for the employer?  Happier, more productive employees who don't waste 1-2 hours a day in traffic, and safer surrounding neighborhoods through the residential investment. The employer stipulates what 'live near your work' really means as far as eligibility goes, and you have to repay 20% of the grant back for each year under five years that you live there.

What a great program. Yes, employees will be happy to, knowing that they'll earn extra by living closer and not dealing with traffic congestions.

Dealing with Noise Level in Condos

Email from a reader about noise level at Westlee condominium.

"Renting from an owner in this building. The rules are ridiculous and you can hear everything that happens above and below you.  Be prepared to shell out some more money for required rugs to try and dampen the sound."

Most condo associations have 80/20 rules buried in reams of pages within their condo documents, which basically says, "that you have to cover 80% of the your living area with carpet." The other twenty-percent you can leave it out with no carpet. How condos built have something to do with the noise absorption level. Most likely in high rises or older buildings that uses concrete in between floors have thick or better insulation systems in place, with exception, of a condo building in Old Town. I happened to show a unit to someone and while in the unit we could hear a dog walking above the unit. Imagine if you have to deal with the noise every single day....it will get "under your nerves!"

The point is this: Yes, hardwood floors looks nice but it doesn't help the noise level. And if you find a condo you like, since you're going to be living in it for awhile -- make sure that you check the noise level.

For new condos, one of the things you can do is to ask question about how they build the condos. If they use concrete in between floors -- you'll know that there will be less noise from above and below. So, your gleaming hardwood floor won't bother the neighbors below you. Or vice versa.

One more thing -- understand that living in a multi-family unit environment meaning that you should prepare yourself to have some sort of expectations about the noise.

>> Tips for reducing noise level from Housing Zone. 

City's Broadway Revival Plans

Read it on Washington Post, the blurb about makeover plan for Howard Theatre, the 96-year old theater at DC historic Shaw neighborhood -- 7th and T street in Washington DC. The plan  to restore the theatre is great move! The theatre is rich with history. The good news is that developer plans to restore Howard Theatre back to its golden days at the time when the theatre was known as, "the center of black musical and comedy talent."

The big Howard Theatre [PBS]

The lead developer in this project is Ellis Development Group. Via Ellis Development.

In a manner worthy of one the nation’s most historically significant performance venues, The Howard Theatre renovation will be executed to The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Structures, guidelines that form the backbone of American Historic Preservation laws, regulations, and standards.

There will be three important components included in the restoration plan: 1) The audience chamber, 2) upscale food and beverages, and 3) community use for classroom etc. The plan to restore Howard is part of the broader revitalization plan slated for the Shaw that includes development of Radio One Broadcast Center. Opening date for Howard scheduled for 2008.

INTERIOR RENDERINGS [Ellis Development Group]

Can't wait to see the first venue here.

* Virtual Tour of Shaw [PBS]
* Howard Theatre Project
* Photos from the Golden Age of Jazz [LOC]

Post-Oscar: Real Estate News Roundup

Imagine if this building is restored...

* Housing Decline Hits Area Unevenly [Baltimore Sun]
"Despite a nationwide housing slump last year, most communities in the Baltimore metro area weathered the soft market fairly unscathed -- and some posted hefty price gains."
* Is It a Good Time to be a Flipper [BW Hot Property]
"You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. And you don't try to flip houses when the market is going through its worst slump in a generation. Flipping--buying properties, fixing them up, and then putting them back up for sale--seems risky at best."
* F.C. Mayor Urges "Full Steam Ahead" on Atlantic Realty City Center's Plan [FCNP]
"Falls Church Mayor Robin Gardner urged a “full steam ahead” for advancing the approval process Tuesday after Atlantic Realty developers provided the public its first direct look at plans to launch its component of the City of Falls Church’s massive downtown redevelopment effort..."
* Nobody's Buying with All the Foreclosures [Calculated Risk]
"From U.S. News & World Report on Denver..."
* Housing Bubble and Real Estate Market Tracker [Seeking Alpha]
"Here's our summary of articles and data points on the housing market."
* Homeowners, Builders Tackle Water Scarcity [Real Estate Journal]
"Now that many home builders have embraced "green" design and begun using energy-saving materials, developers -- and government regulators -- are focusing on another environmental concern: saving water."
* Vacant Rental Property or Bad Tenant? [Bigger Pockets]
"Do I sign a suspect renter because I need renters or wait? Do I lower the price? I am frustrated."
* Big Deal: The Sizzling Luxury Market [NYT]
"THE unseasonably warm January real estate market was particularly heated among the wealthiest, who, brokers say, lavished their hard-earned and inherited money on ever more expensive co-ops, condominiums and town houses."
* Building Towards Less [Washington Post]
"The "Supersize Me" era of home building may be coming to an end after a three-decade run."

Abingdon Row

Cross-posted with New Homes Trekker.

Abingdon Row is a new construction (at pre-construction stage) of luxurious high-end living condominium in Old Town. Located at the intersection of North Royal and First Street in North part of Old Town. Mount Vernon bike trail is only a few blocks from your front door.

What's unique about this new condominium is -- developer builds the new construction with historic architectural style that blends well with the rest of the neighborhood. So, this is not something of contemporary style. They wanted to keep the charm of the city while bringing you the convenience of urban living.

Some of the features include: Hardwood floors in the living room, dining room, foyer and kitchen. 9' ceilings in living areas, individual high efficiency electric heat and air conditioning systems, balconies, patios and rooftop decks in select homes.

Your choices are: one bedroom/+ den, 2 bedrooms/+den and three bedroom dens. These homes are priced from the mid-$300's for one bedrooms, low-$500's for 1br+den, mid-$500's for two bedrooms, and low-$700's for 2 bedrooms+den.

Arlington Annual Review & Forecast

A couple of weeks ago, I attended this meeting hosted by Arlington Economic Development. I meant to write it for weeks, but never get a chance to sit down and review my notes. One of the things I heard in the meeting gives a confirmation of what we've been seeing and hearing it from all sources: Condos overbuild spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e for condo-land.

There are 2800 condo units slated for completion in '07 and '08 of which according to the county's estimate -- Arlington can absorb 900 units per year. This is in addition to 3600 residential units that the county approved but construction hasn't started yet. So, they think that some of the approved projects might be converted to rental or deferred.

Via Arlington County.

• The condo market is still absorbing excess inventory and
2,751 new units will deliver in 2007 or early 2008, unless
some are converted to rental.
• There are 11 approved condo projects in the pipeline that may be converted or deferred.

Moreover, other indicators.

• Arlington gets to share $5.3 billion or 10.1% of federal procurement for Metro DC.
• In the commercial submarket, vacancy rate for Arlington stands at 9.9%.
• 12 commercial transactions recorded for '06 with average sale price per s.f. ranges from the low $237 to high $501. Arlington office rent still low in comparison to DC but higher than Tysons Corner.
• No BRAC direct impact until 2011.
• Arlington average household income for '06 is number 4 in Metro DC area at $110,704 after #1 Fairfax ($138,454), #2 Loudoun ($130,056) and #3 Montgomery county ($124,683).
• Median sales price for single family $650,000 and condo $368,000. The median sales price is higher than Alexandria at $599,000 and Fairfax at $525,000. Same thing with condo it is higher than Alexandria ($317,000) and Fairfax ($310,000).

One of the things from this meeting that strike me the most is the fact that -- Arlington county has the highest 25-35 years old population of all jurisdictions in Northern Virginia! This confirms the report about trending gray in the suburbs and young in inner suburbs/ downtown.

Read full report here.

* Arlington Virginia 2007 [pdf-2MB]
* Economic Indicators: Jan 2007

Thanks Wonkette!

Welcome Wonkette readers...

I almost fell off my chair.. when I checked the number of visitors to my site today. It broke all record for visits since inception!

Thanks Wonkette :-) You MADE my day.

* Metro Section: D'Vine [Wonkette]

Real Estate News Roundup

Freedom of Expression (DC)

* 2007 Homes Market Looks a Lot Like 1996 [BBOL]
"Most of the big home sales and price reports for the first month of 2007 are in, and this year is looking a lot like 1996, sort of."
* City Works State to Keep Heat on Mirant [DC Examiner]
"Alexandria has urged Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to keep amendments in a bill that would allow a state air pollution control board to continue considering changes to the Mirant power plant’s operating permit."
* District Seek to Redevelop Old Naval Hospital [DC Examiner]
"The District is hoping to strike a deal with an outside group to develop a new use for the Old Naval Hospital in Southeast Washington."
* Row Houses Survival Guide [Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space]
"Alan Heavens is the real estate columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. A couple weeks ago, his column, "Building a survival guide for rowhouses," covered how..."
*  Bad Mortgage Debt not Widespread Problem,  Fed Official Says [USA Today]
"Federal Reserve Board Governor Susan Bies Tuesday said the bulk of the mortgage market was not troubled by bad debt problems, which were concentrated in the subprime, tarnished-credit sector."
* Home Away: Keeping An Eye on New Home [NYT]
"Most clients on the roster of Everest Construction have one thing in common: They live hundreds of miles away, or even farther, from the homes they are having built at the Tamarack Resort, a new ski and golf community in Donnelly, Idaho, 95 miles north of Boise."
* Starbucks, Potbelly Opens in Ashburn Crossroads [Washington BizJournal]
"Starbucks Coffee and Potbelly Sandwich Works recently opened in the 26,500-square-foot park, while Fuddruckers and Bertucci's are expected to open later this year."

Demolition Makes Way for Columbia Village

Redevelopment for the Pike has just begun.

Part of the revitalization district in Arlington, Columbia Village project was approved in 2005, before it was sold to Fairfield Residential LLC. This is the only project that allows heights over six stories based on the Columbia Pike form based code.

The site sandwiched between two condominiums, to the left is Carlyle House and Woodlake Towers to the right.

THE VISION

The makeover will result in a high-rise 10-stories mixed-use development with 235 residential units and 7,544 s.f. retail space. Not sure if they stick with the original plan of turning the residential units into condominiums..with the market the way it is (overbuilds condos in Arlington). Or, developer might change their minds and keeping it rental units for sometime until market shifted in their favor.

Images: Arlington County

Resources: Columbia Pike Revitalization - Arlington County Economic Development

* Columbia Pike: Uncharted Territory [Urban Trekker]
* Streetcar Plans for Columbia Pike [Urban Trekker]