Hill Slowinski • Real Estate: Blog: F. Hill Slowinski, JD (W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors, A Long & Foster Co.)

(Reprinted from The KCM Blog, October 2011.  Disclaimer: This blog covers the national housing market as a whole. Please check with a local real estate professional to discover how the following information will impact your region. – The KCM Crew.)

Hill's Comment:  While the recent S&P/Case-Shiller Index data reflect an overall slight increase in Washington area house prices, this goes against the nationwide trends, in which residential real estate prices dropped more than forecast in the year ended September.  Prices rose and sales volume is highest in price ranges that meet the broadest market, the lower ranges.  Upper bracket properties prices are not increasing.  There are far fewer qualified buyers for higher priced inventory, and these homes are in fact attractive because buyers are getting great value for much lower cost (i.e., more house for their money).  Prices offered are declining or these homes are lanquishing on the market.  Many experts believe pressure inevitably will continue to mount and will drive all home prices lower in the Washigton market in the future.

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Many sellers want to wait until the spring before putting their home on (or back on) the market. This might be for any of several reasons:

• They don’t want to be inconvenienced during the holiday season.
• They believe that they will see more potential buyers and as a result will get a higher price.
• In the northern part of the country, they might not want people walking through the snow and then into their house.
• All of the above

In a normal real estate market, this may make sense. However, this market has been anything but normal. This spring will also see some abnormalities. The biggest difference will be the direction prices will take.

In years past, the spring market would favor the seller because increased demand would outpace any increase in supply: the number of houses coming onto the market would not be as great as the number of buyers newly entering the market. In most situations, when demand is greater than supply, prices increase.

The reason this spring will be different is that the supply of homes coming to the market will be dramatically impacted by foreclosure properties being released by the banks. Many believe this increase in inventory will far outweigh buyer demand. In situations where supply is greater than demand, prices decrease.

Will This Actually Happen?
RealtyTrac, in their latest foreclosure report, explained:

U.S. foreclosure activity has been mired down  since October of last year, when the robo-signing controversy sparked a flurry  of investigations into lender foreclosure procedures and paperwork. While foreclosure activity in  September and the third quarter continued to register well below levels from a  year ago, there is evidence that this temporary downward trend is about to  change direction, with foreclosure activity slowly beginning to ramp back up.

This will impact prices.

What Do Experts Believe the Impact Will Be?
Here are the pricing projections by several major entities:

• Zillow believes we will not see a bottom in prices until the first quarter of 2012.
• Standard & Poors thinks prices will drop %5 in the next few months.
• JP Morgan Chase believes prices will depreciate 6 to 7% over the next six months.
•  Barclays says prices will fall 7% by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Bottom Line
You may pay a hefty price for the convenience of not having your property on the market right now.

3800 Fulton Street, NW, Washington, DC  20007

MLS #DC7690818, Offered for $1,150,000

This sun-filled 1920s Federal semi-detached home has been thoughtfully updated throughout.  The complete renovation, including new windows and systems, retains many of the original architectural details with a handsome contemporary flair.  There are three bedrooms, a sitting room or den, two new full and one half bathrooms, living room, dining room, foyer, central hall, abundant closet space, chef’s kitchen, and pantry. 

The home has a graceful wrap-around tiled front and side porch, which has French doors opening to it from the living room.  The tiered rear deck overlooks a large open lawn area in the back yard.  The main level rooms include such details as crown moldings, hardwood floors, paneled and true-light glass doors, a chef's kitchen with Sub-Zero refrigerator /freezer, Sub-Zero wine cooler, Wolf gas range and oven, Meile dishwasher, and custom glassed cabinetry in the kitchen and pantry.

The second floor bedrooms have many custom built-in closets, shelves, and storage units.  The bedrooms and sitting area have eastern and southern exposures.  The contemporary bathrooms include marble tiled walls and floors, European-styled vanities and fixtures.  The large master bath features a glassed shower.

The lower level includes a huge open basement with ample space, the laundry area with newer Whirlpool washer and dryer, and a garden supplies storage area.  There is street parking and driveway space, including a one-car garage.

The home is convenient to shopping, dining, the National Cathedral, public transportation, Georgetown, and access to downtown via Massachusetts Avenue.

For more listing information, CLICK HERE, ir Contact Hill Slowinski.

Selling Clients Ask, 'What Methods Best Solicit Offers?' 

Each listing, each buyer, and each offer is different.  I apply several strategies in response to expressions of interest and to encourage potential offers to a particular listing.  I rarely have direct initial contact with buyers who are not my own clients as they are represented by their own agents, and the communication flows between buyers and their agents, and then between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent.  Buyers’ comments and negotiation strategies that would affect the advantage of buyer versus seller are confidential, as are mine with my sellers.

$625,000 To Be Maximum Loan Amount in Much of DC Area

More buyers in high-cost areas may be motivated to purchase a home before an Oct. 1 deadline when the government plans to scale back the size of “jumbo” mortgages it guarantees in much of our real estate markets.

By Oct. 1, the maximum loan amount that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to decrease from $729,750 to $625,500.  Buyers should have ratified contracts by August 31 in order to settle by the end of September or sooner if possible.  (The change could occur before October 1.).

This might make mortgages more expensive or more difficult to get for buyers in higher cost areas such as ours.  For example, after Oct. 1, a borrower who seeks a government-backed mortgage for a $1 million property may have to come up with a $375,000 down payment instead of $270,000.

Once the current jumbo loan limit expires, lenders who want to make loans over $625,500 will have to either hold onto the mortgage themselves or find a private investor to purchase it.

A Private Estate Home in Bethesda, MD

"The Waterford"

 7220 Armat Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817

Offered for $1,855,000

This luxury estate residence blends classic materials in a traditionally elegant yet very practical and comfortable home.  Key features include paneled library/study, elevator, in-ground heated pool with sub-meter, and five fireplaces. 

Multiple French doors lead to sunlit patios and mature gardens, which enjoy a warm Southern exposure for outdoor living and social events.  The highlights of the finished ground level are a wine cellar and reception hall, bar and family room, and a large area suitable for home theater or casual entertaining. 

The property is accented by details such as lush landscaping, ornamental iron, handmade brick, a marble foyer, crystal chandeliers and sconces, solid wood windows and doors.  There are six spacious bedrooms, six full baths, and two half baths, and many characteristics that make this a special place for family and guests alike.

For the Virtual Tour, please click HERE.  Photos, floor plans, brochures, and more detailed information is available at HillSlowinski.com.

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120 Evans Street, Rockville, MD  20850

OFFERED FOR: $595,000   MRIS #MC7577514

This home is a wonderful, warm, four-level split plus a large attic, thoughtfully updated through the years by long-time owners. 

Highlights include lots of light, an open main level floor plan, and refinished  hardwood floors throughout.  The kitchen has been renovated and provides convenient access through new Anderson French doors to the patio and a manicured back yard with garden area and new privacy fence.  Four bedrooms include master suite with grand new bathroom and glassed shower and three additoinal bedrooms and a full bath.  There is a spacious finished lower level family room with gas fireplace and hardwood floors. 

The home is in an excellent location in City of Rockville.  It is close to Metro, schools, parks, shops, dining, entertainment and theatres, bookstores, and much more in Rockville Town Center!

Walk score: 74!   See: www.walkscore.com                                    

For Virtual Tours, Details, and other listing information, see: http://www.hillslowinski.com/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=MC7577514

VoicePad: 1-240-575-1878.

Low Inventory, Stable Prices, and Feeling the Worst Is Behind Us

Market Summary

The Washington, DC real estate market had an exceptional first half of 2010 with combined sales of single-family homes, condominiums, and cooperatives up 36% at the end of the second quarter.  That pace did not continue and the increase dwindled to 3% by the end of December.

The single-family market ended the year in much stronger position than the condo/co-op market with an 11% increase sales and just over 4 months worth of inventory.  Condo/co-op sales ended with a 6% loss and over 6 months of inventory.  Nevertheless, property values still managed to rise for both homes and condo-co-op units. 

Overall, this was still the third consecutive year of positive sales growth, made more remarkable by the negative factors faced in the market place. 

Single Family Homes

At the end of 2010, year-to-date sales of single-family homes were up 11% over the same point in 2009.  The largest year-over-year increases came in the $700,000 to $900,000 range (up 27%) and the $1 million to $1.5 million range (up 33%), and single-family gains were seen across almost all price categories.  Only the $600,000 to $700,000 and the $900,000 to $1 million ranges registered small losses -- 3% and 2% respectively. 

At the end of 2010, there was 4.03 months supply of single-family inventory available.  Inventory of homes was remarkably stable throughout the year, varying between a low of 2.31 months and a high of 4.26 months.  Only homes priced over $1.25 million saw a substantially higher inventory, 10 months worth, but that is not unusual for that price range.  The number of available homes typically drops at the end of the year, and a majority of these homes is likely to come back on the market in the first quarter of 2011.

Average and median prices of single-family homes rose slightly in 2010 compared to double-digit declines in 2009.  The average home price was up 2% while the median was up 3%.  With low inventories to start 2011, consistent sales numbers should provide stability or similar increases throughout 2011.

Condominiums and Cooperatives

Sales of condominium/cooperative units dropped overall by 6% by the end of 2010.  Only the highest and lowest price ranges saw double-digit increases for the year, with sales of units priced under $150,000 up 55% and units over $1 million up by 46% for 2010 over 2009.

Inventory of available condominium and co-op units fell 20% in December to the lowest point of the year.  Inventory is up 4% at the end of 2010 over 2009 with the largest increase in the $200,000 to $300,000 range while the number of units on the market between $700,000 and $1 million fell 27%.  An increase in the more affordable $200,000-300,000 range is considered a positive trend.

At the end of 2010, there was 6.37 months of condo/co-op inventory, which establishes a market that is more in balance than being a buyer's or seller's market.  The spring saw this number dip as low at 3.13 months.

Outlook

There are several local and national issues that this area will have to overcome in 2011 to continue its upward movement in sales and prices - the potential downsizing in federal employees, lack of available credit for some buyers,  reforms in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and threats to the Mortgage Interest Deduction. 

Surprisingly, average and median sales prices ended the year both up by 4% in 2010 over 2009.  On paper, the condo/co-op market was spared the drop in prices that was seen on the single-family side in 2009, but the lackluster end to 2010 might be an indicator of falling condo/co-op prices to come -- at least in the first half of 2011. 

If some of these numbers seem disappointing, it is only because of the expectations that come with being in a very robust market like Washington, DC.  The most recent statistics from the National Association of Realtors^® show a decline in sales of 28% nationwide, 9.5 months of inventory and the prediction from many experts of worse conditions in 2011.

The fact is that in the Washington, DC market, we have started 2011 with low inventory, stable prices, and the feeling on the street that the worst is behind us. 

Adapted from "DC Housing Report" by Fred Kendrick; Data from the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®

A Rare 1770 "Flounder" Beautifully Renovated

202 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA

OFFERED for $1,410,000

This rare 1770 freestanding brick flounder, built well back from the street and surrounded by a formal garden with potting shed and high brick walls, is a jewel of Old Town.  The two and one-half story brick home, with a rolled tin roof and beautifully renovated and restored in 1995, is one of the few remaining freestanding flounder houses in Alexandria.  It features crown moldings, paneled foyer, library with original fireplace, and a full in-law suite with separate entrance.

William Mitchell, a sea captain, built this ‘flounder' house in 1770.  "Flounder" means that the wall that faces the neighbor's yard has no windows; therefore, the windows are on the other side, like the eyes of a flounder.  The name is unique to Alexandria.

The property originally had a warehouse in the front yard. The practice of building rear wings was common in early America.  The house never acquired additional fronting on the street after the warehouse was demolished in 1815.  The 2½ story brick home with a rolled tin roof is one of the few remaining freestanding flounder houses in Alexandria. 

The house stood vacant for eight years in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  It was carefully restored in 1995.  Crown moldings throughout the home were duplicated using an original 18th Century piece.  Pass through the paneled foyer to the library warmed by the original fireplace.  Exit the house through the renovated kitchen and turn right in the alley to view the windowless side of the house. 

At the time of the renovation, the brick patio in the front yard, completely covered with mud and weeds, was unearthed.  The holly tree, climbing rose, large English boxwoods on the street side of the garden, the azalea bushes on the patio's west side, and one boxwood against the house were on the property in 1995.  European hornbeams line the entry walkway to the pergola covered in wisteria and grape vines.  English boxwoods frame the brick patio and dogwood tree, and a climbing hydrangea is the focal point on the front of the house.  The potting shed was added in 2007.

Click here for the Virtual Tour

For additional details, see AX7500675 at www.HillSlowinski.com.

Old Town Alexandria:  Closes to Everything!

211 South Payne Street, Old Town, Alexandria, VA  22314

Offered for $875,000  

          This two-story brick Colonial Revival style detached townhouse was built in 1900, with a three-bay façade with six-over-one windows and an abbreviated classical cornice.  It is in easy walking distance to the King Street shopping and dining corridor, Metro Station, Courthouse, and Patent and Trademark office. The home underwent a thorough renovation from the ground up completed in 1995 with all new mechanical and electrical systems, new double-pane windows, and new plumbing. 

            The formal living room is anchored by an inviting clean natural gas fireplace, large side windows with southern exposures, and an elegant seating area. The living and dining rooms area have crown molding and polished wood floors. The intimate dining area leads to the open white kitchen which features a center island, gray countertops, and upgraded appliances. The attached eating space in the sun room overlooks a spacious 15' x 15' sun deck, enhanced with a stunning new English style square post iron trellis, private landscaped yard, and a deep inviting garden enclosure. 

            The second floor features the master bedroom which offers a large custom designed tiled master bath area, complete with separate glassed shower and whirlpool bath.  There are two additional bedrooms and one additional full bath. The well-proportioned bedrooms include plentiful closet space and large windows with sunny southern exposures

Click here for Virtual Tour

For more information, see: AX7493490  

Owners' Continuing Responsibility for Snow/Ice Removal

With the arrival of Winter this coming week and the surprise snowfall we had last week, it is time to complete your winter preparations, if you have not done so already.  These are particularly important if you have a home listed for sale that is vacant or you are going to be away for part of the holidays.

A Quick Checklist:

If your listed property is vacant:

• Have someone lined up to shovel snow promptly:
  • Clear snow and ice for access from the street - driveways, paths, and walks 
  • Snow-covered and icy walks may present potential liability issues
  • Snow and ice will discourage agents with potential buyers from showing
  • Some local jurisdictions require snow removal from sidewalks within 6-24 hours
• Keep heat on to avoid freezing pipes
• Lower thermostat to 60 degrees to save on expenses
• Enlist neighbor support to contact you if anything is or appears amiss or unusual
• Arrange yard service to remove winter debris - branches, leaves, etc.
• Clear leaves from gutters now to avoid ice dams caused by heavy snows
• Have someone (in addition to your agent) stop by regularly to check on the property
• Turn off water supply to exterior faucets and stow hoses
• Contact pool service company for winterizing outdoor pools
• Turn off outdoor sprinkler and irrigation systems
• Check with your insurance carrier on vacant property coverage

If your house is occupied, you likely have already done these and more: 

• Continue maintenance of the heating system filters, vents, and ducts
• Remove and store window air conditioner units
• Prepare central air conditioning outdoor condensing units
• Check operation of fireplace dampers and check chimneys for ‘critters'
• Check and update weather stripping on doors and windows
• Insulate exposed pipes

It is the owner's responsibility to maintain safe conditions for visitors and guests.