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

Weekly Real Estate News Roundup

Don't Count on Rentals to Recoup Second-Home Costs
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Question: First I wanted you to know how informative my husband and I found your article "A guide to tax considerations on second homes." We have a condo at the beach and have been struggling to determine if it's worth renting. 

Facing Default, Some Walk Out on New Homes
When Raymond Zulueta went into default on his mortgage last year, he did what a lot of people do. He worried.

A Tiny Beloved Home that was Built for Spite
COLLEEN SAMMIS recalls that “it came out at a restaurant” in early 2006. She, the man she later married and friends were having dinner, “and they were talking about a house Jack owned,” Jack being Jack Sammis.

January New Home Sales at 13-Year Low
The Commerce Department reported this morning (Feb. 27) that new home sales in January fell to their lowest level since 1995. Sales fell 2.8% from December to a seasonally adjusted rate of 588,000, 33.9% below January a year ago.

Key Home Price Index Shows Record Decline
NEW YORK - U.S. home prices dropped 8.9 percent in the final quarter of 2007 compared with a year ago, Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday, the steepest decline in the 20-year history of its housing index.

Colleges Teach 'Urban Development 101'
One of the most ambitious real-estate-development projects in Philadelphia involves revamping a 42-acre eyesore on the banks of the Schuylkill River into a hub featuring gleaming office towers, apartments, a hotel and restaurants. The catalyst for the $2 billion redevelopment: the University of Pennsylvania.

How Bad will the Mortgage Crisis Get?
The credit markets are seizing up and the uncertainty recently drove up short-term interest rates for municipalities and some rock-solid institutions such as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to 20%.

UBS Sees Writedowns Hitting $600 Billion
The toll of the mortgage mess keeps rising.

Fannie and Freddie Smile Through Crisis
(Fortune) -- The housing bust is handing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a fresh chance to rebuild their battered images. But the hefty losses the firms reported this week, and worries about the health of the economy, show it won't be easy.

Furniture Company - or Hedge Fund?
(Fortune) -- Everybody's heard of mattresses stuffed with cash, or coins lodged beneath the cushions of a couch. But one venerable Virginia company seems genuinely confused about whether it's in the furniture business or the money business.

Four Pricing Tricks to Help Your Home Sell Faster
If you're selling a car or a house in today's sluggish economy, make sure the price is right.

Mortgage Woes Boost Credit Card Debt
Danielle Mathias-Lamb, a second-year nursing student, received a letter from Bank of America in January with a shocking message: The credit card she used to pay for her tuition was going to jump to a 28 percent interest rate from 10 percent.

Hearst Widow's Mansion Sells in Foreclosure Action
In another reminder that foreclosed properties are hardly just abandoned shacks, the Palm Beach Post is reporting that a 52-room mansion that had belonged to the widow of publishing heir Randolph Hearst, sold for $22 million at a foreclosure auction in a Palm Beach County courthouse.

The 'R' Word (And Some Other Stuffs) Hurting Home Sales
Is it consumers’ recession fears — or seeing their reflection in a deflating bubble — that is keeping home buyers away?

Is Your Credit Score as High as You Think?
It is common to assume that paying bills on time automatically means having a high credit score. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.

FROM AROUND THE REGION: DC-MD-VA

Rise in Assessment Value Generally Modest
Despite an economic slowdown, most of the District's 190,000 property owners will see a modest increase in their 2009 assessments, city officials said yesterday.

Land Value 'Correction' Surprises Homeowners
It was no surprise to Cathlin Bowman that the 2008 real estate assessment she received from Fairfax County this week showed a modest dip in the value of her three-bedroom McLean home, to $564,930 from $567,590 in 2007.

County Gets Money to Study Bus, Ferry Transportation
RICHMOND — Prince William County won two grants this month to study innovative transportation alternatives on land — and river.
A Potomac River ferry and bus rapid transit on U.S. 1 are two ideas that garnered the county $325,000 from the Secretary of Transportation’s Multi Modal office.

Monument Realty Calls Off Montgomery County Project
Although Monument Realty has decided to scrap its plan to buy up 60-home neighborhood near downtown Bethesda, a letter sent to the homeowners in the Sacks neighborhood leaves the door open for a future redevelopment.

Va. House Committee Unanimously Tables Homebuilders Plan
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A General Assembly panel Thursday tabled a controversial measure that sought to change how developers compensate local governments for growth, effectively killing the plan this year.

Charting the Market: January Sees More House Sales
January was a better month in which to sell a home than December. Sellers benefited from a modest increase in sales and an inventory that remained about the same. However, the price that sellers got for their homes last month was usually much lower than a year ago.

Manager Proposes 12.5-Cent Surcharge on Commercial Property
County Manager Ron Carlee has proposed adding 12.5 cents per $100 as a surcharge on real estate tax bills sent to commercial property owners this year, to help pay for transportation improvements.

Fairfax Home Assessments Down; Only Great Falls Buck the Trend
The average assessed value of homes across Fairfax County declined nearly 3.4 percent over the past year, but the county government's tax base was buoyed by increases in the value of commercial, industrial and multi-family units, and new growth.

Dulles Rail Could be Running Out of Time
With the end of the month looming, officials for the Dulles Rail Project are busy working with the Federal Transit Authority to get the project approved before the current construction contract expires.

 

Technorati Tags: dulles rail,fairfax real estate,home assessments,arlington real estate,real estate,real estate trends,property tax,proffer,commercial property,second home,alexandria real estate,fannie mae,freddie mac,mortgage,foreclosure,home selling,home buying,credit crunch,hedge fund,prince william,washington dc,northern virginia,home sales,housing market

Casting: Extreme Makeover Arlington

"Move That Bus....!" is coming to Arlington. And they're looking for real heroes or families whose homes in need of 'Extreme Makeover.' Deadline for apps, March 7. Apply online, here.

Go Arlingtonians, go!

:: ABC's Extreme Makeover Searching for Heroic Families [pdf]

Show Arlington Your VA Lic. Plate

If you live and park your car in Arlington but still have your license plate out-of-state, you better get your act together. Because the county is cracking down on so called out-of-state Arlington resident cars. Here is a copy of email from the county.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Arlington residents whose vehicles carry out-of-state license plates will have to pay an annual license fee of $100, starting in April 2008, according to Arlington County’s Commissioner of Revenue.

State law requires that Virginia residents title and register with the Commonwealth’s Department of Motor Vehicles all the vehicles they own within 30 days of moving to Virginia, unless otherwise exempted by law. Arlington residents must register their vehicles with the County within 60 days of move-in. 

“Unless there is a legal reason not to, all vehicles owned by Arlington residents should comply with Virginia law and should display Virginia license plates,” Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy said. 

Current Virginia license plates may be obtained by visiting the DMV Select, located at the Commissioner’s office, 2100 Clarendon Boulevard, 2^nd floor, or at any Virginia DMV Customer Service location. 

Residents have until March 31, 2008 to comply with the law before Morroy begins to assess the annual fees.

Technorati Tags: arlington county,license plate fine,parking

Yo Stafford A Best Place to Get Ahead

What a surprise - of all places Stafford county in Virginia is one of the best places to get ahead - according to Forbes. Nothing wrong with Stafford, it's just when you think about it, the hood is 42+ miles from the District. How come?

In Stafford County, Va., for example, the local economy has become increasingly robust. The county's diminishing investment in manufacturing through the 1990s transitioned gently into an information- and consulting-based economy.

Stafford County has a proven ability to land federal jobs and companies with government contracts, as well as to attract businesses from all over the country, due largely to business incentives. A friendly tax and regulatory environment has also helped boost the the county's median income by 27% since 2000, and jobs have increased by almost 6% a year over the same period of time.

The Washington, D.C., metro area, especially northern Virginia, dominates our list, since many of the Stafford characteristics are typical for the area. Those qualities have also consistently landed Virginia at the top of our Best States for Business list.

A look at its population. Its booming! The population growth by 2030 is projected to be around 219,000 a three-fold increase from 93,571 in 2000. Breaking it down by age: 35-39 to 40-44 age bracket holds the majority. While the number of kids ages 5-9, then 10-14 years also rule the majority.

When you look at the commuting pattern, you'd see that more than one-third of the residents are (34,268) out-commuters. Meaning that they work outside the county. Only about 14,088 actually live and work in the area.

To sum it up, Stafford is not a work-and-play community, but rather a 'bedroom community' with majority of residents either go to - Prince William county, Fairfax, and DC - to work. As you know, Fairfax is the number one center of employment in Virginia.

:: Stafford community profile [pdf]

Foreclosure in NeverLand

Michael Jackson would have to pay a balance of $25 million by March 19 or else, his famous Neverland estate will be foreclosed, according to MSNBC.

According to the documents, if Jackson fails to pay the outstanding balance, estimated at $24.5 million, Neverland would be sold to the highest bidder at a public auction on the courthouse steps.

Guess, foreclosure can happen on higher end, too.

Technorati Tags: foreclosure,neverland,michael jackson,real estate,estate,real estate trends

Home Sales (DC, N.Va) Slides Further in January

All data pointed to 'good news' for buyers, especially those who have been waiting on the sidelines, according to some of today's headline news.

• US Home Prices Plunged at Record Pace Last Year
• January Foreclosures up 57% in a Year: Report
• Existing Home Sales Slip in January as Potential Buyers Wait on Sidelines

The story in Washington DC region is not much different than what you read nationally. MRIS, NVAR and GCAAR released the January home numbers recently. Here is the big news: The number of homes sold in January for DC and Northern Virginia for lack of a better word, tanked. The main indicators - total number of homes sold, average price sold, days on the market, and median home prices - shows that the scale tilts heavily towards a strong buyers' market.

Northern Virginia housing data

The total number of homes sold in January decline 46.92% from 1,249 homes in 2007 to 716 homes in 2008. The average sales prices decline 7.15% from $523,506 to $486,060. The median sold price dips 12% from $455,000 to $400,000. Homes stay longer on the market on average from 102 to 123 days.

Historically, January home sales cycle is the lowest for the year. It starts picking up when the weather gets warmer in the spring, dips again summer time and picks up again after Labor day. click to (+) image: NVAR.

Here is the reality for wannabe sellers. By comparison: On a M-o-M sales since 2000, total number of homes sold in '08 was the lowest!

image: metrodcliving.com

That means new listings will have to priced better than what's available now. Or, risking the chance of missing the spring market.

Washington DC housing data

Data came out from the home front in DC is slightly better than in Virginia. The total number of homes sold in January '08 down 37% from 505 homes a year earlier to 318 homes. The average sold price up 11.46% from $499,302 to $556,511. The average median price also up 11.17% from $385,000 to $428,000. Properties stay on the market longer from 81 days to 87 days.

By comparison. On a M-o-M sales, in a eight year span since 2000, the total number of homes sold in January '08 was slightly better than the lowest in 2001 from 427 units to 411 units.

image: metrodcliving.com

Some observations.

1. The local housing market is still soft. I don't care how you slice it, not counting new supplies and new constructions, data shows that supply or inventories sitting at 7 mos. to 9 mos. range. That is a strong buyers' market.

   

   

    

2. Even with the proposed increase on conventional loan limits per Freddie and Fannie, it won't help housing much. (This topic needs another post for discussion)
3. Foreclosures slowly seeping in to our neighborhoods. Higher rates of foreclosures will drag down home prices.
4. With mortgages harder to get these days, it only adds more challenges for buyers. That means, first time buyers who in the past can get by little or no money down, now they will have to reach deeper in their pockets to come up with some DP.
   

• Fannie asks for higher downpayment in declining markets.
• Last week Freddie Mac raised the fees they charges when buying riskier mortgages from lenders. Translation: lenders will have to eat up a small fee for 80% LTV or pass it on to consumers..er, buyers.

Add to the challenges ahead with other indicator, oil prices, that could make us pay more at the pump, at the food counters, that can leave us.. with less money to spend on mortgage.

Bob Peck Redevelopment Approves

Before and After: Bob Peck redevelopment

A new TOD [transit-oriented-development] gets approval from the County. Located a few blocks from Ballston Metro, at intersection of Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard, the 4.82 acre project will include two office buildings, incorporating more than 400,000 square feet of office space and 36,000 square feet of retail space; 90 units of affordable housing, and 28 townhouses. Via press release.

“This project has it all,” said County Board Chairman Walter Tejada. “It adds to our stock of affordable housing in the Metro corridor. It replaces a  car dealership with well-designed, environmentally sustainable buildings that will offer first-class office space, ground-floor retail space, and a mix of affordable and market-rate homes. It will benefit the Ballston area and the neighboring community.” 

The last parcel for redevelopment in Ballston metro area gets a nod from Arlington county board. The site sits on the former Bob Peck dealership located a few blocks away from the Metro station.

A couple of things going for the project.

• Project seeks for Gold and Silver LEED certification (there are two buildings)
• Additional 66 affordable units which will rent anywhere between $1,050 (1br) to $1,500 (3br) designed to achieve energy efficiency and sustainability measures through EarthCraft rating
• Contribution of $5.9 million for affordable housing, utility under-grounding, full streetscape and substantial open space
• 28 market rate townhouse

:: Previous posts on Bob Peck, here and here.

Technorati Tags: arlington county,northern virginia,washington dc,real estate,transit oriented development,earthcraft rating,LEED,gold,silver,environment,sustainability,ballston metro,arlington metro corridor,affordable homes,new townhouses,preconstruction,JBG,urban living,mixed-use,redevelopment

Weekly Real Estate News Roundup

* Banks Lose to Deadbeat Owners as Loans Sold in Bonds Vanish [Bloomberg]
"Joe Lents hasn't made a payment on his $1.5 million mortgage since 2002. That's when Washington Mutual Inc. first tried to foreclose on his home in Boca Raton, Florida."

* Rescues for Homeowners in Debt Weighed [New York Times]
"Prodded in part by some of the nation’s biggest banks, the Bush administration and Congress are considering costly new proposals for the government to rescue hundreds of thousands of homeowners whose mortgages are higher than the value of their houses." 

* Housing Stimulus [Marketwatch]
"Senate Democrats reportedly already have crafted a measure that includes a credit for taxpayers who help take down the record inventory of unsold homes."

* Pimco's Gross: Fed Cuts Are No Help for Housing [CNBC]
"The Federal Reserve's aggressive interest-rate cuts have failed to push mortgage rates lower and thus have done little to help the battered U.S. housing market, said Bill Gross, chief investment officer at Pimco, the world's largest bond fund." 

* Re-Listing Homes: Your Emails on my Post [Realty Check]
"I got a lot of responses to my previous post about re-listing homes."

* Housing the YouTube Generation [BusinessWeek]
"College students socialize, shop, and learn in ways unimaginable less than a generation ago. Although they are increasingly connected via social networking Web sites such as Facebook.com, many students live in residence halls that predate the personal computer." 

* Time to Buy a House? [Bing Blog]
"So last weekend I was out on the west coast doing whatever it is I do on the weekends, and I noticed something interesting."

* At Home Luxury's Out, Green is In [Developments]
"Luxury is on its way out, while “green,” cost-efficient home design is in, according to the American Institute of Architects’ latest quarterly Home Designs Trend Survey, released last week.

* More Households are Falling Behind in Heating Bills [Real Estate Journal]
"As families struggle with a combination of high heating costs and a shaky economy, utilities say more customer accounts are falling delinquent." 

* Buying a the (Second) Home of Your Dreams [BankRate.com]
"Whether you hope to spend your retirement in a conch house in Key West, Fla., or a cottage in Cape Cod, Mass., it's tempting to turn the dream into reality early, at least for part of the year, by buying a second home."

* Countrywide Scaling Back Wholesale? [Blown Mortgage]
"Countrywide Wholesale recently terminated its wholesale relationship with the large broker/lender Clarion Mortgage Corporation in a rather dubious matter that may portend the mortgage giant’s exit from (or major reduction in) the channel."

* Home Loan Demand Plunges as Interest Rates Rise [USA Today]
"Mortgage applications plunged last week, and demand hit its lowest level since the start of the year as interest rates surged, an industry group said Wednesday."

FROM AROUND THE REGION: DC-MD-VA

* Waterfront Homeowners Living on the Edge [Washington Post]
"On ritzy waterfront lots around Maryland, many homeowners are ignoring a rule against building anything too close to the shore -- and, in many cases, they're getting away with it." 

* Mayor Clarifies City Center Plan; Council Votes Feb 28 [FCNP]
"Falls Church Mayor Robin Gardner visited the offices of the Falls Church News-Press Monday in an effort to clear up some residual misconceptions and confusion about the large-scale Atlantic Realty City Center project which comes before the City Council for final approval on Feb. 28."

* Maryland OKs Plan to Stop Home Foreclosures [Washington BizJournal]"Maryland has approved emergency legislation that will try to ward off future increases in housing foreclosures." 

* RA Extends Assessments Deadline [Reston Times]
"After an unanticipated server downtime that prevented Reston Association members from paying their annual assessment online, the RA has extended the, deadline until March 7."

* MCA Board Objects to Subdivision of Local Lot [McLean Gazette]
"The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) board�� of directors on Feb. 6 approved a resolution recommending that the Fairfax County Planning Commission and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors deny a special-exception request by William Sloan to subdivide a one-acre lot at 1942 Virginia Ave. and build two houses there." 

* Latest Round of Conservation Projects Up for Vote [Arlington Gazette]
"County Board members on Feb. 23 are slated to approve $3.76 million for new Neighborhood Conservation projects, along with nearly $350,000 for projects that already were funded but have gone beyond budget estimates."

* Paying for BRAC [Baltimore Sun]
"With the prospect of tens of thousands of new jobs headed to Maryland courtesy of the military base realignment and closure (BRAC) decisions, the last thing needed is to fuel a series of economic development bidding wars that pit county against county or against Baltimore." 

* Buyers Cozy Up to Today's Floor Choices [WHG]
"The cozy feel of carpeting underfoot seems to have given way to hardwood, ceramic tile, marble and laminate floors."

 

Technorati Tags: BRAC,flooring,housing market,foreclosure,conservation,mclean,arlington,fairfax,reston,real estate,real estate trends,washington mutual,waterfront living,green living,falls church,countrywide,home listings,pimco,economic stimulus plan

Energy-Efficient Windows

I didn't realize there are so many variables build into choosing regular windows let alone the energy-efficient windows.

Why energy-efficient windows?

1. It saves money and energy. Low E-coatings, gas fills and insulating spacers and framers can significantly reduce winter heat loss and summer heat gain.
2. Protect from the winter and sun while also reducing condensation and interior fading. Frame and glazing materials that resist heat conduction do not become cold and this result in less condensation. Coatings on glass or plastic films within the window can significantly reduce the UV and other solar radiation which causes fading of fabric and furnishings.
3. Keeps your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Windows temperature are more moderate and there are fewer cold drafts. Discomfort from strong summer sunlight is reduced.
4. Rebates and credits for energy-efficient windows, doors and skylights.

The federal tax incentives for energy-efficient windows, doors and skylights, which is only good till 2007. But Congress will be voting to extend the provisions for residential energy-efficient property credits (when they return from President's day recess) on HR5351 - 'The Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008.' None of the utility companies operating in our backyard of DC-MD-VA gives any rebates or incentives to name a few like in California, Colorado. The Federal tax incentives, via efficient windows collaborative.

• 10 percent of purchase price (not including installation cost)
• Must be installed in primary residence (not your second home)
• Max. credit is $200 for windows and skylights, $500 for doors - total max is $500
• Windows must be installed until Dec.31.2007 to qualify
• ENERGY STAR windows and skylights qualify, doors need manufacturers' statement to qualify

Tax credit is not the same as tax deduction like your 401(k) rather it is credited or use to offset tax owed, which works better than deductions.

There are important variables in the windows of the world.

• Each state have its own building code requirement. Depending on where you live, you might want to check out a couple of websites for more of the codes' information, 1) Energy Star and 2) Efficient Windows Collaborative, and 3) National Fenestration Rating Council.
• Understanding labeling: U-Factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, Visible Transmittance, Air Leakage, Condensation Resistance. For explanation of the labeling terms, here.

• Energy Star windows has its own chart of key product criteria based on climate zone. Click on image to enlarge.

If you are still confused, to start with check out EFC website, where you can use the toolkit to compare energy savings and all the good criteria in choosing energy-efficient windows, even though it's designed for builders and designers. And go from there.

Factsheet: Selecting Energy-Efficient Windows in DC, Maryland, Virginia [pdf]

Sources: Efficient Windows Collaborative, Energy Star, National Fenestration Rating Council.

 

Technorati Tags: energy-efficient windows windows,doors,skylights,efficient windows,high performance windows,energy-star,energy savings,tax credit,rebates,remodeling,fenestration,energy-efficiency

Oh, Crap

Viewer discretion advised. From Urban Trekker reader, Jason:

 

Have you seen the cartoon on Inmans blog?

http://docs.google.com/TeamPresent?docid=ddp4zq7n_0cdjsr4fn&skipauth=true&pl 

The mortgage crisis isn't funny but their presentation of the problem is hysterical. Please note that it uses bad language! [emphasis mine]

Click on image to see the presentation.

Technorati Tags: CDOs,SIVs,mortgage backed,bonds,moody's,S&Ps,financing,home loans,home buying,home values