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

Washington DC #1 Walkability

NYC has the highest number of walkable places in the nation, but per capita [density] it is second to Washington DC. NYC is number 10 among major cities.

HT to CommuterPage. A new report released by Brookings Institute ranks the entire Washington D.C. region as number #1 place with the most walkable places among major urban cities on a per capita basis. One for every 264,000 people.

"A couple years ago the American Podiatric Medical Association named Arlington #1 on its list of Top 10 Best U.S. Walking Cities. Today we learned on WTOP (Washington Leads Metro Areas in Walkability, December 4, 2007) and on CNN.com (Metropolitan Areas Ranked on Walkability, December 4, 2007) that the entire Washington D.C. area ranks #1 on walkability. A report released today by the Brookings Institution ranks the Washington region first among the country's major metropolitan areas in the number of "walkable places" per capita, thanks to changes in just the past 15 years."

via CommuterPage

Washington DC region has increased the number of walkable places from 2 (Georgetown and Alexandria) twenty years ago to 20! It has also '10 regional serving walkable urban places' that could reach its fullest potential the next five years. The success because of 1/ Metro system, and 2/ TOD zoning.

This is a kicker. In terms of per capita, Midtown Manhattan weighs the same as Reston Town Center, which has 1/30 of the office, residential, hotels and retail space? Interesting. This should make the people who live around Reston happy. 

The top 10 walkable cities:

1. Washington DC
2. Boston
3. San Fransisco
4. Denver
5. Portland
6. Seattle
7. Chicago
8. Miami
9. Pittsburgh
10. New York

The Greening of Arlington

Arlington is the forefront leader for Virginia when it comes to going green. Things are still slow-mo at the state level. In fact, Virginia is not part of RGGI. Haven't seen the light yet, Virginia?

At least for now, it's good to know that Arlington can be (and should be) the model or prototype for the state if Richmond seriously put heavy pressure into green economy.

The county has two initiatives going: Think Arlington and AIRE.

Think Arlington, is more of a program to attract businesses into the area to grow the local economy. The county got to think and move fast to attract other than defense related businesses in order to sustain its vibrant economy from going bust after BRAC. Because if everything goes according to 'Rumsfeld plan' then Sec. of Defense, BRAC takes away some 20,000 plus workers who've already contributed to the growing of Arlington-Alexandria corridor economy and move them to Ft. Belvoir in Fairfax.

The selling points.

• Arlington is the most highly educated community in the Washington, D.C. region: over 60% of us hold bachelor degrees or higher.
• Arlington is the epicenter of scientific research for the defense and homeland security industries. The Ballston area has the highest concentration of scientific research agencies, anchored by the National Science Foundation, DARPA, ONR and several top university-related research institutes.

via Arlington EDA

The first clean tech accomplishment came, when the county announced that it snatched GridPoint to relocate their HQ from the District to across the river in Arlington along with the promise to bring 250 new jobs and $5 million of investments. Of course it comes because of the whole package offered by county and state -- $500k from the Gov Opportunity Fund and major business tax credit -- incentives that effectively 'sealed' the deal.

AIRE, comes in to complement the business initiatives. The goal: Reduce Arlington's GHG emission 10% from 2000 to 2012 from local government, businesses and residential homes. The first five years (2000-2005) it has reduced 2.6% of GHG emissions. For green building, Arlington already have 6 LEED certified buildings with 14 in the pipeline.

Arlington also has their way of 'taxing builders' who won't commit to LEED. The builders are required to make contribution to the County's Green Building Fund, at a rate of $0.30 per s.f. The fund is then use for education and outreach.

What's more? They've got a whole range of programs going to reducing carbon footprint --from large green fleet, waste-to-energy plant, clean renewable power (3% mix), retrofitting county's buildings, trees -- all the way to pushing businesses and residents to go green.

Okay, it takes years for the county to transform itself into Urban Arlington. The same thing is true with greening Arlington. There's no short cut if we want to live in a clean and healthy environment. It's a process.

After Washington BOT jumping the bandwagon of "Going Green," there shouldn't be anymore doubt that going-green is good for the economy. Got that miss Virginia?

Cross-posted with Shades of Green

UPDATE: TONIGHT Arlington is hosting "Green Living Gala" -- for the premier of its documentary "Fresh Aire" and presenting the "Green Living Challenge" awards to the greenest neighborhoods and residents -- from 7 to 8:30pm at Courthouse Plaza. Event is OPEN to the public. Everyone is invited. View the invitation...

Spectrum Won't Convert to Rentals, Developer Says

Okay, this is an interesting news.

Unlike Pearson Square condominium that converted to rentals in the middle of the development, the developer of  Spectrum 'vows' that he won't convert Spectrum to rentals.

The developer of the largest new mixed-use project yet in the City of Falls Church told the City Council Monday that his mammoth, “The Spectrum,” going up in the 500 block of West Broad Street is being completed on schedule. He added that despite the slow-down in the housing market, he fully intends to market all the project’s near 200 units as for-sale condominiums, without reverting them to rentals. [via Falls Church News Press]

Spectrum is the first development in the City that will have eco-friendly green roof. Estimated time of delivery sometime in 2008.

 

Technorati Tags: falls church city , mix-use project , new condominium , washington dc , pearson square , green roof , eco-friendly living , green living

DC Tour of Solar Homes & Buildings

Click to see larger image [Solar Tour]

IF you are on the market for solar home, or even just curious and want to learn more about solar energy aka clean energy, the 17th Annual Metropolitan DC Solar homes Tour is something to check on over the weekend. It will be held both days: Saturday and Sunday October 6-7 from 11am to 5pm.

There are more than 40 homes that will be part of the tour spread throughout the Metropolitan DC area DC-MD-VA from Frederick, MD, all the way to Lovettsville in VA. What's cool about this tour is you can see yourself how the owners are able to retrofit their homes using either passive solar or a combination of couple different green strategies to maximize the energy they get from solar. Kiplinger's October edition specifically covers green energies.  In fact, it features one of the homes on the tour in DC, where the owner sells the excess energy back to the utility company.

Dan Mullin's electric meter is turning backward, and it gives him immense satisfaction. On a sunny day in his Washington, D.C., neighborhood, the solar panels perched on his roof catch enough rays to power his home and sell electricity back to the utility. A solar-powered fountain burbles in his garden, near the tubes for his solar-powered hot-water heater. "There is no easier way to make money than to sit out here and enjoy the sunshine," he says.
via Kiplinger

BIKERS: the Washington Bicyclist Association and the Potomac Peddlers Touring Club also have organized to have a tour of 11 homes for you. Some of the houses you can see mostly located in the District.

The Tour is FREE. All you need to do is download the ticket from the website. It's a 40-pages booklet loaded with information about the homes or buildings on the show.

DOWNLOAD TICKET.

Close-out New Condominiums: Whitman, 1800 Wilson, Cameron Station, and Byron

[This is a long due post, because I visited these condominiums a couple of weeks ago.]

Image: Whitman

New Condominiums: Whitman, 1800 Wilson, Cameron Station and Byron

Having gone through so many different new condominiums the last few years, there is only few things that separates one condo to another, i.e. location, structural, exterior, interior including features offered, condo fee and prices. You might not care what a building is built from. But, from noise level perspective, a better quality condominium building is usually built on concrete using class A material. Once inside, you can tell the difference. Building built on wood, have high noise level!

I know what you're thinking. Before you go out there and try to deal direct, here is a word of advice.

One more thing, regardless who you are dealing with, make sure that you use the service of a Realtor. The sales rep works for the builder and not- you! 

It's all about representation. A builder's rep does NOT represent you! They represent the builder and their interests! And a Realtor, represents YOU. BIG difference.

Find out more about the prices, units available, features, amenities, etc., here.

* New Condominiums: Whitman, 1800 Wilson, Cameron Station and Byron [New Homes Trekker]

Technorati Tags:  Sears ,  energy-efficient appliances ,  green features ,  class A construction ,  condominium noise level ,  agency representation ,  Realtor ,  real estate representation ,  whitman ,  1800 wilson ,  cameron station ,  byron ,  live/work condos ,  green building

Video Clip on Adams Morgan

HT to CoolTown Studios. It's different when you see it on a video. Makes you proud of the diversity of this neighborhood. From the producer of this video.

When most people think of Washington DC , they think of lobbyists or politicians who have no idea what people really need to realize their dreams and aspirations. While we won’t comment on that, it’s not at all the inside story of Adam’s Morgan, a diverse, vibrant neighborhood here in DC. Many people in this community choose to leave behind what doesn’t work about their lives, their work and their world, take matters into their own hands and become entrepreneurs of one sort or another – not just for themselves but for their community. This is our story.

via Ikea

See it for yourself, here.

Image: Wiki

 

Real Estate News Roundup

Full story, here. [NYT]

* House Sitters [Market Watch]
"Inventories of unsold single-family homes increased by 2.2% to 3.85 million in July, sending the inventory in relation to sales to the highest level in 16 years, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday."

* Getting Graphic: Getting Real Nominal on US Housing [Matrix]
"David Leonhardt of the New York Times, does a very cool breakdown of the Nation’s housing markets, to prove incorrect the mainstay argument that housing prices, based on OFHEO numbers (the official government stats), have not shown an annual decline since their inception in 1950."

* Condos, Brand-New Yet Not So Perfect [New York Times]
"WHEN dozens of buyers put down payments on apartments in the glassy new condominium tower called the Link at 310 West 52nd Street, they were looking forward to living with features like floor-to-ceiling windows and a meditation garden."

* Building the World's Largest Urban Rail Transit System [Planetizen]
"36 Chinese cities are on the fast track to building rail-based mass transit system. Within the next decade Shanghai's subway system is expected to become the world's largest."

* In this Civil War, It's East vs. West [New York Times]
"THE land around Unison, Va. — a clutch of homes 50 miles west of Washington, with no stoplight or commercial enterprise —looks much as it did around 145 years ago when Union and Confederate soldiers clashed in the fields."

* Kitchen Product Review: Faucet Fashion [Building Products]
"Many plumbing installers may be seeing a drop in business during the current housing market slowdown. But Brad Smith, chief operations officer for Kimbel Plumbing in Springdale, Ark., has actually found additional work because of the slow market."

* Some Home Buyers Gain Edge from Credit Crisis [USA Today]
"What credit crunch? Home buyers with solid credit and money for a down payment are now better positioned than they were a few weeks ago."

* Tax Deductions Under Fire for McMansions [Washington Post]
"To add to the mortgage meltdown miseries, the credit panic, the plunging home sales and the rising foreclosures, here's a new worry: a proposed cutoff of mortgage-interest tax deductions for houses with more than 3,000 square feet."

* Condo Board Must Juggle Privacy, Openness [Washington Post]
" Q: I own a condominium unit in the District, and I believe that our association is having financial problems. Recently, I sent a letter to our board of directors, asking for a copy of the most recent monthly financial report, as well as the names and mailing addresses of all co-owners. The board responded that privacy laws prevented the board from providing that information."

* Washington Explores Help for Those Who Can't Pay Mortgage [US News and Report]
"Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks...liquidate real estate. It will purge the rottenness out of the system.... People will work harder, live a more moral life." That was how Herbert Hoover once described Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's unsympathetic attitude as the Great Depression began to unfold."

* Do Open House Help Sell Your House?[Zillow]
"Wow, talk about a controversial topic. Do open houses really work? Or is it a good idea that is no longer effective? Can your house get ripped off? Does a Realtor put themselves in danger — possibly killed?"

* Three Simple Ways to Use Solar Power at Home [Real Estate Journal]
"   Day in and day out through the summer I watch the temperature creep up and the   sun beat down on my yard and I wonder: what can I use the sun for? A great   source of cheap, green power, but without a roof full of solar panels, how can   I put it to use?"

* How to Bid Low on A Home Without Offending the Seller [Real Estate Journal]
" With stagnant prices and elevated inventory in many markets, home sellers are no longer automatically turning up their noses at offers that come in far below their asking price."

* World's Most Overpriced Real Estate Market [Forbes]
"Buy a home in  Monaco and you'll enjoy iconic beaches, glamorous casinos, a renowned arts and music scene, pulsating nightlife and boutique-packed boulevards."

Update: Shirlington Village

The other day, I drove around Shirlington Village, trying to see what's new over there. The Harris Teeter sign that I saw before is gone. Instead, a new building, Randolph Square going up around the corner where I saw the sign before.

The retail market is picking up over at Shirlington while the newly finished condominium project, Io Piazza, decided to convert to rentals. It's now managed by Windsor? It seems real estate to be working okay here. One market is up - the other slows down a little bit. It balances out one another.

Randolph Square, is a new class A office apace right in the heart of downtown Shirlington Village. The information from the website, states, that ".. nine-story building features over 207,000 SF of spectacular office space and ground floor retail. A two-story entry lobby, reflective of the building's distinctive architecture will impress those visiting the building. A newly constructed garage adjacent to the building includes more than 700 parking spaces."

Other new development for the neighborhood, they've got exciting tenants coming to the village. [Click on image to see large map (+)]

 

Along the South Stafford street, across from the new Shirlington Library and Signature Theatre, a couple of new tenants suppose to open up their shops this Fall. How about Busboys and Poets and Cake Love? Johnny Rockets' burger place and Bear Rock Cafe  are open for business

Will Shirlington become the new "U Street" with all the redevelopment coming to this hood?

If you're wondering the location of the new Harris Teeter? It is exactly across the street from this strip retail/library and commercial. On South Stafford Street corridor!

Though, Shirlington is technically away from the Metro station is still a transit-oriented-development. Because, the county is working to build a new Shirlington Transit Center down on South Randolph and 31st. Street.

That's going to be as close as it gets ..to the village.

* Shirlington Retail Map [Federal Realty]

 

 

Adams Morgan Road to Diversity

June DC Metro Housing Data (part 2)

Previous post (part 1 of 2)
June Home Sales: Housing Market Ups and Downs Seen in Pockets of Metro Washington DC

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PART 2 of 2

Buying Opportunities in Fairfax

In the previous post, we look at the market absorption rate of a particular area. We'll do the same for this post.

The neighborhoods that have absorption rate 5+ months - are buyer's market. Under 5 months going to benefit the sellers. This is a simplified approach of looking at which neighborhoods are 'good' buys. However, we don't use the price point. Average prices are varies. For example, McLean average sold prices is higher than Lorton.

If a neighborhood still a buyer's market and it happens in your price range, move forward and take advantage of the situation. Translation: Bring all offers! Many of the sellers are ready and willing to 'negotiate' with you, Mr. and Mrs. Buyers.

The current market conditions a hood in now - might not last forever!

Spotlight: LORTON

Market absorption rate 7.1 months. The worst market in Fairfax. On the other flip of the coin- it's a great buyer's market. The absorption rate tells you more accurate picture of how long will it take to sell all homes in a specific area.

For this neighborhood, it will take 7 months to deplete the inventory with assumption that no new homes coming on to the market. Buyers: This is the neighborhood where you want to focus in finding homes. Think about this, so many homes out in the market. Easy access to transportation, and straight down I-95 to DC, Alexandria, Tysons Corner and other employment centers. Lorton, is an upcoming neighborhood. Anxious sellers should work out the deal with you.

Market Indicators

• Available (on the market): 308 homes.
• Solds 30+ days: 30 homes.
• Under contracts 30+ days: 43 homes. 

Market Absorption: Fairfax Neighborhoods

1. Great Falls (5.77 mos.)
2. Reston (3.44 mos.)
3. Centreville (4.8 mos.)
4. Oakton (2.45 mos.)
5. Vienna (3 mos.)
6. McLean (3.5 mos.)
7. Annandale (5.3 mos.)
8. Burke (4.35 mos.)
9. Herndon (5.3 mos.)
10. Springfield (4.8 mos.)
11. Alexandria includes City of Alexandria (4.6 mos.)
12. Falls Church includes City of Falls Church (4.2 mos.)

bold: indicates strong buyer's market (over 5 months absorption rate)

District of Columbia

Clearly for anyone to wait that DC prices going to go down a little bit more- they're in it for a surprise. Data gathers from MRIS, GCAAR indicates that DC actually is seller's market. The total number of available (active) listings as of today (7/19) is 2623 homes. Over the past 30 days the number of homes went under contract is 1092 homes, and sales 609 homes.

Here's what interesting. The total number of homes under contract in June 2007 declined by 10.2% from 2238 to 2010 homes. But, prices remain strong. The average price for single family increased from $644,115 to $679,088 or 5.4% over the same period June '06 to '07.

If prices is any indication, you can see from the chart below that condo prices also creeping up. The average price up from $406,501 in 2006 to $413,531. Still below the peak of 2005 at $426,576.

click to enlarge (+)