Achieving Homeownership, Getting Started…

A Home Buying Workshop:  March 2, 2010 at 7:00pm

Is now a good time?
If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, attend our FREE seminar to learn the basics about the process and have your questions answered by experts in the field.
With everything you’ve been reading in the newspaper, its difficult to make sense of the chatter -we’ll help you figure out what the latest news means for you.
Join us!

Space is limited.  Email melinda@brandongreen.com or call 202-318-1623 x7015 to reserve your seat.

Katie Wethman, who writes the Thoughts on the Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia Real Estate Market blog wrote a great post on how much a buyer should put down:

How much do I need for a downpayment?

While her second sentence sums it up well (”It depends.”) she does a great job explaining the variables that buyers need to consider.

(You also can download this report as a .PDF.)

October saw 21 single-family homes sold, as well as two condos in the Petworth market.  The singe-family homes sold for 90 percent of their asking price, with the condos getting 94 percent of of their asking price.

The condo market is approaching a balanced supply, with 8.6 months supply currently on the market. While still a buyer’s market, five to seven months of supply typically is considered a market at equilibrium. The market for single-family homes, however, is a strong buyer’s market, with more than a one-year supply on the market.

To show how strong of a buyers’ market Petworth is, 31 percent of all single-family homes listed are short-sales, foreclosures, or estate sales. This situation will continue to keep pricing low in the market, but will provide great opportunities for first-time home buyers.

Housing product profile of the month:  Three bedroom, two-plus bathroom row home

This month we are looking at three bedroom row homes with two or more bathrooms.  Doing a search on all active listings, plus homes that sold in the past six months, we get an idea of what these homes are going for.

Twenty-eight three-bedroom row houses have sold in the past six months, with an average price of $356,205 and a maximum price of $499,900. Thirteen properties are under contract, ranging from $210,000 to $399,500 and averaging $298,000. Active listings range from $224,900 to $479,000 and average $341,994.

The average days-on-market for the sold units was 88 days, versus 148 days for the active listings.

For more information, contact me at ken@brandongreen.com or 202-318-1623 x4.

While Black Friday marks the beginning of retailers’ best season, it is the beginning of a slow period for the real estate market. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, new properties are less likely to come on the market and buyers’ attentions are focused on the mall, not the real estate market.

That being said, when new listings appear at this time of year, the seller is often really motivated to sell, so great deals can be had.

Click the link below for the Columbia Heights market report for October.

october-update.pdf

From  Associated Press: Apartment rents stable across U.S.

In the San Francisco Bay area, with one of the highest housing prices in the country, average rents for the third quarter were $1,637, or 1.2 percent higher than the $1,618 they cost per month in the second quarter.

In the Riverside-San Bernardino area of southern California, which has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, rents were $1,157 in the third quarter, slightly down from $1,162 in the second.

We’ve helped many clients buy real estate in the Washington, DC, area with in-law suites or English basements. They then apply the rent they make from that apartment to offsetting part of their mortgage payment.

Municipalities have different regulations regarding rental units though. But if you decide to take this investment-minded approach to buying a home, Brandon Green Companies is happy to provide you with guidance.

(Via The Housing Chronicles)

Seriously, it matters who you choose to represent you in the sale of your home.  If you ever had any doubt, check out the following blogspot which oh so accurately catches the lousy photos permeating the real estate world.   A friend of mine pointed me to this site and I think it is spot on!  http://lovelylisting.blogspot.com/

Why do realtors post such bad pictures or none at all?  My sense is it is for one of the following reasons:

1.  A photographer costs money - it is cheaper to use a digital camera and most Realtors aren’t professional photographers.
2.  Some Realtors simply don’t understand yet that the buyer rules out properties immediately with no photos or bad photos.
3.  There is nothing good to photograph!  Foreclosures are especially in bad shape.

Our philosophy is to portray the home for what it is.  There is a buyer for every piece of real estate - at the right price.

• There is a limit of supply and a lag time to push more supply into the market.  That lag time frequently offers the best appreciation.
• A piece of real estate is an accumulation of commodities and the replacement cost of those commodities is going up.  A house is nothing but a bundle of copper, wood, brick, labor, etc.

Remember, like any wealth storage vehicle, the rate of return will vary.  Expect ups and downs.  Don’t get greedy during the ups and don’t panic during the downs.

Inventory is high, interest rates are low, many sellers are desperate, and prices are down. With all the bad news in the market, could it really be a good time to buy?

Wait a minute, what bad news? If you’re a buyer and you’re looking at the current set of circumstances, there is no bad news in this formula at all. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines and wait.

Now is the best time to buy real estate in a generation

The most common reason given for waiting to buy is the fear that prices will continue to drop. No one knows if we have past the bottom, are at the bottom now, or are facing the bottom next year.

It doesn’t matter.

If the fundamentals of your real estate purchase are sound, the goal is not to buy at the bottom, but to buy near the bottom. It is impossible to time your way to a successful real estate purchase at the bottom of the market.

When was the last time you timed anything with success?

• Did you time getting into a relationship at just the right moment?
• Did you time that perfect job in the perfect location?

No – it is absurd when you frame timing in that context, and it is foolish to attempt to time your real estate purchases with the market cycle.

If the following fundamentals are in place for you, now is likely the right time for you and it happens to coincide with the best cycle for buyers in decades

• Are you willing and able to hold the property for a minimum of 5 years?  (That means potentially renting it.)  Don’t expect to get rich quick in real estate; it is a slow growth strategy that takes years.  I can’t think of any extremely wealthy individuals that don’t have substantial real estate holdings. They are a vital part of your overall financial health.
• Can you afford the monthly payment? This fundamental is where most people are in trouble–their monthly payment far exceeds what they can afford. Don’t over extend yourself, err on the side of being conservative.
• Do you have a minimum of three months, preferably six months of cash reserves on hand after your purchase?  Job security is an issue right now, but whether you own or rent, you need to continue to make a monthly payment for your housing obligations. Have enough cash reserves on hand so that you can sustain yourself for several months if your income suddenly stopped.

Most people will miss this opportunity

And they won’t move into a purchase until long after the market swings back up.  Fear and indecision will override logic and history until clear gains are made in appreciation and overall stability. There will be opportunity then too, but the best opportunities will have past until the next buyer’s market.

The size of your opportunity, the strength of your financial portfolio, and the direction of your life is a result of the choices you make.

Here’s some great advice from The Real Estate Blog on reviewing what  you expect to gain from an international real estate investment:

• Medium- to long-term capital growth
• Rental yield
• Buy to sell opportunity
• An investment to holiday in

And if you are interested  in investing in international real estate, I also suggest working with an agent who is a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS).

Any questions on international real estate? Post them in the comments or e-mail me at veronica@brandongreen.com.