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....

Matrix

Matrix


New rental listing in tanglewood. Very neat and clean with newer appliances.

Subaru Repairs

Elizabeth took her subaru to the dealer today because the muffler was making that good awful noise that speaks of decay. They quoted her $1,300 to replace the entire system and said it had to be done.

I talked her into taking it over to my friend Hi at Colesville Exxon who said he would patch it up for $125 and it should be good for at least two more years. He said if he had to replace the exhaust system it would cost just over $600......

I think it would be wise to avoid repairs at the dealer in the future.

Women's Collective

This year my Silver Spring office has been gathering up gifts for kids who normally could not expect to get gifts. We have as an office been doing this for about 15 years now. The program is part of the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church "Angel Gift Tree" program which I am proud to say has been one of my wife's major undertakings over the past few years. I have done my little part by getting my fellow agents to each take a kid's name (or three) and then go out and buy a gift for that child. This has worked very well over the years and usually my office has been able to take care of about 40 or more children. I have to admit it is pretty satisfying to do this, and it provides me with a sense of purpose over the holidays.

This year and for many years in the past, my office has been buying gifts for children associated with the Women's Collective in Washington DC. -an organizations that helps women, girls and families that are coping with HIV/AIDs. This is a great organization and like so many foundations of this type they are constantly short of funds to provide the demands of Washington's AIDs epidemic. We can't do enough for them. If you are interested in helping, you can contact me or just pay a visit to the Women's Collective web site.

Ouch!

Here is a good one. My neighbor had part of a large tree hit his roof in one of this past summer's thunderstorms. Damage was not severe but there is a hole in the roof and some interior damage due to water and such.

Yesterday he got a letter from his insurer stating that he must at his own expense remove all limbs and trees that are over his home or can potentially fall on his house in a windstorm. To be verified by one of their agents. If he does not comply then they are threatening to cancel his policy.

Well, our neighborhood is thickly laden with 100 year old oak trees a few of which are in his yard. Anyone of these trees could potentially fall on his house-not to mention any number of trees in his adjoining neighbor's yards. Does this mean he will have to denude his whole yard of these precious trees? Talk about a load of crap. If they can do it to him they then can do it to all of us. There may be 100 old oak and popular trees in my immediate neighborhood that have the chance to hit one the homes there.

Stay tuned to see how this one plays out.

Fall market report

There has not really been a whole lot of chance in the metro real estate market in the past few months. At best it activity remains slow and it looks as if the housing market will be slow for at least the next year.

It is not a good time to be a home seller and many sellers are meeting disappointment when they find out what their homes are actually worth. Still, some folks have to sell in this market and I want to address what you as a seller can do to improve your chances.

I think the most important thing is that you have to be realistic about what your home is worth today. You can't look at what your neighbor's house sold for two years ago and expect your Realtor to perform the same miracle for you. I would have to say that the biggest obstacle facing home sellers today is that too many people are overpricing their homes. Don't do it. An overpriced home in a hot market is not such a bad thing, but in this market it is the kiss of death.

The second biggest mistake that sellers are making today is not putting enough effort into making their home presentable. This is a no-brainer. In a market where there is a surplus of homes and a shortage of buyers, homes that show the absolute best will still sell rather quickly and for a few dollars more while "average" homes will linger on the market for ever unless they are sharply discounted. Buyers today have the luxury of "cherry picking" and can afford to look at homes until they find the one that has a new kitchen and updated baths. Everything you can do matters. If your appliances and baths are dated, then you better make sure everything is in perfect condition and spotless. The yard is important too. I don't think a beautiful home needs staging but if your home is a little tired then perhaps you had better pay the money and have a professional come in and stage it for you.

The last thing is that in this market you had better be ready to negotiate. Buyers hold just about all the cards and it is important that you as a seller realize this. I am not saying you have to cut your arm off to keep a buyer happy but you should be prepared to give a lot and be willing to make the buyer think that you value that they like your property.

In this market price matters. If your home has been on the market for 60 days and nobody is coming to see it then you had better take a hard look at your asking price. You may think it is a deal but the market is going to deter min the value of your home. You really have two choices, lower the price or get out of the market and try again next year. I know this sounds harsh but it is that kind of market and will be for some time to come. Good hunting!