Weekly Real Estate News Roundup

How to Green Your Lighting
What’s the Big Deal? How we light up the places we live and work makes a big impact on how we feel. It also makes a big impact on the environment. The kind of bulbs, the kind of fixtures, the kind of power, and the habits we keep can all add up to a very significant greening.

Mortgage Crisis Seep to Prime Loans
The first concrete evidence that delinquencies on mortgage bills have spread well beyond those with subpar credit shows that even prime borrowers have increasingly fallen behind on their house payments.

Taxes When You Sell Your Home
IF YOU'RE A HOMEOWNER, then you're probably aware of the incredibly generous tax break available when you sell your home. Play your cards right and you can lock in a profit of up to $250,000 ($500,000 when you file jointly) and owe nothing to the IRS.

Mortgage Credit Losses Could Total $500bln: Goldman
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs economists expect a total of $500 billion in residential mortgage credit losses, a renewed slowdown in economic activity after the near-term boost from fiscal stimulus, and no monetary policy tightening in 2008 or 2009, according to a research note from the firm.

From Their House to the White House
Like millions of Americans, the three presidential candidates rode the real-estate wave. But for them there's been no hard landing, and well-timed home purchases in prime neighborhoods have left two of them -- Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton -- with millions in real-estate gains.

Don't Fall for This Mortgage Pitch
You may have received e-mails touting a system that promises to help you pay off your mortgage early. This mortgage-acceleration package -- which includes a software program -- relies heavily on the use of a home-equity line of credit.

Before the Flood, Make Sure that Your Home is Properly Insured
Many homeowners turn their thoughts to spring cleaning this time of year. But my thoughts are usually drawn toward making sure the contents of our home remain safe and protected. That's because our homeowners insurance policy is up for renewal every June.

Signs of a Housing Bottom?

Map of Misery
SOUNDING more like a cartographer than a central banker, Ben Bernanke this week showed off the Federal Reserve's latest gizmo for tracking America's property bust: a series of maps that colour-code price declines, foreclosures and other gauges of housing distress for every county in the country.

Smart Home: Green + Wired Debuts at MSI
Architect Michelle Kaufmann has made a big splash in Chicago this week during the opening of her Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.

When You Have a Crooked House
In the nursery rhyme, the crooked man with his crooked cat and mouse didn't mind his crooked house. But outside of children's stories, homes are supposed to have level floors, flat walls and plumb ceilings, so crookedness can be a bit more problematic.

FROM AROUND THE REGION: DC-MD-VA

A Southeast Spot Blossoming with Charm
The fact that Hillcrest is a front-porch-sitting, dog-walking, back-fence-chatting, heavily voting community is not that unusual in this area.

DC Area Governments, Business Plan 400 Building Retrofit
Governments and businesses in and around Washington, D.C., have announced more than 400 buildings in the region plan to undergo energy retrofits.

A House that's Just Right
When Amy and Casey Cooper needed more room, they decided to renovate their former bungalow in northwest Washington. “We bought it in ’98 and lived here for five years before we expanded our family and outgrew it,” Casey says.

Cell Tower Proposed at Pool in Annandale
An application with the county to install a 140-foot-tall cell phone and broadband wireless tower on property belonging to the Holmes Run Acres community pool in Annandale has a few neighbors concerned about the impact on property values as well as on their health.

Virginia New Home: 11 Houses Rise in Alexandria
NVHomes is building 11 single-family homes on quarter-acre homesites at Wilton Hill in Alexandria, near the Cameron Run Regional Park and Landmark Mall.

Fairfax Unemployment Up Slightly in March
The unemployment rate across Fairfax County ticked up slightly in March, but remained below the regional, state and national averages.

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Double in Washington Region
The metro region is feeling the effects of nationwide mortgage troubles, as a new data reveals the number of borrowers with mortgage payments at least 60 days late doubled or almost doubled — and in some cases tripled — in all counties in the region from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the same period in 2007.