The first annual Clarksburg Town Center 5K Race, Walk, and Kids' Fun run is set for April 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Proceeds will be shared by the Special Olympics-Montgomery County and the Clarksburg Sports Association.For additional details, you can log ontohttp://www.clarksburgconnects.com/communitynewsview.aspx?id=23365&returnurl=communityhome.aspx See you there! 04/03/2008

The Office Of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has allowed them to increase the amount of money that they invest in home loans.OFHEO did this by reducing the amount of capital that Fannie and Freddie are required to keep in reserve.  This makes an additional $200 billion available, in the hopes of reducing the cost of borrowing and thawing credit markets.Treasure Secretary Paulson commented on the move, saying, "Additional capital will enable the companies to help more homeowners and will strengthen the underlying fundamentals of the mortgage market."It will be very interesting to see if this is merely political puffery or if there will be actual impact on the market.  Stay tuned.... 03/20/2008

In our market in the Washington, DC area, which has higher-priced homes, we rarely see FHA loans.But this has all changed yesterday.  HUD has announced new higher FHA loan limits, which will be calculated at 125 percent of the HUD-published median prices for an area.  The new limits will obviously vary by metropolitan area, and in the highest-priced areas will now be capped at $729,750.This is huge news for real estate because it will mean more money in the mortgage market to make loans available to consumers for purchases and re-fi's.I'm still waiting to learn when the new limits will actually be implemented by banks, so we can notify all our fence-sitting Clarksburg buyers!   03/07/2008

The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, has called for mortgage lenders to reduce the principal of mortgage loans for those homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth.In essence he is asking banks to relinquish some of their income from loans in order to stop additional foreclosures.  This would be a voluntary effort that he sees to be in the banks' long-term self interest, as compared to some calls for a government-ordered rescue of defaulting borrowers.He also suggested that the Congress and the President expand the authority of the FHA to help borrowers refinance sub-prime mortgages "beyond current proposals," but was not more specific about what he has in mind.I'll be looking for a more clearly defined proposal.... 03/04/2008

The Clarksburg Literary Society is welcoming Dr. Thomas Holtz, Jr the author of "Dinosaurs" for a book signing.  The event will take place at Mayorga Coffee on Stringtown Road in the Clarksburg Highlands Shopping Center on Saturday March 1 at 7pm.  The book is the most complete, up-to-date encyclopedia for dinosaur lovers of all ages.  This event is presented by Novel Places (http://www.novelplacesusa.com), so come out and support local businesses and get a great book signed! 02/27/2008

There was a Clarksburg Chamber meeting held today at the Highlands Shopping Center.  Eloise Woodfield of the Clarksburg Historic Society spoke about the plans for Clarksburg Day, which this year will be held at Clarksburg High School on Saturday June 7th.  Also, the Clarksburg Town Center Annual 5K race will be held on April 19th beginning at 8:30AM.  There was also talk about plans for Clarksburg's future. 02/27/2008

In some markets, foreclosures are big news, with dramatic increases in delinquent loan payments.A new FHA program, initiated on August 31, 2007, is designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by refinancing their subprime loans with HUD's new mortgage -- called FHASecure.  HUD's boss, Alphonso Jackson, announced that 33,000 at-risk borrowers have already refinanced, with another 20,000 in line for approval this month.  HUD envisions insuring about 240,000 of these FHASecure home loans during fiscal year 2008.  To date, FHA has received more than 113,000 refinance applications for this program.There's also a move afoot in Congress to pass legislation to alter the FHA loan program to permit higher loan limits, reaching borrowers who could not otherwise receive government-backed home fin... 02/27/2008

The year-end statistics for residential sales in Montgomery County, Maryland were released yesterday.  These numbers are compiled by MRIS, Inc., based on settled sales.The median sold price of houses and condos in 2007 was $444,000, which is a 1.14 percent increase from 2006.The number of units sold dropped 23.39 percent, and the average days on the market was 84 in 2007 versus 57 in 2006. So... it is generally still a buyers market in our area, although there are micro-markets where homes are selling very quickly for top dollar.  I am eager to see how the increase in FHA, FNMA, and Freddie Mac loan limits will affect our market, as we tend to see many jumbo loans.  02/14/2008

As of this minute, there are 67 detached homes for sale in Clarksburg, MD, ranging in price from $399,900 to $1,895,000.In February two detached homes went under contract -- one was priced at $455,000, and the other at $569,990.  In January there were eight detached homes that sold.  Given these numbers, it is very much a buyers market in Clarksburg at the moment.  My sense is that the proposed FNMA and Freddie Mac loan limit increases will have a positive impact on our market, spurring hesitant buyers into action.  We shall see....  02/12/2008

Within the next few weeks, the President is expected to sign legislation that raises limits for three major financing sources for prospective home buyers: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA.This is important news because it will enable consumers to have access to lower financing rates than is now possible.On jumbo loans, it could signal interest rates as much as 1 or 1.5 percent lower than what borrowers can now secure.  This could significantly increase the number of home sales nationwide, and is particularly important in areas with high home values such as the DC area, and in Clarksburg. 02/08/2008

The growing volume of traffic on county-designated rustic roads, narrow roads intended for local or agricultural use, in Clarksburg is causing residents to worry whether those roads can sustain the number of vehicles that use them. The rustic roads in Clarksburg include Hawks, Prices Distillery, Kingsley, Stringtown (east of Snowden Farm Parkway) and West Old Baltimore (west of Route 121).  New development in the community in the past several years has brought an increased number of commuters down those roads, which are generally designed to carry fewer than 3,000 vehicles each day. Many are concerned that future development will bring so many commuters to those roads that they will lose their rustic road designation and the protection they get from the county. Also many worry about the... 02/07/2008

After receiving a long-awaited study by The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission on the costs for hooking up to public water and sewer service, Boyds residents (our Clarksburg neighbors) are concerned the price may be more than they can pay. A dozen single-family houses on Greenridge Drive need water and sewer service because their septic systems are reaching the end of their life expectancies and are expected to fail in the near future. Many of the septic systems cannot be replaced because there is not enough land to dig new septic fields. The report assumes that residents living in those homes would share the $504,083 cost for extending pipelines to their neighborhood. Under a deferred payment plan, that comes out to $2,975 per household every year for the next 23 years. Residents ... 02/07/2008

On Tuesday the county council voted not to eliminate the only bus route between Urbana and Germantown.  This is great news for Clarksburg residents as it is used by some of the students attending Clarksburg High School and other residents.  Cutting out the route would have saved the county roughly $593,000 although there is a $400 million dollar shortfall.  This route will run for another year and then there will be another review. 01/25/2008

The county Planning Board approved modifications to Clarksburg Village, which is what they needed in order to fulfill the compliance plan for the development.  Clarksburg Village, a 771 acre development is the largest under construction in Clarksburg.  It is bounded to the north by Stringtown Road and to the south by Ridge Road.  It will have 2,500 homes, more than 20,000 square feet of retail and office space, and 5,000 square feet of day care.  The site plan for Phase 1 has been approved and the permits will be released as soon as all final changes have been approved.  The site plan for Phase 2 was submitted in May and will come up for review later this year. 01/17/2008

The much awaited new elementary school in Clarksburg, Maryland is finally underway.  Clarksburg Elementary No. 8 is scheduled to open in August 2009.  It will be home to about 740 students and is expected to draw from Cedar Grove and Little Bennett elementary schools.  The school will sit on 10 acres in the Milestone community on Royal Crown Drive.  It is budgeted to cost $22 million to build.  A boundry study will be done this spring to draw the lines for the school. 01/17/2008

Here's a quick readout on residential sales in Montgomery County, Maryland.The average price of homes and condos sold in Montgomery County last month was $518,474, which is up 0.49 percent compared to November 2006.  A total of 587 units sold -- down 35.14 percent compared to the same time last year, and the average days on the market increased by 30.26 percent.So, we're still looking at a buyers' market in the county overall.  Of course there are significant variations from the average, with sellers' holding the upper hand in some of the close-in micromarkets. 12/11/2007

It was intriguing to read NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun's recent commentary regarding the state of the U.S. real residential real estate market.I wanted to quote one of his comments that I think is particularly important for everyone to keep in mind: "REALTORS have to educate their clients that all markets are local and that problems in a few areas aren't meaningful," he said.  "A national picture of the real estate market is about as valuable as giving a national high temperature for the day." 12/04/2007

The latest home sales statistics for Clarksburg, MD have just been released from the local Realtor database, and there is some intriguing news.The number of homes sold in zip code 20871 is up by 50% in October 2007 compared to October 2006.  Also of note: the average time on the market has dropped by 13.53% compared to last year -- a significant improvement.That's the good news.On a more sobering note, the average selling price of a home in Clarksburg dropped by 6.79% to $503,023.So there is mixed news for homeowners.  I'll be keeping a very close watch on this to see if there's a trend developing.... 11/13/2007

Members of the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce registered their support for the plans for the Clarksburg Town Center retail core. The plans were filed with the county Planning Board in April. There are still no details  on what tenants might occupy the storefronts, but a grocery store and 20 to 42 tenants such as a coffeehouse, restaurants and convenience-type businesses are expected. The revised retail plan is part of the compliance plan the developer was required to submit after Clarksburg Town Center was found to have hundreds of site plan violations in 2005.  The Clarksburg Town Center's retail core will be on the ground by the summer of 2009. 11/06/2007

With enrollment at Clarksburg's only middle school growing faster than expected, the school superintendent's new construction budget proposes building the county's next middle school in Clarksburg instead of in Montgomery Village. This was a long process with many community meetings held to put the new school in Montgomerry Village in order to end the split at Neelsville Middle School between Watkins Mill and Clarksburg high schools.  This proposal was opposed by Clarksburg parents concerned about overcrowding and some Montgomery Village residents, who said the proposed site was unnecessary and would exacerbate problems with traffic and pedestrian safety. The school was needed in Clarksburg as the developers here are planning up to 2,171 new units by December 2008.  in addition, the lat... 11/06/2007