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Archive: Poll
Is Washington turning into a seller's market?
The inventory of homes listed for sale on the local multiple listing service, Metropolitan Regional Information Services, the cupboard is pretty bare in some spots. At the current sales pace, Manassas Park City has just 1.3 months' worth of listings. Manassas City, just 1.4 months. Falls Church City, 2.1 months; and Fairfax County just 2.7 months. Arlington County has 3.9 months. The rule of thumb says 6 months' inventory marks a balanced market--favoring neither sellers nor buyers.
By Elizabeth Razzi | November 13, 2009; 12:48 PM ET | Comments (14)
Washington home sales and The Weekend Poll
How much did the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit boost local home sales? By about 1,900 deals that otherwise would not have occurred, according to local real estate analysts Delta Associates. The area's high prices and high number of transients makes our market less influenced by first-timers than most other parts of the country, Delta analysts say in a report released with Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., the local multiple listing service.
By Elizabeth Razzi | November 6, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
First-time buyer credit and The Weekend Poll
There's some movement on Capitol Hill toward extending the first-time buyer's tax credit. As reported by the Post's Dina Elboghdady, there is consensus in favor of a limited extension of the $8,000 tax credit. The latest version said to be favored in the Senate: Extended to home sales that go under contract by April 30 and close by June 30. A new, $6,500 tax credit would be available for buyers who have owned during five of the eight years prior to the purchase.
By Elizabeth Razzi | October 30, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Solar Winners, Chat Day and The Weekend Poll
A couple of early winners have been announced at the Solar Decathlon still underway through this weekend on the National Mall. So far, Team California has taken first place for architecture and communications; the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has taken first place for market viability, and the University of Minnesota has taken first place for lighting design. The rest of the winners will be announced Friday.
By Elizabeth Razzi | October 16, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Low-Tech Sustainable Houses and The Weekend Poll
I chatted about the way we've drifted away from old, low-tech solutions the other day with Lance Davis, a member of the American Institute of Architects' environmental committee. We were looking at the "dogtrot" -- a traditional Cajun breezeway that's part of the University of Louisiana's Decathlon house. I have to paraphrase here, but he noted that technology, in many ways, has allowed architects and designers to drift away from sensible solutions. A room can be built without operable windows, for example, thanks to the availability of air conditioning.
By Elizabeth Razzi | October 9, 2009; 02:30 PM ET | Comments (0)
A Flood of Solar Events and The Weekend Poll
The 19th Annual Metro Washington, D.C., Tour of Solar Homes and Buildings is scheduled for this weekend, Oct. 3-5. And the National Mall is in the process of turning into one solar-powered housing development.
By Elizabeth Razzi | October 2, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Pickled Hard-Boiled Egg Mortgages? The Weekend Poll
Chances of Congress requiring lenders to include "plain vanilla" versions on their menus of mortgages and other loans seemingly died this week. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank circulated a memo to Democrats on the Committee listing changes he intended to make in the bill that would establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. "Financial institutions will not be required to offer plain vanilla products and services and CFPA will not have authority to approve or change business plans," the memo said. But it looks like Frank had already taken vanilla off the menu back in July.
By Elizabeth Razzi | September 25, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Empty Nest, and the Weekend Poll
Things They Don't Tell You About Becoming an Empty-Nester: 1. You keep buying too much food. 2. The food goes bad because you don't feel like cooking. 3. With X-boxes, TVs, lightbulbs and computers no longer running constantly, your electricity bill should fall dramatically. 4. Your doorbell will last longer because nobody rings it anymore. 5. It's undeniably your fault when the house is a mess. 6. As soon as you adjust to points 1-5, they come back home to visit.
By Elizabeth Razzi | September 18, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Bring on the Mums! And The Weekend Poll
A week of cool weather has me ready to switch over the garden from bedraggled end-of-summer mode to a crisp, early-autumn look. Yellow mums and maybe pansies, if I can find them, are on my shopping list this weekend! If anyone has suggestions for a shady garden with poor soil, you know where to share them.
By Elizabeth Razzi | September 11, 2009; 08:32 AM ET | Comments (0)
Protecting Your Identity and the Weekend Poll
It takes a special sort of chutzpah to steal the identity of the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. But that's just what happened just about a year ago.
By Elizabeth Razzi | August 28, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Jobs, Foreclosures and The Weekend Poll
We have seriously bad news out of the Mortgage Bankers Association. More than 9 percent of all mortgage loans outstanding on one- to four-unit homes were at least one month behind on payments during the second quarter. That number, which is adjusted to reflect seasonal trends, broke the previous quarter's record level of delinquencies, and it doesn't even include people already in the foreclosure process. Count them in, and 13.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted) of loans are in trouble. That's the most MBA has recorded since they started keeping track in 1972.
By Elizabeth Razzi | August 21, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Foreclosure Info via iPhone and The Weekend Poll
An iPhone is now your ticket to more on-the-go info on home prices and foreclosures. First American CoreLogic released a free iPhone app, RealQuest Home Value Pro, that lets you tap into estimated values for specific addresses and neighboring properties as well as data on nearby foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, auctions and bank-owned properties.
By Elizabeth Razzi | August 14, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Short Sale Plan Coming, and The Weekend Poll
The federal government may try to nudge lenders to approve more short sales soon. But will the feds really be able to convince lenders to clear the path for more of these deals? Here's an interesting snippet from the online chat held Thursday with the Post's Renae Merle and Michael S. Barr, the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial institutions.
By Elizabeth Razzi | August 7, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Bills That Go Up, and The Weekend Poll
I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend: Poring over my telephone and cable TV bills looking for ways to cut them down to size. I just got a notice that our FIOS bundle would be rising by about 10 bucks. Also, since we recently beefed-up mobile-phone service for the family, we just don't need some of the old land-line services such as voice mail. At least with all the expensive wireless technology around our house, I can do my cost-cutting from the comfort of the patio.
By Elizabeth Razzi | July 31, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
More Stories of Loan Shenanigans and The Weekend Poll
The accusations of mortgage-related fraud just keep coming. In Thursday's Post there's a report by the Post's Kafia A. Hosh about Ashburn real estate agent Diane H. Frederick Atari, 42, who was charged with multiple counts of mortgage fraud, money laundering and racketeering. According to the story, Atari got people approved for home purchases in Loudoun or Fairfax counties by artificially boosting their credit scores or inflating their incomes. Lenders could be out about $50 million--and Atari is nowhere to be found. Authorities say she may have left for Jordan, where her ex-husband has relatives. Speaking of which, the Post's Derek Kravitz also reports that one of her ex's distant relatives may be Loudoun restaurateur Osama El-Atari, who also has disappeared, leaving tens of millions of dollars of debt--and an empty $3.8 million house in Ashburn--behind. Weekend reading: Mara Lee has details on a way you can get the money...
By Elizabeth Razzi | July 17, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Signs of Stabilizing Prices, and the Weekend Poll
Trulia reports today that there are signs that prices in the Washington area are starting to stabilize. The metro area is among those that have had a significant decline in the number of for-sale homes with price reductions over the past month. The same is true for Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and Baltimore. At the beginning of July, 23 percent of homes on the market in the Washington area have had at least one price reduction, averaging 8 percent. On June 1 according to Trulia, 30 percent of homes on the market had a price reduction, averaging 10 percent.
By Elizabeth Razzi | July 10, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
Eventually, a Madoff Tag Sale. Now, the Weekend Poll.
At high noon yesterday, federal marshals seized Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan co-op apartment and most of its contents. Ruth Madoff left the apartment shortly before the feds arrived and changed the locks. Marshals also are seizing the couple's homes in Montauk, N.Y, and Palm Beach, Fla. The forfeiture order specified that all "readily salable" personal property in the co-op be handed over to the government, including a $39,000 Steinway piano and a $65,000 set of silverware. The government plans to sell the goods--details on how and when yet to come--and use the proceeds to help make restitution to investors victimized by Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.
By Elizabeth Razzi | July 3, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Weekend Reading and the Weekend Poll
In this Saturday's Real Estate Section, Alejandro Lazo has a good story on how people who want to buy, fix and rent are reclaiming the word "investor" from the flippers who prevailed during the boom. Also on Saturday we get the question, what makes a neighborhood neighborly? Ann Cameron Siegal reviews some of the the things (hint: they're verbs, not nouns) that do the job.
By Elizabeth Razzi | May 1, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Vacation Homes And the Weekend Poll
I've been thinking about second homes for years now, and there have always been two things keeping me from jumping on one. First, of course is the money. But a close second is traffic.
By Elizabeth Razzi | April 17, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
A Holiday at Home and the Weekend Poll
We like to spend Easter week at home, not in small part because it's a beautiful time of year for a holiday. Why leave Washington in springtime? Let me get outta here in August.
By Elizabeth Razzi | April 10, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Winning Renovations and the Weekend Poll
Yes there was remodeling going on in the Washington area during the housing bust. Area remodelers and architects just won Contractor of the Year awards from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. Here's a peek at two local winners, plus The Weekend Poll: What's the right time for your next remodel or repair?
By Elizabeth Razzi | April 3, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
What's Your American Dream?
An interesting question came up during a recent taping of NPR's "On Point" radio program that I thought I would share here. I was a guest along with Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate and financial management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and June Fletcher, a real estate columnist for the Wall Street Journal. Among other things we talked about "The American Dream," and whether owning a home is a key part of it. Despite the losses of the past few years, I still believe that homes will once again become assets that significantly add to households' wealth. But that wealth will accumulate slowly, over decades, not at a double-digit annual rate like we saw (mirage though it was) during the boom. But is owning a home the American Dream? I said I thought that is more of a marketing concept pushed by the real estate industry,...
By Elizabeth Razzi | March 27, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
