Looking to buy a house in DC? It’s not always that easy
June 9th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
I work with a lot of buyers who would love to find a house in one of Washington DC’s trendier neighborhoods. Problem is, there just isn’t a lot to choose from.
A recent post on the Housing Watch blog, which you can read here (http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/06/02/washington-d-c-housing-inventory-down/, says that he number of available homes for sale in DC is down significantly from a year ago in nearly every one of the district’s neighborhoods. The blog post also mentions that homes here are spending far less time on the market than they were just one year ago. In fact, homes are generally selling at the pace at which they were moving way back in 1999.
This is good for the District housing market. When inventory is down, housing prices should rise. However, it’s not especially positive for buyers, especially those who want to purchase a single-family home or condo in one of DC’s most sought-after communities.
I’ve written about the low housing inventory in DC before, and how frustrating it can be to buyers. But it’s an important topic. And buyers need to be aware of it before they start looking for their next home.
My advice is simple: If you see a condo or home you like in the District, make a quick and fair offer on it. Unfortunately, you can’t spend too long thinking over your offer. Another buyer might swoop in while you’re deliberating. And whatever you do, don’t make a lowball offer.
Yes, we’ve all read about how desperate sellers are across the country these days, and how they’re accepting ridiculously low offers just to move their homes.
Well, this isn’t happening here in the District where I sell homes. In the market I’m working, sellers expect fair offers for their residences. If they can’t get them many are choosing instead to rent their condos and rowhomes rather than sell them. And for good reason. Rent in DC is still really high.
If you’re lucky enough to find your dream home in your dream DC neighborhood, then do the smart thing: Make a fair offer, and make it quickly. To do otherwise might result in you losing out.
More praise for DC, this time from Portfolio.com
June 8th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
If you’ve lived in Washington DC for any amount of time, you probably already know that it’s a great place to live. It doesn’t hurt, though, to hear this from outside sources, too.
Lately, DC has become a fixture on all those “best places to live” lists that are so popular on the Internet. Well, I’m happy to announce that the District has scored high yet again on such a list.
This time, Portfolio.com, a business publication, ranked DC as the second best place to live in its 2010 Quality of Life reports for major markets. You can see the rankings here http://www.portfolio.com/interactive-features/2010/05/2010-Quality-of-Life-Major-Markets
Portfolio.com only made one mistake in its list: It ranked DC second behind Raleigh, N.C. I mean no disrespect to Raleigh, but come on, would you rather live in DC or Raleigh?
Portfolio.com studied the nation’s 67 biggest urban markets. It ranked them based on their economic health, traffic, housing stock, cost of living, amenities and educational systems.
DC scored high in several categories charted by Portfolio.com. It ranked first overall in the percent of jobs that were in the management or professional sectors. It ranked third in the jobless rate for workers from the ages of 25 to 64. It also had the lowest poverty rate for families and the second highest median income.
I sell residential real estate in DC for a living. I know how great this place is. But it’s nice to have national publications spread the word, too. Every time DC pops up on near the top of one of these lists, it provides just a bit more positive publicity to our part of the country. In the long run, this adds up, and it does its part to keep the District prosperous, popular and, yes, a good housing value for homeowners.
Latest Washington DC housing news continues positive trend
May 17th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
There was a time when I dreaded the housing reports issued by the National Association of REALTORS®. That’s because they were filled with bad news regarding the housing market, especially during the worst days of the Great Recession.
That’s changed. These days I look forward to the reports.
Just take a look at the latest numbers from the association: Housing prices rose in 91 of the country’s 151 largest metropolitan areas in the first quarter of this year. Of these cities, 29 of them enjoyed double-digit growth.
The news is even better locally. The Washington DC housing market remains in the middle of a strong rebound. According to the REALTORS® association, the median price of a single-family home in the District area stood at $292,600 in the first quarter of this year. That’s off from the District’s peak housing years of 2005 and early 2006, but it’s up 4.7 percent from a year ago. You can read about the strength of the DC housing market in this report from the Washington Business Journal (http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/05/10/daily21.html).
Of course, the housing market, both locally and nationally, still has some kinks to work out. Overall, housing prices across the nation were down 0.7 percent from where they stood in the first quarter of 2009.
At the same time, the REALTORS® association said that 11 percent of its members reported that they had a sales contract scuttled last quarter because a housing appraisal came in at a lower figure than the price settled upon by the buyers and sellers. The association said that another 16 percent of REALTORS® had to renegotiate a contract because of a low appraisal.
These figures aren’t surprising: Home values have fallen, both in DC and throughout the rest of the country. This will lead to appraisals that don’t quite come in at what everyone hopes.
But here’s what I’m taking from the latest numbers from the REALTORS®: Things are steadily getting better in the housing market, especially here at home. This is news to celebrate. And it should provide encouragement to anyone who’s considering selling a home in the District.
Posted in Real Estate Market Reports | 
Tags: Housing Trends, National Association of Realtors | 
No Comments »
Is this the year to buy a DC home?
May 14th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
Is 2010 the best year in decades to buy a home? Linda Stern, a columnist for CBS MoneyWatch.com, argues that it is. And it’s hard to argue with her reasoning: Home prices are still relatively low. Sellers are still willing to compromise on everything from price to needed repairs to closing dates. And inventory levels are high, meaning that sellers have plenty of housing choices when making a buying decision.
You can read Stern’s column here: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/daily-money/2010-the-best-time-to-buy-a-home/425/ See if you agree with her logic.
Personally, I’ve long argued that this has been a great time to buy a condominium or single-family home in DC. The reasons are some of the same ones that Stern mentions: Housing prices in DC are at affordable levels. Inventory levels in the District are high, and the area’s sellers, as Stern mentions, aren’t afraid to make concessions to get a deal done.
But there’s one additional reason why now is such a good time to buy a house in DC: The District is a great place in which to live. Theaters, restaurants, shops, green spaces, night life … whatever you’re looking for, it’s here.
There are signs that the recovery of the housing market, both in DC and nationally, is gaining momentum. Stern points out that housing sales across the country rose by a strong 5.3 percent in March. She also cites median prices of existing single-family homes stood at $170,700 in the month. That’s up from a median price of $163,900 in February.
Still, buyers shouldn’t panic. Home prices may be going up, but they’re still down even from where they stood last year. Remember, the national median price of existing homes stood at $181,900 last year in March.
I’m always glad to see columns like Stern’s. For too long, Web sites and newspapers were filled with stories about how badly the country’s housing market was suffering. Today, most of the stories are detailing the beginning stages of the housing market’s recovery. This doesn’t mean, though, that this is still not a terrific time for buyers to find real housing deals, whether they’re buying in DC or anywhere else in the nation.
Posted in DC Commentary, DC Real Estate Market, Real Estate Market Reports | Tags: 2010 Statistics, Buying Real Estate in DC | No Comments »
Is DC the nation’s strongest housing market?
May 12th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
I’ve long preached that the DC housing market is one of the strongest in the nation. Turns out, it might actually be the strongest.
At least that’s what the numbers analyzed by The Atlantic’s Richard Florida seem to suggest. Florida recently wrote an in-depth analysis of the Case-Shiller Housing Index. If you don’t know, this index tracks the performance of housing values in select U.S. cities. The index has historically rated DC high. But Florida takes it a step further, analyzing the Case-Shiller numbers to see how housing markets are performing compared to 2000.
Here’s the interesting thing, we all look at housing prices today as if they are significantly lower than they’ve been in years. But according to Florida’s story, the national housing price is actually significantly higher than it was in 2000. You can get a closer look at Florida’s analysis here: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/05/the-housing-seesaw/56210/
In fact, today’s housing values are about the same as they were in 2003. True, they took quite a drop from where they stood in 2005 and 2006. But I remember back in 2003; everyone was marveling at how impressively high housing prices were. We’re back at that level today. Is that so bad?
Locally, DC plays a significant role in Florida’s story. He cites the District as the U.S. housing market in which homes have held their value the best. That’s right, DC homes have retained their value better than have residences in any other market. That’s awfully impressive. It also means that DC housing prices remain comfortably above their 2000 level.
Florida’s story serves as an important reminder that even though housing prices here have fallen from their 2006 highs, they are still quite impressive. It’s also a reminder that while the housing slump has certainly hurt, it’s not been quite as devastating as we all thought it was.
Latest Case-Shiller report offers good news for DC homeowners
May 2nd, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
In today’s challenging economic times, you take your good news however you can get it. For homeowners here, that means taking solace in the fact that the District is one of only nine metropolitan areas that saw housing prices increase from last year in the influential Case-Shiller housing index.
Economists keep a close watch on the Case-Shiller index to gauge the relative health of the U.S. housing market. The index charts housing prices in the 20 largest markets in the United States. According to the latest report, DC is one of the few large metropolitan areas in the country that saw housing prices increase in February of 2010 when compared to the same month one year earlier. You can read the Case-Shiller report here: http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices/sp-case-shiller-home-price-indices/en/us/?indexId=spusa-cashpidff–p-us—-
The numbers speak well of our local housing market and its resiliency. I’ve always said that DC is a great place in which to live. The Case-Shiller numbers, I think, prove my assertion that the local housing market, despite the woes of the national economy, is still a strong one.
According to the report, DC housing prices rose 5 percent in February when compared to the same period one year earlier. This means that the District again outperformed the average market that Case-Shiller studies. Overall, the 20 housing markets in the report showed a year-over-year gain of just 0.6 percent in February.
The news isn’t all good, of course. Housing prices here fell 0.5 percent from January of this year to February. They had also fallen 0.8 percent from December of 2009 to January of this year. Still, the DC housing market is faring better than are many housing markets across the country.
If you’re curious, by the way, the other eight housing markets that saw price increases in February according to Case-Shiller are Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Diego and San Francisco.
Bankruptcy filings a sign that economy has impacted even DC
April 29th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
I’ve written often here that the District has fared well during the recession, at least when compared to other big cities across the country. But recent bankruptcy data show that, yes, even DC is not impervious to the negative impact of falling housing values and unemployment.
The American Bankruptcy Institute’s latest numbers, released in late April, show that bankruptcy filings rose significantly in DC, Virginia and Maryland last year. You can see the numbers in this brief story in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042305016.html.
According to the institute numbers, bankruptcy filings rose 78 percent in Virginia last year, 74 percent in the District and 68 percent in Maryland. The District’s increase was lower than the nation’s overall, but just barely; bankruptcy filings rose 75 percent last year for the United States as a whole.
The reason for the rise in bankruptcy filings – both personal and commercial – is fairly obvious: The national unemployment rate is still too high. It’s been hanging around the 10-percent mark for far too long. When people are unemployed, or underemployed, they struggle to pay their bills. Many of these people eventually have to file for bankruptcy protection.
The unemployment in the District for March of 2010 stood at too high 11.6 percent, according to the most recent numbers from the DC Department of Employment Services. You can read the data here: http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/does/section/2/release/19710
There are some signs of a recovery as far as job losses go, though. The unemployment rate in the District according to the department stood at a higher 11.9 percent one month earlier. In March, the District even added 9,600 jobs, a sign of a continued economic recovery here.
It’s unrealistic to expect the District to not show any ill effects from the country’s long economic slump. The bankruptcy and unemployment numbers prove this. But I’m confident that our region will emerge from the slump stronger. There’s just too many positives here for that not to happen.
Housing Remains Out Of Reach For Many In DC
April 26th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
The District is a great place to live. Unfortunately, the homes here remain out of reach for many potential residents. Even worse, so do rental units.
And DC is far from alone. The National Low Income Housing Coalition, based in the District, says in its Out of Reach 2010 report released on April 21 that the gap between minimum wages across the country and affordable housing rents continues to widen. This means that fewer people can afford the rents in many of the largest metro areas in the country.
A story on real estate Web site GlobeSt.com reports that families need to earn an average housing wage of $18.44 an hour to afford the fair market rent on the average two-bedroom apartment in the country. That’s up from the $17.84 families needed to earn in 2009. Unfortunately, the story says, the average hourly wage for U.S. renters has fallen to $14.44 this year, down from $14.69 in 2009. You can read the GlobeSt.com story here: http://www.globest.com/news/1645_1645/washington/184575-1.html.
In DC, the problem is even worse. The District is one of 10 areas in the country in which renters would need to earn $20 an hour to afford the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment.
It’s true that single-family homes and condos in the District and across the nation have lost value since the start of the nation’s housing slump. This means that homes are selling for less, making them more affordable even here. But still, the average home here is a financial stretch for many hourly workers. The fact that most traditional mortgage lenders are asking for larger down payments isn’t making it any easier on buyers.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any easy solutions to this problem. Landlords in DC and across the country want to make a solid profit. There is no crime in that. And homeowners don’t want to see their housing values fall any more than they already have. Again, no crime there.
So what’s there to do? Somehow, the District, and other major metro areas, have to increase their stock of affordable housing options, both in the rental and purchase arenas. Simply put, hourly workers need to be able to afford to live here.
RelocateAmerica.com names DC 2nd best place to live in US
April 24th, 2010 | Author Lindsay Dreyer, Realtor
You’ll notice a theme if you read enough of the “best places to live” stories that so often dot the Internet: Our own Washington, D.C. usually makes these lists.
That’s why I wasn’t surprised to see the District listed as one of the top-10 places to live by the Web site RelocateAmerica.com. In fact, the site listed DC as the second-best place to live in the country. You can see why here: http://www.relocateamerica.com/district-of-columbia/cities/south-washington.
Now, I don’t agree that Huntsville, Ala., listed as the top place to live on the site, is a better place to raise a family or work than is DC. But I do agree that the District deserves a prominent spot on the list.
After all, look at all that DC has to offer: Great restaurants. Eclectic neighborhoods. Theaters, bars and great public parks. I always say that if you’re bored in DC, you’re simply not trying to have fun.
Then there are the other amenities of the area, the ones that might be even more important than trendy restaurants and hot bars. For one thing, the unemployment rate here, thanks in part to the mix of government, financial, medical and tech jobs that we boast, is far lower than the national rate. The recession has hurt the District, no doubt, just as it’s hurt other cities. But it’s hurt us less.
Earlier this year, the District scored high on a list by Forbes magazine of cities that have best survived the Great Recession. It’s also scored high on lists of U.S. cities that attract the largest amount of dollars from overseas investors. And the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, which tracks housing values in the 20 biggest markets in the country, has ranked DC high for most of the recession.
It’s no secret that DC is a great place to live. It’s still a thrill, though, to see places like RelocateAmerica spread the word. It’s one more reminder of how fortunate we are to live and work in such a world-class city.
Welcome back DC interns
Washington DC is an amazing city in which to live no matter your age. But for a young college student? DC is a paradise.
You have great nightclubs and bars, amazing restaurants and loads of shopping. There are museums for the more culturally minded and lots of green space for those who enjoy the outdoors. Plus this is a great place in which to start just about any career.
But there is one drawback: It’s not cheap to live in the District, whether you’re buying or renting. This can make it difficult for college students to live in DC, whether they’re attending school or here for the summer on an internship.
The popular blog WalletPop recently ran a story about the challenges college interns face when they need to live, even temporarily, in the heart of a big city. The story, which you can read here (http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/05/12/home-sweet-temporary-home-how-to-find-it-on-an-interns-budget/), specifically mentions DC, along with New York City, as one of the more challenging towns for college students in which to find affordable housing.
Fortunately, there is help available. The blog post also provided a list of resources that students can access when trying to find somewhere to live in DC.
These resources include George Mason University, which offers dorms, apartments and townhouses for summer interns, and Washington Intern Student Housing, better known by its acronym of WISH, which provides shared housing near government buildings. There is also Thompson-Markward Hall, which WalletPop says offers dormitory housing for women, and the International Student House, which also provides dormitory-style housing.
These resources can provide college students with some amazing housing values. They’ll also give them the opportunity to get a taste of our city and its amazing amenities.
So if you plan on accepting a summer internship in Washington DC, make sure to check out that WalletPop blog post. You might have to spend less to have a great summer in DC than you ever expected.
Share on Facebook