State of the Market

As we wind down 2011 and head into 2012, I think it is a good idea to give you a few of my thoughts on the market and what to expect in the next year. 2011 was an erratic year for real estate in the Washington area. What looked liked to be shaping up as a decent year this past spring came to a screeching halt when congress got caught up in the budget crisis. The situation never really got better as we passed from one crisis to another. Right now with the uncertain financial situation in Europe the market remains in the doldrums. It is hard to find much in the way of consumer confidence when everybody is worried about the global financial situation. The problem is not being helped by the partisan battles that continue to plague our own congress.

The good news is that there will be a housing recovery and prices are bound to go up. The bad news is that nobody really seems to know when this will happen. Some areas in our regions have felt the pain a lot more than others. The western portion of Montgomery County is doing well and the District seems to be one of the strongest real estate markets in the nation. But the rest of the region is still bothered by low prices, high inventory and an abnormal number of distressed properties that keep prices depressed.

But there is one thing that I do know and feel pretty confident about. Recessions do eventually end and when they do, area property values in this area should rebound and prove to be very healthy. I firmly believe that the Washington area is one of the best places to own property. My 25 plus years in the industry and proved this to me. We are going to be just fine. Just be patient and give it a little time.

B&O Museum in Baltimore.

For my birthday, my lovely wife took me to see the B&O Railroad Museum in downtown Baltimore. I highly recommend this place to every boy who ever loved trains. The museum features an amazing array of rail cars and locomotives dating from the early 1800s to more recent years. The main exhibit hall is the old restored roundhouse which in itself is a sight worth seeing. While you are in Baltimore you can stop in a get a bowl of homemade Maryland crab soup at the Penn Carry out Restaurant located at 663 West Pratt Street.

Mold in the home

Here is a link to a recent debate about buyer agency and mold in a home when there is a purchase contract. There are two lessons to be learned here. One is that it really is best for the buyers in a home purchase transaction to have their own representation. The seller's agent has an obligation to treat buyers fairly but whenever an agent is wearing "two hats" in a transaction there is always a greater potential for conflict. The second lesson is that if you are looking at a home and see mold, the a little red flag should go up in your head. Mold in itself is not necessarily a dangerous issue but if it is present in a home, then you need to be aware that the lender usually is going to have problems with it if the problem is not remediated before settlement.

Sweet home in Capitol View Park

Hi all,

I just put this home on the market in Captiol View Park. It is one of the nicest listings that I have had over the years. I really do love the older ones.

Market update for Maryland

Here is a great site where you can stay in touch with the Maryland and Regional Markets.

It is called rbintel

Cool old bungalow.

I have driven by this house on Randolph Rd. in Glenmont for the past 45 years. I always though it was "so cool' It is a 1920s style bungalow built in the shape of a parallelogram. Unfortunately some fool "modernized it with cheap vinyl siding and ugly replacement windows. It used to be a lovely example of the period and could be again with a little work.

I don't ever think I have seen another house built in this irregular pattern.

Spring in Hillandale

This is a great time of year in my community. My wife and I have the job of going through the neighborhood and selecting the winners of the Hillandale Home and Garden Awards-which we do three times a year. We are assisted by some able judges who are all long term residents of Hillandale. We find it fun to do as the neighborhood is full of azaleas and flowering trees. Everything just looks beautiful this time of year. Old Hillandale is the show piece and is well worth a drive through but the rest of the neighborhood looks lovely as well. There is a lot of pride of ownership in Hillandale and spring brings out the best.

Why I can't stand Verizon.

A few years back they convinced me to get FIOS. I got it for the faster internet speed but they conviced me that it was a good thing to upgrade my phone system to fios as well. Ok, so they forgot to tell me that the old copper wire system would still work in a power outage but that fios would not. But hey, Fios comes with a cool battery powered back-up system that will run your phones for about eight hours after the lights go out so I did not sweat it too much. But nooooooooo.....Now after two years the battery has died and the dang box in the basement beeps all the time to let me know that I need a new battery. I called the nice folks at Verizon. (20 minute wait) and the guy there told me that I am responsible for replacing the battery and it only comes with a one year warranty. You mean to say that this battery back up which has only come into use one or two times (and was of no use when the power went out for a week) now has to be replaced on my dime. And get this! The battery cost a cool 100 bucks if you order it from Verizon! ( You can go to Radio Shack and get one for much less). The big queston for me is am I going to have to replace this thing every other year? I am sure that this stuff is all in the agreement that I signed. You know the terms of service agreement that comes with everything you buy these days. I am sure most of you read these things but I somehow neglected to do so. Right now, I am thinking that there is somebody in the marketing department at Verizon who needs to come get my dead battery and shove it up his........... Oh, never mind.

Going Green Redux-Refrigerators

(article written by my wife, Elizabeth)

In Montgomery County, approximately 1/3 of our greenhouse gas emissions come from our homes. Refrigerators use the most energy out of all home appliances. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, pay close attention to your refrigerator. According to Pepco, a refrigerator purchased prior to 1993 often uses more than twice the energy of a new ENERGY STAR qualified model. On average, a unit from that era costs over $50 MORE per year to operate than the latest efficient models. Models from 1980 and earlier are estimated to cost an ADDITIONAL $150 to operate annually!
Excess use of energy and the wear and tear on your wallet can really add up. Utilities in some parts of the US and in other countries are actually paying customers to get rid of these old refrigerators. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any references to this kind of “cash for clunkers” in Maryland. However, many new refrigerators do qualify for special energy star rebates.
If you are keeping that extra refrigerator or freezer around simply for convenience, think this through very carefully. We all really do not to be paying attention to how much energy we use. And take a close look at Pepco’s Home Energy Savings details to determine what you should do about the refrigerator in your kitchen. Go to http://homeenergysavings.pepco.com/md/faq#refrigerator .
Your neighbor is not going to peek into your home to see what you are doing – and neither will this editor. But all of your neighbors will benefit when we all take steps to reduce our impact on our fair planet. AND – KEEP THAT REFRIGERATOR DOOR CLOSED!

Silver Spring Stage-a good cheap date.

Elizabeth and I have been to a number of performances at the Silver Spring Stage over the years and have always had a great time. Located in the lower depths of the Woodmoor Shopping Center in Four Corners, the SS Stage is an all volunteer troupe with a long history of providing excellent community theater. Tickets for adults run around twenty bucks which is a pretty fair bargain in today's market. We have never been disappointed by a show there and there is not a single bad seat in the house-primarily because it is a pretty small venue. We love it and you should see it for yourself.

National Building Museum

For a birthday treat I took Elizabeth (my wife) downtown to the National Building Museum for a few hours to take a look see. There are some nice things there-a few interesting exhibits including a cool exhibit of giant buildings made entirely of Legos. (great for kids). However, the real item of interest is the actual building itself. The Museum is now housed in what used to be called the Pension Office. Designed and built after the civil war by the amazing Montgomery Meigs this brick building is one of the finest in Washington DC. And, it nearly got demolished before wiser heads stepped in and saved it. On a winter's day you can go down and have a great visit without having to experience any sort of crowds or the overwhelming security one might find at the more mainstream DC attractions.

Go see it. It is time well spent.

Lincoln Cottage at The Old Soldier's Home

For a birthday treat, my wife took me down to the grounds of the Old Soldier's Home in Washington, DC to see the Lincoln Cottage. This was the summer home that Ole Abe used for three summers while he was president. The home has only been recently restored but it is a fascinating place for a fun day trip. It is a typical summer retreat for the era and if you are a fan of old houses, you will love this. Since the museum is very new and fighting for funding just like everybody else in this recession, the home is very sparsely furnished so in many ways the tour is not as interesting as say, The Douglass House in Anacostia or the The Tudor Mansion in Georgetown. They just have not had the time or experience to put together a polished tour and the separate museum building is a little lacking. The tour and museum seem to have been set up for school tours and really won't impart anything new to someone who already knows something about Abe Lincoln (that would be most of us). I might add that the grounds are very large and accommodate the VA hospital, The Soldier's Home and the first National Cemetery where over 5,000 Union soldiers are buried. Many of the buildings are quite old and lovely, and once on the grounds you can pretty much wander anywhere. A rare treat in this day of heavy security.

Round house!

Here is a cool house that I have driven by a few times in the past few years. My wife and I were in the Brookland section of DC near Catholic U and I had my camera with me this time. The house is located on the corner of 10th and Irving in NE. I just love the look but boy it would be hard to put a roof on this one!

Light at the end of the tunnel?

A recent article in the Washington Post indicated that the Washington area is one of the few metropolitan areas in the country where home prices have not declined over the past year. According to the Post, Montgomery County saw about a 2% increase in sales prices over the same period last year. Well, it is not bad news but must be taken with a grain of salt. The housing market is still very soft and prices are very low. In Montgomery County there is a wide gulf between the west portion of the county vs the eastern portion. The west which includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac currently has a very strong market and I would say it is there where we have seen the price of home increase over the year. The east part of the county continues to suffer from an overabundance of listings with many distressed properties dragging the overall market down. I have not see any price increases in the east county. If anything the average price of a home has dropped over the past year. However, all is not doom and gloom. A recent survey of my neighborhood (Hillandale) shows that there is about 23-25 homes on the market but almost 40% of those are under contract pending sales. Some of these are short sale contracts and I would say about half of those fail to settle but still, that is an overall healthy percentage. An indicator that the market is turning. We shall see....