Here is an ironic story about the real estate woes of the president of the National Association of Realtors. I guess he believed all the stories that the NAR was putting out that suggested the real estate market was still very strong…now he is unable to sell his 4-bedroom house in Great Falls.
During the process of buying a condo in DC, I learned that there were several things that were a bit different than buying a single-family home; some of these wound up making things easier, while some could potentially be more difficult in some situations. Here’s a summary of things that I learned through the condo-buying process that would have been nice to know ahead of time.
Condo Documentation
Every established condo association should have a set of documents that outlines:
This is very useful information to have and should be looked through carefully before you purchase a condo. Interestingly enough, in DC you will typically not have access to these documents until AFTER you have made an offer and had it accepted. So, be sure that there is a contingency in your offer that specifies you can back out with no penalty if there is something in that documentation that you don’t like! In general there shouldn’t be any big deal breakers, but it is possible you might learn that the building needs a new roof next year that might cost you more than you expected, or there could be some rules in there that you might not want to live by…so read the documents carefully as soon as you get them! (more…)
After compiling the latest MLS data available from the Washington Post on 2-bedroom condos for sale in Northwest DC, I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of sellers are not convinced that we’re headed for a drop in prices. To summarize my findings, since I began tracking 2-bedroom condos for sale in February of this year:
At the same time anecdotal stories that I’ve read/heard report slowdowns in sales all over the area…I’ll see if I can dig up some concrete sales number in the near future so that we can see if these asking prices are reflecting a plateau in prices in NW DC or just optimism on the side of the sellers.
Ok, hopefully this time I’m back and can actually resume posting some useful articles!
People in the DC area will no doubt notice that we have quickly shifted from a seller’s market that was slowly calming down to an all-out buyer’s market. Some price reductions seem to be happening, and the year-over-year sales are most definitely down.
During my extended absence from this site I’ve gone and bought a condo in DC, so I’ve got all kinds of information that should be useful to all you first time home buyers out there. Stay tuned for some new articles over the next few days!
After a couple weeks away from DC I’m back in town and working on getting a handle on what the spring real estate market is looking like at the moment. I’ve updated the DC House Price Tracking Page and it looks like average asking prices are creeping upwards as the weather gets warmer. However, the inventory available, particularly for condos is on its way up as well. While there are a lot more high-end properties available that tend to drive up the overall average asking price, there are also a lot more homes available at the lower end of the price range, so those who are looking for homes in the $300k to $400k range will have some more options than in previous months.
Hi everyone; I won’t be able to get access to the internet for a few weeks, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to update this page for a little bit. Check back on April 10th, when I will resume my regular postings on this site!
In a clear sign of softening in the condo market, it is really interesting to hear what developers are doing to sell more units. A year ago at this time bidding wars were commonplace for just about every condo on the market, but it certainly seems to be a buyers market now!
Here’s a link to an interesting Washington Post article that talks about the latest marketing tactics employed by DC area developers to sell units from the growing inventory of available condminiums. Given that there are over 50,000 new condominum units due to come onto the DC area market within the next few years I’m starting to think that it might be a good idea to wait a while and see what kind of deals pop up.
Here’s a few incentives that I have heard of developers offering up to potential buyers: (more…)
Here’s a link to a pretty useful calculator for determining whether it makes sense financially to buy a home or continue renting based on a number of financial considerations.
Playing with the numbers in the calculator provides some very interesting insights into the current market in DC in terms of rental prices versus the cost of purchasing a home. By using what I consider to be fairly reasonable input values it turns out that for an average home buyer, it probably makes financial sense to continue renting rather than buying a house in the DC area unless you plan on staying in the house for at least 7 or 8 years. Granted that doesn’t take into account the non-financial benefits of having your own place, but it is kind of a scary number for somebody that wants to own a house but doesn’t know where they will be in 5 years! (more…)
There are a variety of programs available in the District of Columbia for assisting people with purchasing a home. These are detailed on the District of Columbia Housing and Community Development website; I’ve summarized the various programs below and provided links to relevant brochures with more details.
DC Employer Assisted Housing Program
Provides full-time employees of the government of th District of COlumbia with a match on a down payment up to $1500 and a deferred loan of up to $10,000.
DC Metropolitan Police Housing Assistance Program
Provides full-time DC police officers with a match on a down payment up to $1500 and a deferred loan of up to $10,000. Also includes the ability to keep an assigned patrol car during off-duty hours, an income tax credit of $2,000 oer year for five years and a property tax credit for five years.
Home Purchase Assistance Program
Provides assistance to a limited number of low-income households each year. Loan amounts vary depending on the household income, household size and the amount of down payment that the loan applicant can put towards a loan.
Homestead Housing Preservation Program
A program for first-time home buyers that lets a limited number of applicants buy tax delinquent properties for as little as $250 a unit. The conditions of this program are that the purchaser make repairs on the property, complete a homestead housing preservation training course, live in the property for at least 5 years, and pay all future taxes and assessments on the property.
What do you think will happen to real estate prices in DC over the next year? Cast your vote and let us know what you think!