The first-time homebuyer credit had no direct impact on real estate sales during October in Davidsonville, Maryland, since prices in this zipcode typically exceed the first-time buyer price range. Yet activity did increase last month over October of 2007 and 2008.
Other good news for Davidsonville home owners is that both the average and median prices increased over the same month last year and the days on market were nearly down to 2006 numbers. Unfortunately, the percentage of sold price to list price is still under 90% - although it went up 2% from the same month last year.
As you can see from this chart, the volume of real estate sales in Davidsonville is very low, so it's easy for statistics to take a dramatic swing up or down if just one sold property is extremely high or low.
For that reason, if asked to make a pricing recommendation to you today, I would expand my search to include both comparables and real estate trends in other Anne Arundel County communities with homes in similar neighborhoods priced in the same range. Other pricing considerations would include location, features and condition of your property.
If you're thinking of selling or buying a home in Davidsonville, Maryland, or you're simply curious about the value of your home, please feel free to contact me for a professional opinion.
Originally posted by Margaret Woda to FocusOnCrofton.com
Want to learn more about Crofton resident Kristen Becker? Just pick up a copy of today's Wall Street Journal and turn to the Life & Style section.
Or you can click on the link to When Mr. Clean meets Ms. Messy to read the article online. You'll learn Kristen's age, how many children she has, who lives in her home besides her husband and kids, and which spouse is the neatnik (and which is the slob).
Kristen, we'll be interested in learning how columnist Elizabeth Bernstein "discovered" you and your husband.
Kristen has been a member of Crofton Village Garden Club since September and she's already making her mark by volunteering as the Youth Activities Chair for the club. She's also slated to be the emcee for our Plant it Pink Fashion Show and High Tea at Crofton Country Club on May 2, 2010.
And now she's a celebrity, too, after being featured in today's Wall Street Journal.
Originally posted to CroftonVillageGardenClub.com by Margaret Woda
Don't believe everything you read about which upgrades do or do not increase your property value. All real estate is local, even hyper-local, and some general statements about real estate just don't apply in Crofton Maryland and other communities in the Baltimore-Washington area.
According to Allegra Muzillo, in a blog post earlier this month on Real Simple, it will de-value your home to convert a bedroom into a home office. Just to add validity to her point, she cites a Manhattan real estate expert who agrees, and says doing this will give you one less bedroom to advertise.
In fact, I've never seen an agent in this area advertise a home as having three bedrooms when the fourth bedroom is furnished and used as a home office. And I've never encountered a prospective buyer who couldn't imagine office furniture in a bedroom or bedroom furniture in an office.
Maybe we're just smarter in the Crofton area than folks in some other parts of the country! But what about your property value...
I don't believe it will make any difference at all in the sale price of your Crofton home, at least not in the eyes of an appraiser or assessor who is concerned with above-grade finished square footage. If the room has a closet and a window large enough to satisfy fire regulations for a bedroom, those factors will likely determine if it's a bedroom - not the furniture placed in the room or its usage.
My recommendation is very simple:Put your existing living space to work for you!
In neighborhoods like we have throughout the Crofton area, homes are similar enough that comps, market trends and condition will determine your property value. When you're ready to sell, focus on de-cluttering, cleaning, neutralizing, making repairs and staging because THAT will make a far greater difference in your selling price than whether there is a desk or a bed in one of the bedrooms!
The first-time home buyer tax credit is probably responsible for the decline in average and median home prices in Crofton Maryland since August, because first time homebuyers generally purchase at the low end of the market. Overall for the year, however, the trend in prices has been upward with the average sold price at $268,400 in January and $319,137 in October, and the median sold price increasing from $250,000 in January to $308,000 in October.
At the same time, that tax credit may be the reason more homes sold in September and October of this year than in 2008 - the only two months of this year when closings exceeded the same month last year.
My crystal ball is still fuzzy about the future of Crofton real estate because statistics are providing mixed signals. One thing is in clear focus, however: The number of new listings went down this year, and the number of non-contingent contracts went up. In fact, these two numbers are closer than they've been (for October) since 2006 - and that's something I'd like to see continue.
If we could have a few more months with the number of new contracts and new listings, I'd say we have a positive trend going and the future is bright for real estate in Crofton.
It will be interesting to see how the Crofton real estate market changes with the new expanded tax credit, which makes current home owners eligible for $6500 if they've owned and occupied a home for 5 of the past eight years. Hopefully that will give a boost to home sales in a different price range.
May I suggest you spend this evening in the company of your neighbors, as members of Baldwin Methodist Church, St. Steven’s Episcopal Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Parish perform Howard Goodall’sRequiemto honor our fallen service members.
This memorial service will be held at 7:30 p.m. tonight at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1800 Seton Drive in Crofton, off Rt. 424 near Crofton Middle School. It will be the premier of this music East of the Mississippi and the National premier of the arrangement created especially for parish performance.
Participants in this extravaganza have been rehearsing for many weeks, and they say it’s exhilarating new music with expressive colour and driving rhythms. What a wonderful way to honor the veterans in our families and local communities!
Why not take a Veteran or active-duty service member out to dinner tonight and then attend this service together?
There are specials today for veterans and active duty military at many area restaurants including Outback Steakhouse and Applebee’s. Check with your favorite restaurant.
My clients fell in love with a beautiful home a few weeks ago, and they were very bummed when it sold out from under them. That's not supposed to happen in this market!
Undeterred, we wrote a back-up contract and crossed our fingers that this contract would self-destruct for some reason. After all, a previous contract on the property had fallen through weeks earlier, so maybe this one would do the same. And that's exactly what happened in just a matter of days. My clients could not have been happier.
BUT...
The seller was a FSBO with a real estate license. You know what they say about attorneys who represent themselves... the same was true for this real estate agent. A transaction that should have been smooth and pleasant for everyone became complex and unpleasant. (Maybe that's why two previous contracts fell through on the property.)
If you're a real estate agent who is thinking of selling your own home, take a minute to consider this:
TOP FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULD NOT LIST YOUR OWN HOME
Buying or selling a home does not bring out anyone's best qualities. OF COURSE, you're going to be highly emotional about every aspect of the transaction - you're only human. You may feel personally attacked any time the buyer asks for a concession, such as a home inspection repair, and you will probably react accordingly. A real estate license will not shield you from the emotions of selling your home. A listing agent will help keep everything in perspective for you.
Your professional reputation is at stake, as well as your home sale. It is likely that the real estate agent in you will go underground, and the FSBO in you will be the persona experienced by the co-op agent, the buyer, the title company, the inspectors. That could cost you their good will and even future business. Why risk it?
A homeowner simply can't be objective in negotiations. For example, you may be swayed by what you WANT for a bottom line, not what is fair in this market (like any home seller); you may get huffy over delays that are not uncommon in any transaction (slow appraisals, delayed test results, etc.); you may see the co-op agent as your adversary, when he/she communicates the buyers' position on the appraisal, inspection results, etc. (Remember, don't shoot the messenger if you don't like the message.)
You may make unnecessary concessions. A listing agent may save you a bundle of money and hassle because he/she is probably objective enough to identify the buyers' hot button. Perhaps the buyer cares more about the settlement date or those custom-built shelves in the family room than anything else. Knowing this could give you an edge in negotiating the contract or post-inspection addenda. As a FSBO, it's easy to overlook the buyers' priorities because you're naturally focused on your own.
Your E&O Insurance may not cover you in your own personal sale or puchase transaction. Check with your insurance company to find out for sure if you will be covered for errors and/or omissions. If you find yourself before your state regulatory authority for your performance as an agent in this transaction, you may have to pay your own legal fees and any fines imposed on you and your broker.
If you're not covered by E&O Insurance when you sell your own home, listing with someone else is a no-brainer.
Perhaps you can barter with another agent in your office to handle your listing. Some ideas: Cover for him/her when he/she goes out of town, assist him/her with a future sale or listing of a personal property, pay a reduced brokerage fee. Wouldn't it be nice for you if you could enjoy the same professional services that you give your own clients?
Remember that your broker is responsible for everthing you do as an agent, and the line gets really blurred when you sell your own home. Therefore, it's important for you to keep your broker or branch manager in the loop at each step of the transaction. You owe them an opportunity to supervise you in your role as an agent when you sell your own home because they could be held accountable for your professionalism (or lack thereof).
And last but not least... Chances are that YOU are your own worst enemy when you handle your home sale. Even a FSBO with a real estate license can benefit from the moral and professional support and advice of a listing agent throughout the sale process and closing.
Wear your "Seller" hat proudly today, and save your agent hat for the days when you're helping someone else sell their home.
It's a November tradition for the Crofton Village Garden Club to make patriotic-themed floral arrangements for wounded soldiers and other patients. Each member makes two or three of them so we'll be sure to have enough for all 120 patients at the VA Rehab and Extended Care Facility in Baltimore, Maryland.
This is a very easy and inexpensive activity that your garden club, scout troop, office or other organization could easily duplicate, following the steps in this brief video. With 40 participants, it can be accomplished in an hour or less.
Please join us in thanking our wounded veterans in November and throughout the year.
Why is it that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources went to great lengths to drain the pond on private property west of Route 3 in Crofton a few years ago when a Northern Snakehead fish was discovered there? (National Geographic News)
The answer depends somewhat on who you ask, but one common denominator in any conversation about this is the pond's proximity to the Little Patuxent River, just 75 feet from the pond. Officials and biologists were worried that this "air-breathing, land-crawling, voracious predator" would invade the state's river system and even reach the Chesapeake Bay, causing irreparable harm.
However, Maryland Department of the Environment apparently isn't concerned about the impact of development on this site, so close to the Little Patuxent River. In fact, they have issued a permit for a big box store there. I guess they don't anticipate that development of this wetland will impact the environment as negatively as that 24-inch long fish; that pollution and runoff to the Little Patuxent River, affecting the state river system and even the Chesapeake Bay, will not be a problem. Go figure!
I wonder, then, why this property was included in the Patuxent Greenway System established to protect “important” lands" If its location within the bounds of a designated State Scenic River in the critical area doesn't protect this property, can any land in Maryland be protected from a future covered in concrete?
These beautiful wildflowers were photographed at the site where the pond is located and the permit has been issued:
Crofton residents have successfully opposed the owner of this property and his various development schemes in the area for over 20 years. Unfortunately, this time he has succeeded in getting this critical permit from the government agency charged with responsibility for protecting our environment.
The Greater Crofton Council is an excellent resource for updates about this and other matters of local concern, so be sure to bookmark their website and check it often.
Look for Part III of this series next week on the Maryland Real Estate Blog.
Recycle all things Halloween. Yes, even your perishables!
I wrote a post for the Crofton Village Garden Club website about this time last year that was a brief "how-to" for re-purposing one's Halloween pumpkin. I was reminded of that today in a conversation with a colleague about this very topic.
So before you throw away or put away all things Halloween, let me share this with you:
PUMPKIN:
Turn your pumpkin into a decorative container for a fall flower arrangement:
Cut the top off your pumpkin and set it aside.
Scoop out the inside of your pumpkin and discard it (or set it aside for making pumpkin pie, pudding, muffins or soup).
Place an autumn arrangement of flowers, grasses and leaves in a plastic or glass container into your pumpkin.
It's as simple as that!
Wouldn't the arrangment in the photo look beautiful on your dining table or sideboard?
Home sellers take note because this would be a nice touch to help buyers fall in love with your home.
CANDY:
Who says you have to eat Halloween candy from now until you're sick of it, however long that might be? Here are a few ideas you might consider:
Melt those chocolate bars in a double boiler, a fondue pot, or over a low heat on your stove. Use them as topping on an ice cream sundae, or perhaps as a fondue sauce for dipping fruit, marshmallows, or cake-squares. Hmm, hmmm, good!
Crush those hard candies and fruit-flavored Lifesavers, and sprinkle them in the windows of gingerbread house parts before you bake them. The candies will melt and create a stained-glass look for your gingerbread house. (Yes, I have done this!)
Cut up candies and nuts (candy corn, for example) and store it in a plastic bag until you need some candy sprinkles for ice cream, cookies or cake... or maybe substitute them for chocolate chips the next time you bake cookies.
Recycling doesn't just have to be about newspapers, bottles and cans.
'Would love to have your ideas, too, so please add them in your comments.
For the next few weeks, I'm going to share with you weekly photos of the wetlands on the west side of Route 3 in Crofton, Maryland. Enjoy them while you can because the property owner has somehow managed to obtain a permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment to develop this natural wetlands area into a site for a big-box store.
Community residents and activists successfully drove Walmart away and assumed the issue was dead. Little did we know that the permit process continued. Even if we had known it, who could have imagined that our state Department of the Environment would allow development of this 20-acre parcel along the Little Patuxent River.
It is, after all, within the bounds of a designated State Scenic River, in the critical area, and it is a part of the Patuxent Greenway System established to protect “important” lands.
Many thanks to Dick Lahn for this description of the area and to Kathryn Para for her photo. More information and more photos will follow over the next 4-6 weeks.
By the way, if you click through to this Letter to the Editor by Dick Lahn, you will see his two photos of this area 30-40 years ago, when it was known as Walch's Grove. The difference between then and now really is mind-boggling - but not as much as it will be if this area is paved over in concrete for future generations.
Real Estate and community information for homebuyers, sellers, and rookie agents in Bowie, Crofton, Crownsville, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Odenton, Millersville, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Proven systems - combining local expertise, professional experience, and technology - to give you a competitive edge when you buy or sell a home.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
According to Allegra Muzillo, in a blog post earlier this month on 
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Perhaps you can barter with another agent in your office to handle your listing. Some ideas: Cover for him/her when he/she goes out of town, assist him/her with a future sale or listing of a personal property, pay a reduced brokerage fee. Wouldn't it be nice for you if you could enjoy the same professional services that you give your own clients?
So before you throw away or put away all things Halloween, let me share this with you:
;)
;)
