Tips and News from Northern Virginia's Condo Expert
Fun and Funky Fashion at Crystal CityFrom February 1-6 Crystal City will celebrate its second annual Fashion Week. Events will include trunk shows, music, food and drink, and dancing. Audience members can even participate in an on-the-spot design competition. Take some time to explore the Crystal City complex, which includes high rise residential buildings, office blocks, hotels, shops and restaurants. Crystal City's 6,000 residents could go for months, or even years, without leaving the complex, which offers health clubs, banks, drug stores, supermarkets, doctors' and dentists' offices, a post office, nine parks, public concerts, a Water Park, night school and over l50 shops and restaurants. In case the weather is bad, all these features are connected by underground passageways.
If they do need to go somewhere, not to worry--because Crystal City is a commuter's
dream. It is five minutes from downtown or Reagan National Airport, lies
on two Metro lines, has its own VRE commuter train station and is a hub of the
local bicycle commuter system.
To see homes for
sale in Crystal City, click here.
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Housing Gets Little Mention in Obama SpeechSome listeners criticized President Obama for failing to pay more attention to the housing crisis in Wednesday night’s State of the Union message. Obama promised to “step up refinancing so that home owners can move into more affordable mortgages,” but he didn’t offer any details. There was no mention at all of addressing falling home values, restoring the mortgage-backed securities markets or shoring up FHA, critics said. Nor did he mention expiring housing tax credits. Fresno, Calif., Rep. Jim Costa, said, "The president made no mention of the two most serious issues affecting our Valley's economy: water and housing." According to a survey conducted for Trulia.com and released shortly before the president’s speech, 36 percent of respondents gave the president a passing grade or better for his efforts to improve the housing crisis. A year ago, he got passing grades from 54 percent. Source: UPI.com, Steve Cook (01/28/2010)
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6 Surprising Facts About the Buyer Tax CreditThe homebuyer tax credit is not as simple or straightforward as you might think. Here are some nuances that will affect homebuyers who plan to use it.
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10 Cities Where It's Smarter to BuyFor people who want to own a home, the premium to buy---the spread between what they’d spend to rent and what they’d pay for a mortgage---is much lower than the 15-year average in many cities. To determine what cities are smart buys, Forbes magazine computed the premium and also identified locales where economists predict home prices will go up the most over the next five years. Here are the top 10 cities the magazine chose as the best places to buy right now.
Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (01/21/2010)
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Tax Credit Encourages Buyers to Shop EarlyThe homebuying season is starting early this year, thanks to the expanded first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit. Typically, the busiest time for home shopping starts in March and continues through May, but this year buyers who want to take advantage of the tax credits have to have a signed contract by April 30 and close the deal by June 30. That is getting people off the couch. "The tax credit will absolutely have an effect," says Pete Flint, CEO of residential real estate search engine Trulia.com. "It is going to shift demand from the later part of the year to the first part. January and February will be very strong. The next three months, there will be a surge in demand." Source: USA Today, Stephanie Armour (01/20/2010)
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FHA To Toughen Down Payment RulesThe Federal Housing Administration will raise the minimum down payment for its least credit-worthy borrowers, agency announced Tuesday. Borrowers with credit-rating scores below 580 will be required to put down at least 10 percent. Those with a credit score above 580 will be able to continue to put down only 3.5 percent. The changes are intended to shore up the agency's finances. The FHA also will increase its upfront mortgage insurance premium from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent. The agency is expected to seek congressional approval to raise annual mortgage insurance premiums, paid by borrowers over the life of the loan, above the current 0.55 percent maximum. The amount it will seek has yet been announced. Source: Reuters News, Corbett B. Daly (01/19/2010)
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Housing Economists: Sales Are on the RiseThe housing recovery should gain moment in 2010, but the improvement will still be slow, according to a panel of economists speaking at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. "It won't be a strong recovery, but it will be a recovery," said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. Crowe forecast that sales of new homes will rise by about 33 percent while resales will go up 7 percent. He expects prices to remain stable in most areas, but some cities may see some slight declines. Will Nesbitt, principal broker of Condo-Alexandria.com said, "We're not seeing the big price drops we saw last year." "I believe we've seen the worst of the house price declines ... The stage is set for the consumer to return," Crowe said. Source: Associated Press, Alex Veiga (01/19/2010) Sponsored by Condo 1 Alexandria / Will Nesbitt Realty LLC Serving real estate needs of Northern VA · in Alexandria · in Arlington · in Fairfax County · |
30-Year Mortgage Rate Dips SlightlyLong-term mortgage interest fell for the second-straight week as the 30-year fixed rate settled at an average of 5.06 percent compared to 5.09 percent a week ago, according to Freddie Mac. Other rates decreased as well: Fifteen-year fixed loans dipped from 4.50 to 4.45 percent, and five-year ARMs sank from 4.44 percent to 4.32 percent. However, rates for one-year ARMs rose to 4.39 percent from 4.31 percent Source: Chicago Sun-Times (01/15/2010)
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Builders Moving Toward Better Times
Lots of signs point to a recovery in the construction industry.
Source: The Los Angeles Times, Alejandro Lazo (01/13/2010)
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Walkability Boosts Value Post-RecessionThe proximity to a city center combined with the walkability of its neighborhood increases the value of a home. A study published last summer by C.E.O.'s for Cities examined sales of 90,000 properties in 15 markets and concluded that homes in neighborhoods with above-average walkability in cities like Charlotte, N.C., Sacramento, and San Francisco commanded as much as a $30,000 premium. Will Nesbitt of Condo Alexandria says, "There is no doubt about it. In Northern Virginia, a home or condo near the metro commands a higher price than the same home elsewhere." Measure a neighborhood's walkability with Walkscore.com. Zillow.com's Chief Economist Stan Humphries reached similar conclusions when he looked at concentric circles of major metropolitan areas. In almost all cases, walkable neighborhoods closer to the city center held their value better in the housing downturn. One anomaly is Detroit where fires, vandalism and crime have devastated neighborhoods near the city center. But generally, closer and more walkable is always better, Humphries says. "If you are a rational actor trying to maximize your dollar, you may have to pay more," he adds.
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