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Archive: Weekend 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)
Labor Day, Jobs and the Weekend Poll
This Labor Day finds nearly a 10th of the U.S. workforce looking for a job. We in the Washington area have it easier than most, considering our 6.2 percent unemployment rate, but as The Post reports, pay raises are likely to be scarce and skimpy.
By Elizabeth Razzi | September 4, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
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)
Home Sales Increase and The Weekend Poll
The best news coming out of the National Association of Realtors' monthly home sales report? The inventory of listings nationwide in June was down about 15 percent from a year earlier. The median price also happened to be down about 15 percent over the same period. Recovery can't happen until inventories are whittled down to more normal levels--closer to six months' supply vs. the 9.4-months' supply the nation has now, so this is a promising development.
By Elizabeth Razzi | July 24, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
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)
Taking Stock of Your Stuff, Plus the Weekend Poll
Okay, this one would have to be a project for a really rainy weekend, but the IRS has published a free guide, Publication 584, Casualty, Disaster and Theft Loss Workbook, that can help you inventory all your belongings--and their values. It's info that becomes invaluable if catastrophe, say a flood, fire or hurricane, were to hit and you have to file an insurance claim--and to report your losses on an income tax form.
By Elizabeth Razzi | June 26, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Pessimists vs. Optimists and The Weekend Poll
I haven't yet figured out what's really behind the bloggists and commenters who seem to fervently hope for an even more drastic plunge in home prices. Jawboning the market down doesn't seem to have much purpose, and I don't see the fun in all that cynicism. Conversely, trying to cheerlead the market back to health doesn't work very well, either. In Saturday's Real Estate Section, I have a story about the "Surround Sound" campaign the National Association of Realtors has pursued over the past 16 months, which tries to counter the gloomy economic news that prevailed in the press.
By Elizabeth Razzi | June 12, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (15)
Price Reductions, Savings and the Weekend Poll
The folks at Trulia are out today with a survey of their listings, showing that 30 percent of Washington-area listings have had at least one price reduction. That's more than the national average of about 24 percent. The average price cut around here is 10 percent off the original list price, about the same as it is nationally. Also, the Weekend Poll: How much savings should first-time buyers have left after closing?
By Elizabeth Razzi | June 5, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Cucina Bella And the Weekend Poll
I'm intrigued by the peek inside the new kitchen at the residence of Italy'It's hardly the image of an Italian kitchen that first springs to mind--basically the decor of an Olive Garden restaurant.s ambassador to the United States, Giovanni Castellaneta and his wife, Lila Castellaneta.
By Elizabeth Razzi | May 29, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Financial Product Safety Commission & The Poll
Watch for an intergalactic battle to come in the second half of this year as the Armies of Consumer Protection take on the Forces of Financial Product Innovation. Legislation has been introduced in Congress to create a Financial Product Safety Commission that would govern mortgages and other consumer lending products.
By Elizabeth Razzi | May 22, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Foghorn Leghorn in the Yard; Weekend Reading
know this will draw clucks from folks who think I'm not nearly as earthy as I ought to be, but I'm glad there aren't chickens roosting in my neighborhood. I figure if your neighbors are close enough to know you're keeping them, then you probably shouldn't have them.
By Elizabeth Razzi | May 15, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Recovery Could Bring a Flood of Listings
If the real estate market showed real signs of coming back to life, would you put your home up for sale? According to a new survey released by the Zillow realty web site, about 32 percent of homeowners said they would be at least somewhat likely to do so. And Zillow officials said if there really is that much pent-up supply out there, it could seriously weigh down the eventual housing recovery.
By Elizabeth Razzi | May 14, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Realty Exec Wants More Housing Incentives
The Century 21 real estate company is asking Congress for more help boosting the real estate market. Tom Kunz, Century 21's president and CEO, stopped by the Post Thursday morning. He and some of the company's franchisees had just made the rounds on Capitol Hill, asking lawmakers to boost the current (and temporary) $8,000 first-time-buyer tax credit to $15,000--and to make it available to anyone buying their principal home. He also thinks government should push 30-year fixed mortgage rates down to 4-4.5 percent for about a year.
By Elizabeth Razzi | May 8, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
