washingtondcrealestatelink.com http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com Local Market and Real Estate News Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:09:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 en Suburban Life in Metro Washington DC http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/suburban-life-in-metro-washington-dc/ http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/suburban-life-in-metro-washington-dc/#comments Fri, 16 May 2008 20:42:38 +0000 claudelabbe http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/suburban-life-in-metro-washington-dc/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Suburban Life in Metro Washington DC", url: "http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/suburban-life-in-metro-washington-dc/" });]]> Smithsonian If you live here, you know; and if you don’t, it’s a pseudo-secret. TV shows & movies portray a laid back, albeit thrilling life in this town. But the travel agents also point out the local attractions, including museums & theater. This area also has a very educated populace, which shows in bookstores and local activism.

For those who don’t want the excess of life in the downtown area, there are some suburban neighborhoods, and there are some top class suburbs, cities in their own rights.

Forbes recently highlighted a few, in both Maryland and Virginia. I’d also add Reston,VA and Columbia, MD to their list. You’ll find home prices in the premier suburbs as higher and higher than most of DC, but, as in all, you get what you pay for.

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]]> http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/suburban-life-in-metro-washington-dc/feed/ Metro Washington Congestion http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/metro-washington-congestion/ http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/metro-washington-congestion/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 20:24:29 +0000 claudelabbe http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/metro-washington-congestion/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Metro Washington Congestion", url: "http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/metro-washington-congestion/" });]]> congestion.jpgA few weeks ago, Forbes published it’s list of most congested cities.  Oh joy, we made the list!  Washington, DC made the list at #1.

Hardly newsworthy to the locals, and this does help those on the Washington Metro understand why they are packed in tight, the system averaging 800,000 riders daily in April 2008.

This fact of life also helps understand why home prices inside the Beltway continue to rise, while those outside, on the fringes of the Metro Washington DC area, those home prices are in a tailspin, still dropping.

Real estate is local, I often say “hyper local”. What’s happening to your colleague’s house in Haymarket has nothing to do with what is happening to your Capitol Hill house. The same is true, whether you’re a buyer or a seller.

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]]> http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/metro-washington-congestion/feed/ Real Estate - It’s all Local http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/real-estate-it%e2%80%99s-all-local/ http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/real-estate-it%e2%80%99s-all-local/#comments Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:47:56 +0000 claudelabbe http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/real-estate-it%e2%80%99s-all-local/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Real Estate - It’s all Local", url: "http://www.washingtondcrealestatelink.com/real-estate-it%e2%80%99s-all-local/" });]]> This entire post is a few quotes from an NPR story earlier this week, with a few items on the WashingtonDC market. This continues to support claims I’ve made here earlier this year. Yes, the national market is hurting, which doesn’t mean the same is true for the local market at the zip code level, or more so, at the hyper local level.

What we know, and what NPR reports:

The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has been hit hard. Prices tumbled an average of 11 percent in the past year. That’s the big picture. But a look at Ashburn, Va., about 40 miles from the center of town, finds a steeper fall.

However, closer in:

When I have a listing in this neighborhood, there are often 40 to 60 people coming through the open houses,” said Pam Ryan-Brye, an agent with Long and Foster Real Estate.

Inside the city, median home prices are actually up 3.5 percent from a year ago.

If you prefer to read or hear the April 21st, story, get it here.

So, it’s a great time to be getting into the market, with lots of inventory, and some sellers being able to sell at a low price; combined with good interest rates. But, knowledge about the market remains important, that is, know where you are buying and why the home is or is not well priced.

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