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

Real Estate Weekly News Roundup

scene at a condo auction in Florida (NYT)

Sand Castles - Half-Price Mansions
LUXURY-HOME SHOPPERS HAVE COME DOWN with a bad case of cold feet. From Malibu to Manhattan, would-be buyers of $5 million-and-up properties are pulling out of pending deals and suspending their searches out of concern over jarring drops in the stock market and dire economic news.

Home Prices Continue to Drop
Home prices continued to fall as the economic downturn deepened in September, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes and the Federal Housing Finance Agency home price index.

Segway inventor touts island as an energy model
Energy independence is still only a hypothetical goal for the U.S., but the owner of a tiny island off the coast of Connecticut says he has already achieved that feat and is offering his work as a model.

Stovetop Fire Safety
The holiday season is a bustling time of year in most kitchens. The holiday season is a bustling time of year in most kitchens.

Home shoppers rush in as mortgage rates fall
Telephones are ringing — and ringing — at mortgage brokers' offices around the country after this week's sharp drop in mortgage rates.

The Subprime Good Guys
In recent months, conservative economists and editorialists have tried to pin the blame for the international financial mess on subprime lending and subprime borrowers.

The Next Subprime Crisis Loom
As if they haven't done enough damage. Thousands of subprime mortgage lenders and brokers -- many of them the very sorts of firms that helped create the current financial crisis -- are going strong.

New crisis in commercial real estate looms
WASHINGTON - The full scope of the housing meltdown isn’t clear and already there are ominous signs of a new crisis — one that could turn out the lights on malls, hotels and storefronts nationwide.

In Florida, New Condos on the Block
GIVEN how tough it is to sell a single condominium in Florida these days, what does it take to sell dozens of them in less than two hours?

Party's Over

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The economic crisis is finally crashing New York's real estate party, forcing the city's residents to start sharing the rest of the country's pain.

ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM AROUND DC REGION

• Barn Raising [Natural Home]
• Walker Road in Great Falls to Shut Down [Fairfax Times]
• CBRE to advice FDIC on bank assets [Wash Biz Journal]
• MTA: Purple Line tunnel too costly [Gazette.net]
• Signs Looking Hopeful for Virginia's Real Estate Market [Sun Gazette]
• County Signals Intent to Take Property [Fairfax Connection]
• Arlington Paychecks: #1, #3 or #9, Depending on the List [Arlington Gazette]
• Pr. William looks to minimize layoffs while axing $26M in spending [Examiner]
• The High-Stakes Game Of Raffling Off the House [Washington Post]
• The Bungalow is Back - Cool, Green and Smart [WHG]

Foreclosure No. Va. - with Update

I've been trying to search for public data that shows what percentage of homes sold are foreclosures in No. Va. without going to the hassle of digging deep on MRIS data.

Well, here's the answer.

Foreclosures were concentrated in Northern Virginia, which in October was responsible for 81 percent of all foreclosure activity across Virginia.

via Sun Gazette

--

UPDATE: Here is the chart from GMU-CRA which shows foreclosure activity across Virginia that pointed it to the numbers for No. Va ..

Happy Thanksgiving..

..and have a safe holiday..

It All Started Here..

Purr-fekt..

image: Daryl Cagle's index

30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates 5.5%

Mortgage rates got pushed down with Feds help.  It looks like across the board rates come down to under 6%... at least for now.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to about 5.5 percent after starting at 6.38 percent yesterday, according to Bankrate Inc. It was the biggest one-day drop in at least seven years, said Holden Lewis, of the North Palm Beach, Florida, publishing and research firm. [via Bloomberg]

We've been tracking Wells Fargo mortgage rates esp. when jumbo loans were closing in to 10% APR. So, check it out: here and here. Compare that to WF today's rate.

This is what it looks like today.

Their jumbo loans still at around 8% so it won't help much the higher-end market. However, for those of you still on-the-fence (and been waiting for rates to come down) - this is in: FHA rates at 5.5% for 30-year fixed - it is a pretty darn good rate..

$800 Billion!

'Tis the season for giving. No, this is not part of the $700 bil bailout (though the seed money $20 B part of the bailout..with the rest going up in smoke). It's a new plan for disbursement of money. The Feds says that the $600 billion is to support housing, with the rest to revive consumer lending.

In case you've been hiding in the cave, the news coming from the home front past couple of days - ain't pretty. Via NYT.

The Federal Reserve said it would buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed assets from government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It would buy up to $100 billion in debt directly from the companies and up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities.

Next...

--

UPDATE: With the announcement, lenders have new "ammo" now since Feds move pushed down mortgage rates. "Bankers and brokers say                 rates fell as far as 5.25 percent, at least for a while." via Bankrate.com.

Is This Good Idea?

From reader MP.

..I am thinking to buy condo at Lillian court because new metro make price go up. This is good idea?

Location close to a metro is one of big things in real estate domain. You see it all the time in ads. Walk to a metro. Few blocks from metro, etc. etc. OK, you get the idea. Yes, having Dulles metro coming to the area of Tysons Corner in addition to the proximity to shops, restaurants, etc. could make a difference in prices. Location, location, location.

Builders do this all the time. They bought land based on master plan for a certain area, sit and wait for years till the time comes to build their properties and sell them. For lack of a better word 'speculative.' However, if you are buying a condo in this location - sounds that you know about which condo to buy - what you want to know more, are the things related to the condo itself. Because this condo would pass 'the location' test.

For example. 1) what's the comps for the hood (active listings, under contracts and solds), 2) what is owners vs tenants ratio, 3) what kind of expenses condo fee covers, 4) assessments (past, present, future if any) and many more condo related questions - the kind of questions you should know before taking the leap.

Oh by the way, whether you are first-time buyer or not, you might want to consider using the service of a Realtor to 'represent' you in the home buying transaction. Here is why. Listing agent represents the seller and obviously the seller's best interests. The same thing is true with buyer's agent. Buyer's agent represents buyer's best interests. Although in Virginia a Realtor is allowed to do 'dual' meaning "to represent clients at both side of a transaction (buying and selling)," I would not recommend anyone using a Realtor who are willingly be your dual agent! There's just something wrong with representing both sides at the same time. Personally, I think it's loaded with conflict of interests. Period.

How could you represent the best interest of your clients (for the same transaction) and be fair to both parties? A friend told me once before about this dual agent thing.. she said, "It's like going through a divorce, having one lawyer to represent both husband and wife." Yep. She nails it.

Cross-posted at In Tysons Space

--

Further reading: 10 Questions to Ask Condo Board

October Home Sales: N.Va

MRIS just released its October existing home sales report for the region. Despite of financial crisis (and tight credit market), the total number of homes sold for No. Va. was higher than last year because sales prices continued on its declining trend.

The average sales price down 17.92% to $427,502 from $520,829 a year ago. Median price also declined 17.47% from $435,000 in '07 to $359,000 this year. While sales price continued treading down, at the same time the total number of units sold picked up 29.74% from a year ago to 1,457 units.

Regardless of the type of property (condo, single home or townhouse), prices have come down by a lot since last year. For example, in the 3BR single home market within the same period (07-08), prices came down from $516,847 to $427,703 or it's off by 17.25%. The same thing is true with 3BR townhouse market. The price swings from $451,692 to $326,114 or off by 27.8%. Furthermore, condo price have bec0me more affordable with its average sales price plunged 16.07% from $345,397 to $289,885.

Apparently, buyers took note of the low price environment and decided that this is 'the right time to buy.'  So, these buyers snap properties left and right. And no wonder multiple contracts are back..

Area Comps

	Alexandria	Arlington	Fairfax
sales price	$444,450	$541,339	$408,464
median price	$400,000	$471,000	$344,500
units sold	141	156	1,132
single home	29	58	524
townhouse	51	19	422
condo	61	79	186
active listings	761	989	6835

Using the median price it shows which area still affordable in the pricey DC region. In this case, among the three areas in Northern Virginia (Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax), Fairfax County is the most affordable place - in general.

Because this is such an interesting time, let's see how market performed in a 3-mo. rolling trends.

2008	Aug	Sept	Oct
sales price	$473,187	$407,748	$427,502
median price	$389,000	$348,250	$359,000
units sold	1,812	1,650	1,457
# units SFH	795	674	625
# units TH	580	554	497
# units condo	437	422	335
# pending sales (contracts)	1887	1777	1604
active listings	9190	9112	8806

When you look at August numbers, it's interesting to note that typically the month of August - is the slowest month for real estate sales! - but, that's not the case for this year. In August, No. Va had the most sales on a 3-mo rolling trends. After that, sales sorta going down hill.

Condo sales took the biggest hit - with sales off 20.6% from September to October. Sign of condo glut? Or, buyers looking for other-than-condo bargains coming from the foreclosure land with prices better than condos..

On a positive note, there were fewer listings on the market for October. Could it be that many of the wannabe sellers decided to put off their moves till sometime later? Who knows..

data: MRIS

Weekly Real Estate News Roundup

Only One Person Knows a Home's Value: It's Buyer
The good news is your home may be worth more than the rock-bottom price that your neighbors' houses fetched. The bad news: No one but you might think so.

Fannie, Freddie Suspend Foreclosures Through Jan. 9
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance companies seized by the U.S. government, will suspend foreclosures and evictions over the holidays.    

Borrowers Shun ARM in Q3: Report
Ongoing turmoil in the U.S. housing and mortgage markets led borrowers in droves into fixed-rate mortgages during the third quarter, according to a survey released late Thursday by Freddie Mac (FRE: 0.41 -16.33%).

World's Expensive Homes, Now at Reduced Price
Remember the good old days of 2007, when there was a flood of homes on the market for $100 million or more? There was Prince Bandar’s cozy chalet in Aspen, priced at $135 million.

Tolling Roads Could Bring Down Housing Prices
Comprehensive road pricing through tolls and congestion charges could play a major role in reducing housing prices and sprawl, according to a new study.

Leonardo DiCaprio is Flipping Out in Malee-Boo
SELLER: Leonardo DeCaprio
LOCATION: Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA
PRICE: $8,999,000
SIZE: 2,374 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

Jumbo Mortgage Deadline Looms
Some mortgage borrowers are about to get squeezed by the shrinking of something called the jumbo conforming limit.

LEED Platinum Home Breaks Records
We've seen a ton of LEED Platinum homes on this site, but today's home achieves something new.

Can this House Be Greened? Fixing the No-Insulation Home
“By adding proper insulation, the Blantons will probably cut their heating bills in half,” says Mike Sheehan from Acorn Home Improvements.

Manhattan Mansions Fall from the Sky: Barron's
Until recently, the luxury real estate market remained buoyant as the rest of the U.S. housing market crumbled.

ADDITIONAL NEWS from the region:

• Washington DC [Dwell]
• Inauguration City: Snowbamapocolypse? [DCist]
• City Releases Sample of Housing Lease Agreement for Inauguration [Washington Post]
• Boathouse Row: Pictures (finally), and a Master Plan [JDLand]
• Catholic Charities starts apartment complex [WashBizJournal]
• Federal Grant to Back County Foreclosure Program [Fairfax Times]
• '09 Real Estate Tax Rates Will Rise to Help Cover Budget Shortfall [Arlington Gazette]
• Md. jobless rate reaches 12-year high [Baltimore Sun]
• MARC will run 'probably everything we have' on Inauguration [Frederick News]
• Dulles Runway is first to open since 1962 [WTOP]

Insulated Siding

One of the ways to save homeowners on energy bills (kinda commercial v-clip)..but hey, at least you know that the technology is available out there to insulate siding, via GreenEnergy TV.