real estate: Get Ready — This is Not Your Usual Spring Market!
- 03/23/12 12:30 AM
It’s Going To Be More Active Spring is officially here. Buyers and sellers are ready once again to participate in the most active home market period of the year. Sellers have painted everything inside and out and finished mulching their garden beds. Buyers have drafted their wish lists, review their favorite real estate websites daily (or more frequently) for new listings, and are armed with their lender pre-approval letters. Here is a great window of opportunity. Know that this not your normal Spring Market. Things are different: Buyers have been out for weeks in the warmer-than-usual weather. Interest rates are … (3 comments)
real estate: "The Waterford" Limited Edition Luxury Residence
- 05/23/11 05:04 AM
A Private Estate Home in Bethesda, MD (SOLD!) "The Waterford" 7220 Armat Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817 Offered for $1,855,000 This luxury estate residence blends classic materials in a traditionally elegant yet very practical and comfortable home. Key features include paneled library/study, elevator, in-ground heated pool with sub-meter, and five fireplaces. Multiple French doors lead to sunlit patios and mature gardens, which enjoy a warm Southern exposure for outdoor living and social events. The highlights of the finished ground level are a wine cellar and reception hall, bar and family room, and a large area suitable for home theater or casual entertaining. The … (1 comments)
202 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA OFFERED for $1,410,000 This rare 1770 freestanding brick flounder, built well back from the street and surrounded by a formal garden with potting shed and high brick walls, is a jewel of Old Town. The two and one-half story brick home, with a rolled tin roof and beautifully renovated and restored in 1995, is one of the few remaining freestanding flounder houses in Alexandria. It features crown moldings, paneled foyer, library with original fireplace, and a full in-law suite with separate entrance. William Mitchell, a sea captain, built … (0 comments)
real estate: The Best of In-Town Living!
- 01/11/11 08:39 AM
Old Town Alexandria: Closes to Everything! (SOLD!!) 211 South Payne Street, Old Town, Alexandria, VA 22314 Offered for $875,000 This two-story brick Colonial Revival style detached townhouse was built in 1900, with a three-bay façade with six-over-one windows and an abbreviated classical cornice. It is in easy walking distance to the King Street shopping and dining corridor, Metro Station, Courthouse, and Patent and Trademark office. The home underwent a thorough renovation from the ground up completed in 1995 with all new mechanical and electrical systems, new double-pane windows, and new plumbing. The formal living room is anchored by an … (0 comments)
real estate: Washington DC: Sellers Experiencing Both Competition and Frustration
- 11/09/10 03:14 AM
Third Quarter 2010 Report: Stable Prices and Lower Inventories Market Summary This has been a frustrating market for many buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals. Buyers in certain price ranges and neighborhoods are finding heavy competition and multiple offers on well-priced homes, while certain sellers are suffering through months on the market without an offer or serious interest. The third quarter statistics show a 21% decline from Q3 2009; but with the strong first half of the year, year-to-date sales are still up by 14% over 2009. Initially it was unclear whether the expiration of the Federal Tax Credit for … (0 comments)
Clients are asking, "Should I put my house on the market now, or should I wait?" and "Should I buy now, or should I wait?" What about Thanksgiving, the Holiday season, or New Year's? What about buyer interest and showings and open houses? Why not wait? It's November. Prices have stabilized. Inventories have come down in many areas. Interest rates are at historic lows. Financing has become more readily available. Sellers planning to also buy can get more house for their money now than before. Sellers who price not only competitively but also compellingly are successfully setting … (5 comments)
10209 Gary Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854 Offered for: $849,000 MRIS #MC7428778 This very well-cared for home is conveniently located in a close-in an established Potomac Village neighborhood which also includes several large upper-bracket properties. It is a beautifully refinished four-bedroom, two full bath and one-half bath split-level home on five levels. The large lot (27,000 sq. ft.) has an open rear lawn area which backs to a wooded lot for added privacy and room to expand! This home is less than ½ mile of Potomac Village, with shops, drug stores, banks, restaurants, markets, and other … (1 comments)
real estate: THE Single Most Important Piece of Information to both Sellers and Buyers
- 09/19/10 03:42 PM
Price - For a Listing and for a Contract of Sale. Sellers and buyers both rely on their agent's expertise and research to help them understand today's market and what are reasonable price expectations. A wrong price can kill a listing or a deal. This single factor is so important. An agent who tries to "buy" a listing by providing or acceding to a seller's unreasonably high price expectations is not helping his client. Pricing high can negatively impact the house's real value, and can damage the agent's standing in the community.
I spend hours on research and data analysis … (0 comments)
real estate: Picking a Real Estate Agent?
- 09/19/10 03:18 PM
Seven Exceptional Attributes to Look For Finding an excellent real estate agent or Realtor® can be a challenge. There are many to choose from and they all appear eager to help you. But how do you know which will serve your interests and help you best? There are so many to choose from - but how do you narrow your choices? Refine your search. Among the many qualities you want to see, consider these too:: All Realtors® are agents; not all agents are Realtors®. There is a distinction. A Realtor® is a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the … (1 comments)
real estate: Home Sale Contingencies Returning to Purchase Contracts
- 07/17/10 11:13 PM
Buyers and Sellers Cooperating for Terms to Work As the market for the purchase and sale of residential properties continues to stabilize and return to normal, we are beginning to see more sellers accepting offers to buy their homes subject to the sale of the buyers' homes, this after a period where such contingencies were few and far between. Even though these contingencies add to the complexity of offers, this arrangement works to the benefit of both buyer and seller to seal a deal and can be very satisfying and cooperative, so long as both parties adhere to the strict details … (6 comments)
real estate: Several Washington DC Areas Among “Best” Places
- 07/17/10 11:00 PM
Maryland and Virginia Among Highest for Technology, Business Friendliness CNN Money.com and CNBC.com just released their 2010 lists - Top Earning Towns, Best 100 Small Cities to Live,and CNBC for Top States for Business- and The Washington Post announced the area's education level. Bethesda, MD has the highest median family income in the US, according to CNN Money.com. Ellicott City/Columbia, Maryland is named by a CNN survey as #2 Best Small City to Live in the country, up from #8 in 2008, with its grand homes, a lovely 18th-century downtown, lots of restaurants, wide range of housing, tons of parkland, and a … (4 comments)
Offered for $1,350,000. MRIS# DC7336115. Open House 5/16, 1-4 PM This classic 1913 Victorian is filled with character and charm and is located in the heart of Cleveland Park. It features large sun-filled rooms, high coffered ceiling, handsome stone fireplace, gleaming hardwood floors, freshly painted throughout, original architectural details, and terrific space and storage areas. Its four levels include six large bedrooms plus a second floor library with fireplace, separate garage, and private landscaped rear garden. With its orientation on the hillside, this is one of … (0 comments)
real estate: DC Property Tax Law Changes
- 10/19/09 01:51 PM
Vacant Property Tax, ‘Economic Interest Tax' on Co-operatives Focus Now On "Blighted" -- But Wait For Final Release From October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009, the District of Columbia taxed vacant properties at $10 per $100 of assessed value (rather than the residential tax rate of $.85 per $100 assessed value) , unless property owners applied for one of several exemptions within 30 days of the property becoming vacant. As of October 1, 2009, DC has changed its focus to ‘blighted' property, not merely vacant property. However, since DC has not released the relevant amendments and legislative language to the … (0 comments)
real estate: The Washington, DC Real Estate Market 2009, Through September
- 10/19/09 01:25 PM
Third Quarter Results Show Prices Stabilizing, Confidence Building Led by a surge in single-family sales, new contracts for all residential properties jumped a very impressive 38% from last September. Nine months into 2009, combined sales are 13% ahead of those at this point in 2008 and the gap between the top of the market in 2004 and now has narrowed to 28%. There was a slight (2.4%) increase in the number of properties on the market at the end of this September from the same point last year; but with the increase in sales, the effective inventory of homes and units … (0 comments)
We are two-thirds of the way through of the 2009 Spring Market, and we have had a roller-coaster of regional activity - some areas have popped up in sales, others suddenly are flat - on both sellers' and buyers' sides. The news on the economy swings daily from good to bad to good. Nevertheless, I have more successful sales transactions! The popular price ranges of interest have dropped some 20%, and sometimes more, depending on the location. Real estate is local. For my clients, the real bottom line has been … (0 comments)
real estate: Short Sales, Foreclosures, and REO properties
- 05/30/09 01:39 PM
Yes, we are handling more of these transactions in our office now than ever before. I am finding myself more frequently in conversations with clients regarding the matter of foreclosures in our area. They believe that the correction in the economy will necessarily generate more of these in the closer-in Washington Metropolitan region. I have access to a database that provides reliable information on foreclosure properties. This information is from a separate information source and not derived from the MLS listings. What does this mean to you? If you are planning to sell, I will check if any homes in your neighborhood are in … (0 comments)
General views on the real estate environment in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan area:
Bethesda
Chevy Chase
Potomac
Kensington
Spring Valley
Wesley Heights
American University Park
Glover Park
Cleveland Park
Washington
Alexandria
Arlington
McLean
Falls Church
Northern Virginia
Southern Maryland
www.HillSlowinski.com
Hill Slowinski Named #9, in Top 28 Washington Metro, and in Top 139 Montgomery County/DC Regions
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