LOCAL

MD Realtors plan to fight O'Malley proposal to cap mortgage tax deduction
Washington Post

Under O’Malley’s plan, a single Maryland taxpayer whose federal adjusted gross income is more than $100,000 would see a 10 percent reduction in the amount they could claim in state income tax deductions. 

Case-Shiller: Home prices decline nationally and in DC
DC Urban Turf

For the first time in the past several months, the index reported that home prices in the DC area decreased on a monthly basis (-1.1%) while increasing ever so slightly between November 2010 and November 2011 (0.5%).

Va. homesales showing possibility of recovery 
Sun Gazette

If overall economic conditions continue to improve — obviously a big "if" — then “there is reasonable hope for an improved housing market in 2012,” VAR officials said in remarks accompanying the sales data. 

Your next place: Penthouse loft
DC Mud

Right off the bat, you enter into the two story foyer, with the loft looming overhead; after going under it and through the very fine gourmet kitchen , you enter the main space, a vaulted light-filled chamber that's part dining room, part living room.

Charting the market: Inventory decline has upside
Washington Times

When sales fall and inventory doesn’t, the ratio moves in favor of buyers, who have less competition but more homes from which to choose. When sales rise and inventory doesn’t, the ratio begins to favor sellers, who enjoy more attention from buyers who have fewer houses to see.

The Obama administration's latest refinancing proposal could extend mortgage refinancing opportunities to millions of homeowners, but it faces plenty of opposition.

NATIONAL

Two more years of 4% mortgage rates?
Mortgageloan.com

Not necessarily. While the Federal Reserve plays a major role in determining the cost of borrowing, including mortgage rates, other factors such as inflation and the state of the global economy are important factors as well.

Mortgage applications drop 2.9% on Fed's forecast
Housing Wire

The refinance index fell 3.6% from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted purchase index declined 1.7%. The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 80% of total applications, compared to 81.3% the previous week.

Obama wants Congress to act on expanded home refinance plan
USA Today

The plan the president outlined Wednesday is intended to help qualifying borrowers refinance into lower-interest-rate loans, saving them $3,000 a year on average, even if they owe more on their home than it's worth.

What's in the latest White House proposals on housing? 
Wall Street Journal 

President Barack Obama is delivered a speech Wednesday outlining his call for more help for the nation’s housing markets, according to administration officials. 

On troubleshooting
The New York Times

Those who have issues with their mortgage lenders now have another place to take them: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which began accepting such complaints and inquiries this month.

LOCAL

Charting the market: Contracts outnumber settlements
Washington Times

It was a good year for sales activity. Buyers and sellers ratified sales contracts on more than 86,000 homes in 2011, an increase of 14 percent over 2010 and the highest total since 2006.

Your next place: A DC castle all your own
DC Mud

Recently remodeled, this four-level beauty has it all. You enter into a spacious living room – if it's cold there's a fireplace right there to warm yourself by. The living room has high ceilings and beautiful rich dark hardwood floors, recessed lighting and tons of windows.

Streetcars are coming and property values will rise
DC Urban Turf

Property values and rents will rise by 5 to 12 percent with "values likely to rise even higher in areas that have many prime redevelopment sites." The report notes that the strongest demand for new and existing development would occur.

DC, Microsoft to create 'digital alliance'
Washington Business Journal

The digital alliance will encompass job creation and training, affiliations with public and charter schools, new technology for the schools, and small business support — notably a $100,000 award from Microsoft to 10 certified business enterprises.

Property values are expected to increase 5 - 12 percent once the DC Streetcar line is fully operational.

NATIONAL

Fed rates likely to remain around zero through 2014
Washington Post

The decision to maintain near-zero interest rates 18 months beyond what was previously planned suggested that Fed leaders are concerned about the slow pace of economic growth, and in a press conference after the announcement, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that the central bank was prepared to take more action if necessary to keep the economy moving, though he did not say what those tools might be.

A reprieve for unemployed borrowers
The New York Times

In a forbearance program, a lender agrees not to foreclose on a property and gives a borrower several months’ grace from or reduction in monthly mortgage payments. The programs work best for temporary setbacks, like job loss, health problems or natural disasters.

Housing inventory ends year down 22%
Wall Street Journal

But appearances can be deceiving, and it remains to be seen whether the drop is the beginning of a real recovery or if inventory is being held down by sellers waiting for prices to pick up and banks moving slowly on foreclosures.

Mortgage rates rebound from all-time lows
Inman News

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.95 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 29. That's up from 3.91 percent last week -- an all-time low in records dating to 1971 -- but still well below the 2011 high of 5.05 percent seen in February.

LOCAL

Tour the homes of university presidents
Washington Post

Unlike most other facilities on campus, spending money on the president’s home easily attracts controversy: How much is too much to spend? How much luxury is allowed? Here’s a glance into the homes of other local presidents.

Your next place: New construction
DC Mud

Just two blocks from the Green Line, which makes for a painless commute, and only a stone's throw from U Street, which has everything you could possibly want out of life, as long as that means Ethiopian food, frozen yogurt, bars and pay-as-you-go cellphones.

Challenge of selling a rented home
Washington Times

Realtors themselves are sometimes reluctant to show homes that have a tenant in place because of the potential for coming up against an uncooperative tenant. Some Realtors say a home with a tenant will sell for a little less than a home that is unoccupied or has the owner in residence.

Community weighs in on Walter Reed development
DC Urban Turf

The expansive plans on the boards feature 3.1 million square feet of development, including 90 townhomes, 1,864 multifamily units and more than 100 homes for homeless veterans. Retail is also in the works, including perhaps a Wegman’s.

Skyland struggles toward uncertain timeline
DC Mud

With the specter of a Wal-Mart vs. Safeway showdown over a decade-old exclusivity covenant having receded, the District can get back to resolving the many other issues standing in the way of the Skyland redevelopment in Southeast DC, a top priority of Mayor Vincent Gray’s embattled administration.

F Street House serves as home to the president of George Washington University in Foggy Bottom.

NATIONAL

2011's foreclosure rates lowest since pre-recession
Washington Examiner

The decline does not necessarily indicate that the housing market is getting better, as many foreclosures have been delayed due to confusion over documentation and legal issues involved in the process.

Bernanke doubles down on Fed bet defied by recession: Mortgages
Business Week

Fed chairman is signaling his willingness to double down on a three-year bet that’s failed to revive housing, showing the extent of the Federal Reserve chairman’s effort to wrest a recovery from the deepest recession.

New housing polices needed for recovery: Fed's Duke
Reuters

The Federal Reserve Governor said a moderate recovery in the economy was possible in 2012, especially if new policies are implemented to accelerate the housing and mortgage market repair.

Optimism builds for nation's builders
Wall Street Journal

The National Association of Home Builders said its closely watched housing market index rose to 25 from 21 in December, reaching its highest point since June 2007. This was the fourth-straight monthly increase.

Shopping for the best rates
The New York Times

Mortgage lenders adjust their rates based on perceptions of risk, so unless you can show you’re a low-risk borrower, you are unlikely to qualify for a rate that matches those seen in all the advertisements or headlines.

O.J. Simpson faces foreclosure on Florida home
CNN Money

Simpson, who is serving a prison sentence of up to 33 years for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping in Nevada, has not made a mortgage payment since 2010, according to the source.

LOCAL

DC experiences lowest for-sale inventories since 2005
DC Urban Turf

Only 1 in 20 (5.6%) active listings are under foreclosure, a significant decrease from the 11.2% foreclosed market share in December 2010. The 327 new foreclosure listings entering the market in December was 58.5% lower than the same period last year.

Metro's Green Line where it's at, study says
Washington Examiner

A new study that says Metro's Green Line is the District's leading economic development corridor is set to be released Thursday at the Capitol Riverfront's annual meeting.

When a homeowner becomes a landlord
Washington Times

Some homeowners are taking advantage of competitive rental rates and low mortgage rates to improve their finances.

How the government can improve the housing market in 2012
Washington Post

As we ponder the many ways we can improve ourselves in this new year, Post columnist Harvey Jacobs writes three resolutions that the government can carry out to overhaul the moribund real estate industry in 2012.

EYA opens new community in Fairfax, VA
DC Mud

Mosaic District is a 31-acre mixed-use urban renewal project at the site of the former Merrifield Multiplex Cinema at Gallows Road and Lee Highway in Fairfax. 

The Shaw Library is located on the Green line, the District's leading economic development corridor.

NATIONAL

Tim Tebow leads poll for most desired neighbors
MSNBC

However they feel about his quarterbacking skills and eponymous post-touchdown crouch, many Americans think the Denver Broncos' Tim Tebow would make a pretty good neighbor. 

A good rental history can help borrowers
The New York Times

If you’re planning to buy a home for the first time later this year, your chances of qualifying for a mortgage might be better if you’ve had a history of paying the rent on time.

Fed up with the depressed state of housing
Wall Street Journal

With the economic rebound still mediocre at best, the Fed is charging into the housing debate. But in doing so, it runs the risk of politicizing itself, while also sending mixed signals to banks still trying to find their post-crisis feet.

Government set to sell foreclosures in bulk
CNBC

The Obama administration, in conjunction with federal regulators and led by the overseer of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is very close to announcing a pilot program to sell government-owned foreclosures in bulk to investors as rentals, according to administration officials.

Can anyone safe Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
CNN Money

It has been more than three years since then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson fired his famous metaphorical bazooka and the federal government seized control of mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sadly, Fannie and Freddie are still a cause for worry and a source of national embarrassment.

Beige Book shows economy is expanding in most parts of the country
Housing Wire

The Beige Book, which gathers anecdotal evidence of economic conditions in the dozen Fed districts nationwide, showed seven districts reported modest growth, while four noted moderate growth and one indicated flat to slight improvements over the period.

LOCAL

Buying or selling a home: What to expect in 2012
Washington Post

Six years after the country’s housing market began its downward slide, and zero years into a whole-hearted, full-fledged recovery. Most of the Washington region has been insulated from the worst of the housing crisis, but the local market is nonetheless in an unpredictable spot.

Baltimore, DC home sales expected to climb in 2012
Housing Wire

Foreclosures are at the lowest rate in three years in the area, which also has public transportation projects underway and job security for many residents, the MRIS report notes. There's also been a slow but steady increase in the median home sale price since 2010.

All DC homes to be sold as-is
DC Urban Turf

While the new contract may result in increased transparency, many believe that it will shift power in favor of sellers, and could affect property values.

Ringing out the New Year on a positive note
Washington Times

2011 turned out to be a good year for the Washington-area real estate market. Buyers were more active than they have been in five years, and the backlog of unsold homes fell to its lowest point in seven years.

From Russia with love and window treatments
DC Mud

For transplanted Moscow native Lena Kroupnik of Lena Kroupnik Interiors, crossing the great and cold divide in 1991 entailed more than simply swapping nations.

NATIONAL

Real estate pros share their insights on 2012
Inman News

Inman News asked readers to share their expectations for real estate's top issues and trends in 2012, and to find out what tops their wish lists and to-do lists in the year ahead.

Mortgage rate drops for the New Year
Wall Street Journal

Zillow said the 30-year fixed mortgage rate on its Mortgage Marketplace is at 3.73%, down from 3.81% a week earlier. The company said the rate dropped to 3.68% on Saturday and then held between 3.74% and 3.79% until it fell to the current rate early Tuesday morning.

Refinancing gets even more attractive
Smart Money

Economic uncertainty in Europe and slow growth in the U.S. are prompting investors to pile into ultrasafe U.S. Treasurys. That, in turn, is pushing down mortgage rates, which are tied to Treasurys. 

5 events that really mattered for housing in 2011 and beyond
Time magazine

Government, the mortgage industry and forces of nature all shook the housing market in 2011. They had both an immediate impact and slow-burning effects, setting the stage for a bumpy 2012 with more foreclosures, political battles and local market risks.

Fed White Paper: "The US housing market: Current conditions and policy considerations
Calculated Risk

At the same time that housing demand has weakened, the number of homes for sale is elevated relative to historical norms, due in large part to the swollen inventory of homes held by banks, guarantors, and servicers after completion of foreclosure proceedings.