The State of the Market

By Jack Guttentag
The Washington Post
Saturday, June 2, 2007; F23

Over the past two weeks, I have explained that the immediate cause of turmoil in the subprime market has been the halt in house price appreciation and that the underlying cause has been a myopic tendency by lenders to make loans that worked only if prices continually rose. What's the state of the market now?

The pain is uneven. The dozens of subprime lenders that have failed have garnered little sympathy. Put simply, they gambled and lost. Some borrowers fall in that category as well because they were trying to profit from house price appreciation. Instead, they face foreclosure.
Investors in securities issued against pools of subprime mortgages have also felt pain as the market value of these securities has declined. Lehman Brothers estimates the decline at $19 billion. Most of it is concentrated among the riskiest securities, which promised the highest yields. (Few tears are being shed for those investors, either.) Securities rated AAA, which are first in line to be repaid and last in line to take losses, have been hurt very little.

Mortgage brokers have not been significantly affected. A few have lost access to subprime lenders, but most have been able to replace defunct lenders with other lenders.

The big losers are those borrowers who, as unwitting victims of hype and deception, took out mortgages that were unworkable if house prices stopped rising. Now, with values stagnant, many of these borrowers are waiting for the next shoe to drop. They have adjustable-rate mortgages on which the rate will reset to a much higher level.

The subprime market remains open. This is the good news, and it should not be taken for granted. When the international banking crisis erupted in the early 1980s, the market adjustment stretched over a decade, during which there was almost no new lending.

The subprime lenders who remain are the more cautious ones. They are also more likely to be affiliated with other firms with deep pockets, which will help them ride out future market disturbances.

Of course, the profit potential in subprime lending is not what it was. Investors require a higher yield than before, especially on the riskiest securities. This has caused tightening of underwriting requirements, which has effectively lopped off the riskiest segment of the market.

Underwriting requirements are more restrictive. Underwriting requirements are the conditions that borrowers must meet to be eligible for a loan. They are significantly more restrictive now than they were a year ago. One of the most important shifts is the near-disappearance of the 100 percent (no-down-payment) loan.

Periodically, I receive an advertisement from a subprime wholesale lender rep advertising what is available from his firm. (He thinks I am a mortgage broker.) One came to me on April 19, showing that a borrower with a credit score of 620 (which is low) could qualify for a loan of $650,000 with a down payment of 10 percent. In my records, I found a message from the same rep dated June 20, 2006. At that time, he was offering the borrower with a 620 score a loan of $1 million with nothing down.

The 2006 offer was insane, a product of the euphoria created by steadily rising real estate prices. The current rules are no longer based on the inevitability of rising prices.

The prospects for some are poor. If house prices begin to rise again this year, the problems of the subprime market will go away. In 1998 and 1999, we had a similar episode, in which as many as 20 subprime lenders failed. But in 2000, house prices took off, the problems disappeared and few people today even remember the episode.

This time, however, the prospects for a quick revival of house price appreciation are poor. A further weakening is much more likely. Under these conditions, there is an ominous cloud on the horizon: Subprime borrowers who took out 2/28 ARMs in 2005 and 2006 will have their interest rates and payments reset to much higher levels this year and next. A significant number will not be able to make the new payments and won't be able to refinance because the equity in their houses is not sufficient to meet the new underwriting requirements. They will face foreclosure.

Next Saturday, I will discuss what if anything should be done about that.
Jack Guttentag is professor of finance emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He can be contacted through his Web site, http://www.mtgprofessor.com.


Copyright 2007, Jack Guttentag
Distributed by Inman News Features

Area Home Price Appreciation Ahead of National Average

Washington Business Journal - 1:05 PM EDT Thursday, May 31, 2007
by Jeff Clabaugh
Staff Reporter

The latest report on housing prices comes from the federal government, and it shows that price gains in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. have outpaced the national average.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight says prices in the first quarter were up an average of 4.3 percent from a year earlier, the slowest pace in 10 years.

But Maryland posted average price increases of 6.37 percent from a year ago and 0.46 percent from the previous quarter. The District had an annual gain of 5.91 percent and a quarterly gain of 0.5 percent. Virginia's increases were 5.42 percent and 0.68 percent.

Compared with other states, Maryland had the 18th strongest gain. The District ranked 20th and Virginia 24th.

The OFHEO does not include actual prices in its quarterly report, only percent changes.

"As always, real estate prices are local with seven states showing double-digit annual appreciation rates and seven with rates of less than 2 percent," said OFHEO director James Lockhart. "Seven states, including California and Florida, also showed home price depreciation in the first quarter."

When price appreciation is measured by metropolitan area, Washington records a 3.65 percent rise in the past year.

Two separate reports this month paint different pictures of Washington-area home prices. An S&P/Case-Shiller report released earlier this week said median prices in Washington are down 4.8 percent in the last year. The National Association of Realtors said earlier this month that Washington-area home prices were 1.2 percent above year-ago levels in the first quarter.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

RealAstute Listing Featured in Examiner Profile

Click below to read the article:

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

District Home Sales Jump in First Quarter

Washington Business JournalTuesday, May 15, 2007
by Jeff Clabaugh Staff Reporter

Home sales in the first quarter were down 6.6 percent from a year ago nationally, but sales of existing homes in the District jumped 9.3 percent, the second biggest increase in the country.

A quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors also says Washington-area home prices rose a modest 1.2 percent from year-ago levels, while nationally, median home prices fell 1.8 percent to a two-year low. Prices fell in almost half the U.S. cities listed in the NAR report.

The median price of an existing home in the Washington area was $427,800 last quarter, compared with $422,800 a year ago.

The biggest gain in year-over-year median prices was in Cumberland, Md., up 17.1 percent, to $100,000.

Sales in the District were outpaced only by a 20 percent gain in Wyoming, but sales were down 5.7 percent from a year ago in Virginia and down 10 percent in Maryland.

While the numbers look better locally than they do nationally, the National Association of Realtors said the report shows a broad stabilization in the housing market.

"It appears the worst of the price correction is behind us," said NAR President Pat Combs. "More stable home prices and declining mortgage interest rates are increasing buying power, which should encourage potential buyers who've been on the sidelines."

The most expensive market in the nation last quarter was San Jose, Calif., with a median home price of $788,000. The cheapest market was Elmira, N.Y., at $75,300.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Military Moves Swell Populations in 11 States

Eleven states are about to welcome hundreds of thousands of U.S. military personnel and their families as the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommendations take effect.

Eleven states are getting additional troops — Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. The population boost will create a need for everything from housing, roads, and schools to services like pizza parlors and dry cleaners.

The Fort Meade area of Maryland expects the troop shifts to generate 22,000 federal and private-sector jobs. Fayetteville, N.C., home of Fort Bragg, expects up to 25,000 new residents.

Columbus, Ga., Mayor Jim Wetherington met recently with the City Council to discuss a bond issue for roads and other needs, such as water and sewers, as Fort Benning anticipates possibly doubling its population.

"This is going to be a pretty big deal for us," Wetherington says. "We think we're going to be ready, but we've got a lot of work to do."

Source: USA Today, Larry Copeland (05/08/07)

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Noise a Top Consideration for Condominium Buyers

The price might be right, the layout spacious, and the commute short, but that perfect condo will be less than ideal if the noise from the upstairs neighbors rivals that jackhammer on the street.

For condo buyers, particularly those exchanging suburban quiet for urban hubbub, what they hear or don’t hear can make a difference in quality of life after they move in, says Mike Komula, an acoustician with Dudek, a California environmental consulting firm that helps builders assess the acoustic qualities of new buildings.

To help buyers learn what living there will be like before they sign a contract, Komula offers the following tips:

Make some noise in an adjacent unit. Have a companion turn on a radio, flush toilets, walk along the floors, and turn on bath and sink taps. Plumbing noise can be an issue when pipes are too small or transmit vibrations through the walls, he says. Check the layout of the floors in multistory buildings. See if compatible rooms are stacked. For example, rather than a kitchen or bath you want another bedroom above your bedroom. Look for dual-paned windows. Dual panes absorb more sounds. “Thicker panes and a wider air gap between the panes will increase sound reduction,” he says. Swap hollow interior doors for solid-core doors.

Quiet Construction

Builders are becoming increasingly cognizant of noise, and they know that “managing noise makes their multifamily projects more attractive to buyers,” says Komula. He recommends asking the builder, if possible, about construction details that enhance noise reduction.

Are the shared walls double walls? Two, rather than one 2 x 4 foot stud wall absorbs more noise by creating an air gap and separating the walls.

How many layers of drywall are on each side? Two layers absorb more noise than one.Do walls and ceilings use resilient metal channels that act as shock absorbers? Does the floor have a lightweight layer of concrete on the top? This adds mass, reducing the transmission of airborne and impact noise.

Additionally, Komula suggests buyers ask about the Sound Transmission Class rating for walls between units and levels, floor-ceiling construction, between units. Most states include a rating in their building codes. California’s minimum is 50. An STC rating of 65 indicates a very high quality in terms of noise reduction.

— By Camilla McLaughlin for REALTOR Magazine Online, April 27, 2007

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Top 10 List of Defects Found During Home Inspections

Recently, we've had a lot of home inspecions that have uncovered problems many of our buyers have never even considered. We often reccomend using US Inspect (www.USInspect.com) and they have a TOP 10 List of Defects commonly found during home inspections, here they are:

Top 10 Defects

Knowing what some of the usual situations our consultants discover during an inspection allows you to be a well-informed buyer. Over the years, and borrowing on over a half million inspections, here’s what we’ve discovered as the top 10 defects in most homes. Repair and replacement costs for such items could cost you thousands of dollars!

1. Roof leaks due to flashing and valley problems

2. Water penetration in the basement or crawlspace due to the surface water conditions

3. Electrical safety issues due to age of home

4. Deterioration of the wall material or substrate behind ceramic tile in shower and tub areas

5. Roof material failure due to age and deterioration

6. Heating unit and distribution system inequities due to age and workmanship or system compromises

7. Structural issues due to improper construction and/or alterations, or excessive unbalanced load (ie. Failing concrete block foundation wall)

8. Fire safety issues related to fireplace chimneys

9. Termite and other wood destroying organisms due the local environment and conducive conditions

10. On-site waste (septic) system failures usually due to lack of maintenance

U.S. Inspect strongly encourages home buyers to attend the inspection with our consultants. In our 2 to 3-hour walking consultation, you’ll learn all about your new home—first-hand information about the condition of the property, how the house operates, where the main shut-off valves to the utilities are located, and much more. And if defects are discovered during the inspection, we’ll explain the possible cause as well as your options to have those defects corrected.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Buyers in Charge: 4 Strategies

The good news: Rocky real estate markets mean home shoppers finally have the upper hand.
By George Mannes, Money Magazine senior writer
April 12 2007: 8:54 AM EDT

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -- You'll find no better experts on the real estate boom and bust than Joyce and Louis Bertulfo.

Between 2004 and 2006 the couple successfully navigated a hot San Jose housing market, buying and selling two homes for a profit.

By the time they relocated to Tampa with their three children this January, however, the winds had shifted. The pace of home sales in the area had fallen by 40 percent from a year earlier. Prices were already softening.

So Joyce, 32, and Louis, 33, spent weeks looking for just what they wanted (four bedrooms, three full baths and a three-car garage), adopting a decidedly more philosophical mind-set.

"We said, 'If this one doesn't work out, we'll find another house,'" says Joyce. When they saw the ideal home, they bargained hard. The house they finally bought, originally listed at $539,000, had been marked down to $479,000.

Still, the couple offered $410,000, 14 percent below the asking price. The sellers countered with $465,000. A few rounds later they met at $430,000.

"Now that we've settled in, we're just ecstatic," says Joyce.

Welcome to real estate's new reality, where prices are down, foreclosures are up, experts are jittery, and a lot of for sale signs are getting weather-beaten.

That may be bad news for homeowners, sellers and investors. Buyers on the other hand, have a rare point of advantage.

"We don't often have a buyer's market like we have now," says Ned Marrs, a longtime broker in Colorado Springs. "Every decade it happens for a year if we're lucky. Then it's a seller's market for another nine years."

Gene Trinks, 35, moved to the San Francisco Bay area in 2002, but the engineer couldn't bring himself to buy a house in that frenzied atmosphere. "People were just overbidding wildly," he says. "There was a danger of paying too much without regard for what a house is really worth."
In January, though, he and his girlfriend closed on a four-bedroom home in Oakland, paying $880,000 for a house originally listed at $979,000.

"We were the only offer, we bid below ask, and they accepted without any counters, which is a great position to be in as a buyer," says Trinks. "We could be a little bit more in control of the process."

As a buyer, you now have plenty of choice, as well as the upper hand in negotiations. You also still have the benefit of low interest rates. If you're tempted to upgrade yet worry that your home isn't worth what it was six months ago, keep in mind that the home you want to buy is worth less too.

Moreover, if prices have fallen at the same rate on all homes in your market, the discount, measured in dollars, will be bigger for a more expensive house.

Say you're in a $200,000 home and want to move up to a $500,000 home. Your cost of upgrading will be $300,000.

But if prices drop 10 percent, your current house is worth $180,000; the one you've got your eye on is worth $450,000. Cost to upgrade: $270,000.

Last fall Vinse and Kathryn Sullivan, 29 and 28, of Charleston, S.C., decided they wanted to move from their 2,000 square-foot home in the western part of the city to a larger one on the north side, putting them closer to Vinse's pharmaceutical-sales territory and giving them more space for their son Carter, 2, and daughter Kate, now nine months old. They listed their home, which they bought in 2003 for $215,000, for $358,000, and they expect to spend as much as $500,000 for a four-bedroom house with a home office.

Once they sell, the Sullivans are confident they can trade up. "I know I can pay the bills on a bigger house," says Vinse, "and at the end of the day, that's all that matters."

Vinse has that right. You can't be sure that a house you buy today won't lose more value before prices recover, but if you can pay well below what sellers were getting last year, you've already built in a comfortable cushion against price drops.

For extra protection, buy only if you can make a 10 percent to 20 percent down payment and heed the lessons from the current mortgage madness: Adjustable rates do adjust, and when you're paying interest-only, eventually you will have to pay the principal as well.

Can't afford to buy the home you want at today's fixed rates? Keep renting or look at cheaper homes. Once you jump into the market, follow these tips to make the most of your powerful position.

Free yourself to act fast Buying may be easy, but selling isn't, so you have to guard against getting stuck with two mortgages. The best way to avoid that trap is simply to sell first.

That's what Veronica and Maxwell Green, both 28, did last year after the birth of their baby. Realizing they were outgrowing their two-bedroom Tampa condo, they were desperate to find a bigger place. But they held off on house hunting until they had a sales contract on their condo.

"We didn't look. We didn't research. We didn't do anything," says Veronica. "We didn't want to find something we loved and not be able to sell our house."

Freed of their condo, they bid $275,000 for a four-bedroom home listed for $289,900. Two weeks later the seller took the offer.

Another option is to include a contingency clause in your purchase contract, which lets you exit the deal on your new home if you can't sell your old one. Shortly after the Sullivans put their home up for sale, they signed a contract to buy a newly built one but added a clause that they could bail on the deal if their home didn't sell by the time the new house was finished.

It didn't, but their only loss was $800 they paid for upgrades to the new house, which the developer subsequently sold. "Lesson learned," says Vinse. "I'm not losing sleep over it."

Know how strong you are The longer a house has been for sale, the more powerful your position as a bidder. "Time on market is a good indication that someone is likely to be really hungry," says Gary Eldred, author of "The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them)."

If you're browsing a public multiple-listing service, don't trust the date of that listing; sellers can game the system by briefly taking a home off the market, then re-listing it.

Ask your broker to look at the privileged MLS data, which details a home's full listing history, complete with time on market and any asking-price changes.

Pick allies carefully You can often hire an agent who works exclusively on your behalf. Typically, these buyer's brokers earn a 3% commission, usually paid by the seller (though if you buy from a seller using a discount broker, you may have to make up the difference).

Keep in mind that buyer's brokers, who theoretically work just for you, may have a financial incentive to push certain homes. In some markets builders and even individual sellers are offering higher-than-usual commissions to buyer's brokers, which can tempt your pro to skimp on negotiations or steer you to more costly houses.

Hire a broker who will work for a set fee or will sign a contract stipulating that his or her cut will be the same for any home you buy.

Wield your power If you see a house you like, chances are you can find another one that is similar. Exploit that advantage. Make demands you never would have dared ask for in crazier times, such as requiring the seller to make repairs or the builder to throw in free upgrades.

Sellers may be trying to make what their neighbors made two years ago, but they're too late, says broker Marrs.

Don't be afraid to start with an offer that's 15 percent below asking price.

In February, Joyce and Louis Bertulfo passed on a house over a $5,000 difference between their offer and the seller's. Where is it now? Still on the market, with the advertised asking price cut from $475,000 to $440,000, just $5,000 above their best offer.

Joyce's expert advice to sellers: "Buyers are scarce these days, so when you find some, don't let them go - especially over $5,000."

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Looser Lending Had Upside: New Homeowners

NPR: Morning Edition, April 9, 2007 · Subprime loans are likely to put upwards of a million Americans out of their homes through foreclosures. The payments on many of these unorthodox adjustable rate mortgages are going through the roof and homeowners can't afford them.
But at the same time, looser lending standards for more traditional kinds of loans permitted millions of Americans to buy homes in recent years ... and keep them. Some economists see that as a major achievement.

To hear this entire report, please visit: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9469959
by Chris Arnold

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Growing Number of U.S. States Mull Mortgage Refinance By Gilbert Le Gras

Tue Mar 27, 4:11 PM ET
A growing number of state housing agencies are developing or considering issuing bonds to assist subprime mortgage holders to refinance their obligations at fixed rates, officials at housing agencies said on Tuesday.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency intends to launch a refinance program on April 2 to accept applications from lenders. That program would be funded by taxable bonds issued probably later that same month in an amount likely around $100 million, said Bob Connell, director of debt management for the agency.

The aim is to allow low- to moderate-income mortgage holders who have not entered the foreclosure process to refinance their mortgages at a fixed rate likely around 6.75 percent, Connell said.

A U.S. Treasury official said the tax code places limits on such issuances through a series of "volume cap" rules.

Other states are implementing, drafting or considering similar measures.

"Maryland has had a similar refinancing program for subprime mortgages for the last few months," said Garth Rieman, director of housing advocacy at the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

Officials at Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development were not immediately available for comment.

In recent weeks, financial markets have been shaken by increasing delinquencies among subprime mortgages offered to borrowers with damaged credit. This has triggered concerns that the fallout may spread to mainstream lenders and damage the U.S. economy. For more on subprime mortgage markets, please see:

Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia are now "running or developing similar programs and are further along than other states," Rieman added.

Colorado, California, Washington and Wisconsin, meanwhile, have been inquiring about the details of such refinancing programs, Rieman said.

Indiana, meanwhile, is about to open a hotline to help homeowners facing foreclosure and is offering referrals to advisors who are able to assist with loss mitigation, while the state legislature is considering a bill that includes a public awareness campaign.

"We are not currently offering such a (refinancing) program," Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority spokeswoman Amber Seidler said.

"Tax exempt bonds are, pursuant to the IRS (U.S. Internal Revenue Service) Code, limited to being used to fund new mortgages, not refinancings," she added.

"A couple of other states have set up pilot programs utilizing taxable bonds to target subprime borrowers, but they are very new and we have not reached that stage of having a program ready to offer," Seidler said.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Major Changes to the Seller’s Disclosures in DC

There have been major changes to the Seller’s Disclosures in DC, this article from Sunday’s Washington Post details those changes and clarifies some of the confusion that is out there regarding the new disclosures.

New Requirements Govern Seller's Disclosure in the District

By Benny L. Kass
Saturday, March 24, 2007; F07

Q: I am a real estate broker in the District. I understand that effective Feb. 9, we have been required to provide potential home buyers with a new Seller's Disclosure Statement, and that once a buyer gets that statement, they have the right to cancel their sales contract by giving written notice to the seller no later than five days after receipt of the form.

Here's my problem: On Jan. 20, I obtained a listing agreement from a seller and was fortunate to get a full-price contract on Feb. 4. The contract purchaser was provided with the Seller Disclosure Statement then in existence.

The buyer has not gone to settlement yet. Must I provide the new form to that purchaser? I am concerned that the purchaser may get buyer's remorse and use the new form as an excuse to terminate the contract.

A On Feb. 9, the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs published a revised Seller's Disclosure Statement in the D.C. Register, which means that the requirement to provide the new form became effective that day.

First, I have to correct one of your statements. According to the regulations promulgated by the District (17 DCMR Chapter 27, ?2708.13), "the Seller, not the broker and not the management company, condominium, cooperative or homeowners association" is required to complete the form.

If the property in question consists of one to four residential units and the transaction involves a sale, exchange, installment land sale, a lease with an option to purchase or any other option to purchase, the disclosure form must be provided to a potential buyer. The purchaser must express an interest, in writing, in residing in the property in question. This requirement will normally be met in the sales contract itself.

The disclosure requirement does not apply in the following situations:

Court-ordered transfer.

Foreclosure sale.

Transfer by a fiduciary (such as a personal representative, guardian or conservator) if the person conveying the property was not personally occupying it.

Transfer between parents and children, or from one spouse to another.

Sale of a newly constructed property that has never been lived in.

Generally, the disclosure statement must be provided to a potential purchaser in all other circumstances.

Although the new form contains more detailed information about the property, it is easier to read than the previous one and is more logical. It consists of many subtopics broken down in four general areas: structural condition, operating condition of property systems, appliances and fixtures, and exterior and environmental issues. For all practical purposes, however, the substance is the same.

What rights does a potential buyer have under the law?

When the buyer is given the disclosure statement, he has five calendar days in which to terminate the sales contract by giving written notice to the seller. However, this right to terminate is waived if not exercised before:

The buyer applies for a mortgage loan and the lender discloses in writing that the right to rescind will terminate when the loan application is made.

Settlement on the property takes place.

The person with a lease with an option to purchase begins to occupy the property.

The seller of a condominium unit, cooperative apartment or a house in a homeowners association is obligated to disclose information as to the unit or house only, not the common elements or areas outside of the property being sold.

Can a buyer rely on the disclosures provided by the seller? That's a legal question that the courts in the District have not yet addressed. The form specifically states, "This statement is not a warranty of any kind by the seller or by any agent representing the seller in this transaction, and is not a substitute for any inspections or warranties the buyer may wish to obtain."

Nevertheless, the statement is a disclosure by the seller of the defects or information actually known by the seller. Thus, while all buyers should obtain an independent home inspection and make their sales contract contingent upon receiving a favorable inspection report, the fact remains that if the seller makes material misstatements or omissions in the disclosure form, the buyer may have a legal case.

You asked whether the new disclosure form should be provided to contract purchasers, even though they have already received the old form. Connie Maffin, who heads the D.C. Real Estate Board, told me that she is "encouraging everyone to immediately use the new form on new and existing listings."

According to Maffin, the law is in effect, and although the board will not immediately enforce violations in the immediate future, sellers are required to honor the law.

Does this mean that a buyer who receives a second form has another chance to terminate the contract? That is another legal issue that has no definitive answer. Because the new disclosure statement is substantially similar in content to the old form, and because the potential buyer already had the opportunity to cancel when he received the older form, a strong argument could be made that the court will not permit the termination. Sellers and buyers should consult their own counsel for more specific legal advice.

Benny L. Kass is a Washington lawyer. For a free copy of the booklet "A Guide to Settlement on Your New Home," send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Benny L. Kass, Suite 1100, 1050 17th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. Readers may also send questions to him at that address or contact him through his Web site, http://www.kmklawyers.com

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

D.C. Officials Look To Help Homeowners Keep Homes

WASHINGTON -- The D.C. City Council said it is trying to help homeowners who are having trouble making their mortgage payments, saying it is crafting legislation that will crack down on foreclosure rescue scams and subprime mortgage money.

Inday Williams said an inflated mortgage led to $8,000 in missed payments on his home, leading to a threatened foreclosure if he did not come up with the money in 30 days.

Williams said that's when he turned to someone that had contacted him, promising to loan him the $8,000 and allowing Williams to keep his home.

Williams said it wasn't until he tried to repay the loan that he realized that he had been the victim of a bait-and-switch scam and he no longer owned his house.

Experts said foreclosures are at their highest rate in 40 years. Last year, the District had 2,900 foreclosures, officials said. By February of this year, the city already had 700, experts said, on pace to a record.

As property appreciates and increasing numbers of subprime loans go to unqualified buyers, experts said, foreclosures will continue to rise and scam artists will find fertile ground to snatch equity or property.

District officials said they are now looking to create legislation that would tighten protection for homeowners.

source: nbc4.com

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Don't Forget to 'Spring Forward' One Hour this Weekend!

Due to new legislation, Daylight Savings now occurs on the 2nd Sunday in March (March 11th) instead of the initially scheduled date of Sunday, April 1st.

Check your PC and other systems to make sure they update properly on Sunday due to the above change.

The legislative change also modifies when Daylight Savings ends. It will now end on the first Sunday in November (November 4th) instead of October 28th.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

What You Should Know about Homeowner's Insurance

In the last few days several of our buyers have been shopping around for homeowner's insurance and asking me interesting questions about homeowner's insurance. I wanted to share this Q and A entitled "What You Should Know about Homeowner's Insurance"

By Mesha Pittman, Long & Foster Insurance Sales Agent

Q: Is there more than one type of homeowner's insurance policy?

A: There are different types of insurance policies that provide different levels of coverage offered by a variety of companies. Some policies only cover your assets at an "Actual Cash Value" which is depreciated over time. Other's provide "Replacement Cost", based on today's cost. While others may provide an "Extended Replacement Cost" which will give you additional coverage as the value of your assets appreciate over time. To assure you are protected, talk to a professional insurance agent to discuss your specific coverage needs.

Q: How much coverage do I need for my home?

A: The amount of coverage you need is based on the amount it would cost the insurance company to repair or rebuild your home should it suffer a covered loss. This amount may differ from the purchase price as it is based on materials and labor, not current market value.

Q: Does my homeowner's policy cover my personal property outside of the home?

A: Personal property owned or used by an insured is covered while it is anywhere in the world; however, certain classes of property are specifically excluded or have special limits of liability that are lower than the overall policy limits for certain types of losses such as theft.

Q: What procedures are used to process a homeowner's insurance claim?

A: Once a claim is filed, a claim adjustor or representative will inspect the loss, determine if there is coverage for the loss, estimate what it would cost to indemnify the claimant, then pay for the loss as it is covered by the policy.

For more information about Long and Foster Insurance, Click Here.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

The Good Enough House

The Good Enough House - Perfection Isn't Possible, So Compromise Is Key

By Dan Rafter
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, February 17, 2007; F01

Jeff Wynne looked at more than 30 houses before he finally purchased his Colonial in Chevy Chase.

And even that one had not been an instant hit. Wynne toured the house at least five times -- with so many houses, his memory is a bit fuzzy -- before making an offer in late 2004.

Why so much debate? Two factors about his new home bothered him so much that he was almost willing to forgo all the positives, which included a great neighborhood, dream kitchen, 10-foot ceilings, stellar floor plan and loads of amenities. The problems? The house had no garage and barely any back yard.

Few people are fortunate enough to find their ideal home, that one residence that has everything they want and nothing they don't.

More often, buyers find a house that is perfect in many ways. It may sit in an ideal neighborhood, be close to good schools and boast the right number of rooms. But there might be an in-ground swimming pool in the back yard and the buyers don't swim and don't want the hassles of maintenance. Maybe there's a huge wet bar in the basement and the buyers haven't had a drink in years. Maybe there's a mother-in-law suite that serves no purpose.

In such cases, buyers face a decision: Do they purchase the house anyway and ignore the items they don't like, remove them or find another use for them? Or do they continue their search?
The answer depends on whether buyers are willing to overlook one negative for all the positives. And it's what Wynne had to ask himself: Did the good things about the house outweigh the two problems?

He struggled to picture his three children squeezing all their outdoor fun into the sliver of a yard. He struggled, too, to imagine himself happily scraping ice off a car parked in a driveway instead of tucked inside a garage.

But after seeing so many houses, Wynne realized one thing: No place is perfect. This house, despite its problems, was a far better value than any of the others he had toured.

So Wynne decided to live with a small back yard and no garage.

"I'm very happy here," he said. "It's a great place for my kids to be, too. The neighborhood is wonderful. Yes, I had to sacrifice something I thought I wanted. But, as it turns out, that hasn't been too much of a sacrifice at all." After all, winters here aren't all that long, and modern kids spend more time in supervised activities than they do running around the back yard.

Other buyers, though, might have passed on the house. The key, agents say, is for buyers to understand which negatives they can live with and which they cannot.

"There is almost always something about the house that isn't 100 percent what you want," said Melinda Estridge, a real estate agent with the Bethesda office of Long & Foster. "When you're dealing with couples, very few times will both buyers absolutely love it. There is always something they'll have to give on, one way or the other. For some, it's storage space. Others, it's the kitchen. To please everyone, there are always going to be compromises."

Sellers can make the process easier by providing potential buyers with the information they need to make an informed decision. If a buyer loves a house but hates its in-ground pool, the seller may provide the buyers with the names of contractors who fill in unwanted pools.

The buyer then has an idea of what such a project would cost and can plan to fill in the pool after buying the residence, request that the sellers handle it before the sale or simply pass on the home and continue searching.

Buyers may also conclude that a home is a bargain even with problems. "They might decide that the home is a good enough value that they'd be willing to overlook or work to change those features they don't really like," said Ethel Mayer, a real estate agent with the Bethesda Gateway office of Long & Foster.

There are certain features of a house that can't ever be changed. These are mostly location issues: A house sits on a busy street. Railroad tracks run past the back yard. But many other features can be changed easily. That bar in the basement can disappear with a call or two to a contractor, for instance.

If a house offers enough positive features and is priced reasonably, buyers rarely allow a curable defect to prevent them from making an offer, said Reid Butterfield, a real estate agent with the Bethesda office of Re/Max Realty Services.

But negatives can make a difference when buyers are debating between two similar homes. Here's an example from Butterfield: Buyers find a house they like in all ways except for one. They want a master bedroom on the main level, and all the bedrooms are on the second floor.
Say these buyers then find a house that does have a bedroom on the first floor. The home's other amenities, its kitchen, bathrooms and finishes, aren't quite as nice as those of the first house. But because of the ground-floor bedroom, the buyers decide to sink their money into this residence instead of the other.

"Most of the people buying houses in this area, especially, are a pretty savvy bunch," Butterfield said. "They know what they want when they see it. There are certain features that they won't like, and will influence them to look elsewhere."

One such feature may be a pool. There are a lot of buyers who have absolutely no desire to deal with one.

"I've found that it's much better to have a friend or neighbor with a pool than to have one yourself, especially when you're selling your house," Butterfield said. "There are people who won't even look at a house with a pool."

Charlotte Peyton has been dealing with this issue for a few weeks.

Peyton put her home in McLean on the market early this month. She's confident that the house has enough strengths, and is priced well enough, to attract interest. However, it does have a pool, and that may be a problem.

The pool, which drops to six feet deep, was there when Peyton bought the house a little more than three years ago. At the time she didn't want it, but she, her husband and her children have since learned to love it. Maintenance hasn't been much of a burden, she said.

But she is aware that many buyers have no interest in a pool. She has obtained an estimate for how much it would cost to fill in -- about $6,500 -- and is now debating whether she should simply pay to fill it in herself or provide the estimate during showings so that would-be buyers can have the information.

"I don't want people to think it will cost $40,000 to fill it in," Peyton said. "If they find out it's under $10,000, maybe they'll be more willing to deal with it. Or maybe we'll just find a buyer who really does want a pool. You never know. It'd be a shame to fill in the pool. It's really a nice pool."

Harry Brubaker, a real estate agent with ZipRealty in McLean, recently worked with a couple who toured several houses around the region. They finally found a house in Arlington that they liked -- mostly.

The home was in a nice neighborhood, was close to good schools, had nice features and was near both of the buyers' jobs.

There was only one problem: an extensive mother-in-law suite with a separate kitchen and its own entrance. The buyers had no interest in a separate suite and could think of it only as wasted space.

After much thought, the couple decided to buy the house -- its upside outweighed its one negative. Instead they will renovate to turn the mother-in-law suite into a play area and recreation room for themselves and their children.

In many cases, Brubaker said, buyers will overcome an objection if the rest of the house works. Inevitably, he said, people are creative enough to envision the home without the objectionable feature.

"We basically looked at the pros and cons of all the houses we had seen that day," Brubaker said of his clients. "They decided that the mother-in-law suite was something they could overlook for the time being. They could work with it in the future, they decided. And, not more than a couple of months after they bought the house, that's exactly what they decided to do."

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Instant home alarm!

If you can't afford a home alarm system or don't want the bother of
having one installed and worry about our safety, there's a very
inexpensive alternative! We forget about a very simple device that most
of us already own and could save our lives. Keep your car key chain next
to your bed at night. If you have a thief or other person breaking in,
click the panic button on your key chain setting off your car honking
loudly outside your house or in your garage. Everyone in the
neighborhood will be alerted. Either the person breaking in will be
scared off or the car will keep honking until you shut it off or the
neighbors call the police and come to your aid.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

And you thought prices in DC were too high!

Tiny London apartment on sale for $335K
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press

Location, location, location. Almost anywhere else, the tiny dilapidated studio wouldn't attract much more than mice. But this is London and the 77-square-foot former storage room — slightly bigger than a prison cell and without electricity — is going for $335,000.

The closet-sized space in the exclusive Knightsbridge neighborhood may be only "about the size of a ship's galley, said real estate agent Andrew Scott, who's handling the sale. "But it's permanently anchored to one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the world."

At more than $4,340 a square foot, the mortgage buys a spot within walking distance of tony stores like Harrods and London's iconic Hyde Park. Originally conceived as a maid's room, the apartment at 18 Cadogan Place hasn't been used for years and is littered with trash bags and crumbling paint.

A coffin-sized shower is en suite, and storage is provided by a shallow closet and 10-inch-deep shelves cut into the wall. Two hot plates and a small sink make up the kitchen. Two dirty windows allow light to filter into the basement room, and the fire escape could conceivably double as a shared patio.

With no electricity or heating, Scott said it would cost an additional $59,000 to make the room habitable.

"It is an investment," he said, as he stretched his arms the width of the room, laying his palms flat on opposite sides of the wall.

The sale of this dark, mildewy room illustrates the astronomical rise in property values across London, which in the past year has seen average residential property prices increase 22.4 percent, to about $703,000, according to figures released Monday by Rightmove, which tracks the British property market.

Prices in London's most desirable neighborhoods have grown even faster, with average house prices in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea — where Cadogan Place is located — rising 61.8 percent over the past year to a jaw-dropping $2.2 million.

Ultra high-end property prices in London are the most expensive in the world, with some recent sales hitting $5,900 per square foot — making the Cadogan Place studio a bargain by comparison, according to research published last year by CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

Similar properties in New York can go for about $5,300 per square foot, while those in Hong Kong sell at around $3,950 per square foot.

Scott said he already had three offers on the property, which might go to auction. Size, he added, is in the "eye of the beholder."

"If you thought of this as the cabin on a boat, you'd say, 'It's pretty spacious,' " Scott said.

Judge: Seinfeld to Pay Realtor Fee

According to the National Realty News ...

"NEW YORK - A New York judge has ruled against comedian Jerry Seinfeld in a dispute over a commission on a real estate transaction. Seinfeld was ordered to pay real estate broker Tamara Cohen $98,000 after allegedly trying to avoid giving her a sales commission by buying directly from the owner of an Upper West Side townhouse, the New York Post reported Sunday. Seinfeld tried to avoid paying the commission because Cohen, a Jew who observes the Sabbath, was not available when Seinfeld wanted to view the house, the Post said. In accordance with Jewish law, Cohen's phone was turned off on the particular Saturday when Seinfeld and his wife wanted to view the house. The only real issue here ... is whether the broker's fee was 5 or 6 percent, the judge said in the ruling. Cohen could get as much as $118,500 if the fee is found to be 6 percent."

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index Suggests the Housing Market is Stabilizing

RISMEDIA, Jan. 5, 2007-(CNN.com)-Pending sales of existing U.S. homes fell 0.5% in November but held above the low hit in July, suggesting the housing market is stabilizing, a real estate agents' trade association said on Thursday.

The trade association said there was a smaller decrease in home sales from year-ago levels as a sign that the troubled U.S. housing market was stabilizing.

"The index is pointing toward fairly stable home sales in the near future," David Lereah, chief economist for the trade association said in a statement. "That is another indicator that home sales likely bottomed-out in September."

Home sales climbed the two months after September.

The index covers pending sales of existing single-family units, condominiums and co-ops. A home sale is pending when a contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed.

Pending sales typically close within one or two months of contract signing.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

An open letter to sellers …

Dear sellers, we feel your pain. We really do. It’s no fun to have your house on the market right now, or even if you’re one of the lucky sellers and you actually have an offer on your house. It’s just no fun. We want you to know, you’re not alone. There are lots of sellers out there right now, waiting for the phone to ring and only hearing the sound of crickets chirping. The market is adjusting rapidly, and it’s different on a daily basis. Clearly the market is not what it was two years ago. But if you went on the market just a few months ago, today’s market feels different.

Today’s home buyers

The buyers who are out there today are a completely different breed of buyer than you were. If you bought your home in the last four or five years, you were a real risk taker. You flew from open house to open house, possibly with an offer in your hand. You waived home inspections, appraisals, financing contingencies. You wrote offers well above the asking price, with ginormous earnest money deposits. You ignored all advice from fathers-in-law and office mates. You knew what you had to do and you did it. You leapt before you looked, and you accepted the consequences.

You made the real estate market fun!

You desperately wanted to get into the market, and you stopped at nothing to make that dream a reality. And you were amply rewarded for your chutzpah. You got a house (at a time when it was close to impossible), and you got to take advantage of that tide of appreciation that raised all boats. In all likelihood, your home is worth much more today than you paid for it.

Now, if you can only get a buyer to make an offer!

What you should understand is that buyers today are much more risk averse and circumspect than you were. Being risk averse and circumspect were not options for you. If you wanted to buy a home, you had to throw caution to the wind. Today’s buyers don’t have to, and they’re not going to, and you can’t make them. Nyah.

Today’s buyers are all those folks who didn’t have the stomach for your market. They wanted to wait until that market cooled down. They refused to play the reindeer games. They would not be bullied by sellers into making ridiculous offers. They created and pored over Excel spreadsheets that told them that those rapidly inflating prices were totally unsustainable. They hemmed and hawed, and waited. While you were painting your new powder room, glad to be out of the frenetic pace of buying, they fretted about their quality of life and worried being “house poor.” They commiserated with each other about the market, and they sought advice from all and sundry. Luckily for you, you just sat back and watched your investment grow. You showed them.

Well, now, all those risk-averse buyers are back. And they’re mad. And they’ve got muscle. And they’re using it. On you.

Buyers today have a couple of very notable options that were unavailable to you --- choice and time. There is incredible inventory out there today, which means that buyers can be choosy. And they can take their time doing it. They may see a hundred homes before making an offer. They may go back to homes they sorta kinda like, two or three times, or more. They may sit with their agent and write an offer … and then take the evening to “sleep on it.” And then NOT PRESENT THAT OFFER AT ALL because they want to see more properties.

All of this would be anathema to you. You would just do it. Pull the trigger already. Buy a house, for crying out loud, you’d scream at them.

Negotiations

When a buyer actually does write an offer on your property, first of all, you must consider yourself lucky. It will seem very hard to do. Please understand, though, that if you receive an offer, you’re way ahead of 90% of the other sellers out there that month. The offer will seem unbelievably low. Just prepare yourself now. Your knee-jerk response will be to tell the buyer’s agent to kiss your foot. Resist the urge. Please. Forget that the buyer’s agent set off your burglar alarm and then didn't lock the door behind herself. Forget that you overheard the buyer insulting your grandmother's antique dining table. Forget that the buyer’s agent called just as you were putting your fussy baby down for a nap and HAD TO SHOW YOUR HOUSE RIGHT THEN. Remember, you’re lucky to even have an offer. Keep repeating that. I’m lucky. I’m lucky. I’m luuuuucccckkkky.

A buyer who writes an offer on your home has probably seen many, many other homes. He or she knows that there are many other options out there --- possibly hundreds. That there are so many options WILL be factored into the buyer’s offer to purchase your home. And the offer may seem quite low. Resist the urge to reject such an offer. Remember how long it took to get it. Even the lowest offer should be rejected only after very careful thought. If the offer isn’t to your liking, hold your nose and make a counter offer.

Home inspections

So, you’ve gotten an offer (disgustingly low as it was), you’ve negotiated with a recalcitrant buyer and his idiot agent for the last 10 days, and you’re now officially UNDER CONTRACT. Whew. Thank goodness that’s over! But don’t start spending your money so fast. You’re only in the eye of the hurricane. The winds will start whipping in the other direction soon … you’ve still got to get through the home inspection.

The buyer’s offer will probably be contingent on a satisfactory home inspection. It’s also quite possible that you never had a home inspection when you purchased it. If there are any niggling issues that you know of, address them now, before going on the market if possible. Nearly every home inspection reveals something the seller was unaware of. If what has been revealed is something that you would fix if you were going to continue living in the home (a cracked hot water heater, a roof leak, etc.), you should probably agree to fix it, whether it would be required under the contract or not. If it’s a safety or habitability issue, address it. This is not the time to flat-out refuse to do something that a buyer asks for, no matter how ridiculous it sounds to you. Now is the time to negotiate around these issues. Steel yourself now.

A note about disclosure. If your home inspection reveals defects that you didn’t know about and you are not able to come to terms with the buyer, you may be required to disclose those defects to other prospective buyers. (Check with your agent or a local real estate attorney.) Such disclosure may (ok, probably will) dampen enthusiasm for your home, thereby reducing your home’s market value. You’re probably better off trying to come to terms with the buyer, as hard as it may be to swallow in the moment.

Appraisals

As the market continues to adjust, we are seeing more and more appraisal issues cropping up. So, even though you’ve agreed to sell the property for a price below what you’d hoped, and you’ve agreed to shell out money to fix the loose toilet seat after the home inspection, and you’ve agreed to give the buyer money to help pay for her closing costs --- now the appraiser says the house is worth LESS than you’ve agreed to accept. Aaargh.

The good news

There’s a sense among some analysts that the market is shifting, for the better. "We've probably seen the worst of the housing slump, although it may not have entirely bottomed out yet," says Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. "Lower mortgage rates should help stimulate activity in the housing market."

With the mid-term elections over, the free-floating anxiety about the political scene has dissipated, which has kept some buyers out of the market. Plus, there will be a new crop of politicians and staff members moving into the area. While some of them will initially rent, many will enter our housing market as buyers. More buyers looking at the same inventory may also create additional urgency in the market.

All of which is good.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

• Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
• Feeling nosy about Virginia?
• Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

The importance of staging ...

During Friday’s Washington Post Real Estate Live discussion with Maryann Haggerty, the topic of staging came up and the content is great, and exactly what we are always telling our sellers:

"Alexandria, Va.: Maryann, love your column. Having recently sold my home within three weeks (we received multiple offers in early October) I have some advice for sellers: Get rid of the clutter. We rented a $99 a month storage unit and rid our home of all the clutter. Make sure your home is clean and fresh looking. We put fresh flowers out. Make sure the house shows well. Spend that extra money on paint and carpet if necessary. We updated light fixtures and added crown molding ourselves. You have to price your house accordingly. We had our realtor pull comps every week and we reduced our price one time (we had two offers several days later)."

"Maryann Haggerty: Yes, a house that sells now is one that sparkles. And it's truly amazing how we become blind to the small faults and the clutter in houses we live in every day."

This is not 2000 to 2005, when people were buying houses with no inspections and were willing to overlook all the little things. Think about it. Do you even notice, say, the grubby kid fingerprints on your own front door? But wouldn't those be the FIRST thing you noticed at an open house?

When you get ready to place your home on the market for sale, it becomes a product. Similar to a product on the shelf at your local store, the product has features and benefits, as well as pluses and minuses ... and competition. To compete with the competition in the marketplace you must be priced right and look better than the other products. Your home is no different, it is one of many homes for sale and you must present it, to the buyers, in the best possible light. Staging is the process of preparing any home for sale, regardless of price or location, and it works. Staged homes sell faster and for more money than other homes in the market.

Feeling Nosy about DC? VA? MD?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

• Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
• Feeling nosy about Virginia?
• Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

We know you have QUESTIONS about real estate!

Twice a month, Maryann Haggerty (The Washington Post's Real Estate Editor) hosts an online discussion about the local housing market. The next discussion will be tomorrow at 1:00 pm. If you submit questions ahead of time, she may answer them live during the discussion. To submit a question, click here.

Feeling Nosy about DC? VA? MD?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

• Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
• Feeling nosy about Virginia?
• Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

RealAstute.com Home Team's Michael Dillon quoted in Washington Post

This morning's Metro section featured an article about the D.C. police department's new web-based crime-mapping tool, which allows anyone to create a map of a sliver of the city and immediately see what crimes have happened there this year. Quoted prominently is our very own Michael Dillon!

Feeling Nosy about DC? VA? MD?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

• Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
• Feeling nosy about Virginia?
• Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Positive Price Changes in DC

by Mary Jo Powell, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems

With the exception of Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia, sold prices in and immediately surrounding Washington, DC were up for the month of September, according to figures released today by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS).

“Sold prices rose a substantial 10.76% over September of 2005 in DC,” said Economist John McClain, of George Mason University. “That, coupled with gains in the areas close-in might signify that the market is still strong for neighborhoods that don’t involve a lengthy commute, given today’s rising gasoline prices and traffic congestion.”

And McClain points to hopeful signs in outlying Loudoun County, as well. “Even though the average sold price is down over September of 2005 in Loudon, it’s markedly better than the 14.22% drop experienced in August of ’06.”

McClain says he anticipates that a closer look at the figures will show that the condo market is primarily responsible for driving prices down, due to speculators’ unloading, and that townhouses and single family homes are still holding their own.

Average Selling Prices for September 2006 ---

Winners

• Washington, DC: $564,200 (UP 10.76% from September 2005)
• Prince George’s County, MD: $342,664 (UP 6.47% from September 2005)
• Montgomery County, MD: $517,823 (UP 1.52% from September 2005

Losers

• Frederick County, MD: $368,894 (DOWN 4.30% from September 2005)
• Alexandria, VA: $476,551 (DOWN 5.03% from September 2005)
• Fairfax County, VA: $514,124 (DOWN 6.01% from September 2005)
• Loudoun, VA: $514,068 (DOWN 4.79% from September 2005)
• Fauquier County, VA: $405,716 (DOWN 33.95 % from September 2005)
• Warren, VA: $255,798 (DOWN 6.69% from September 2005)

Feeling Nosy about DC? VA? MD?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

• Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
• Feeling nosy about Virginia?
• Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Feeling Nosy about DC? VA? MD?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

• Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
• Feeling nosy about Virginia?
• Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!