Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

Parts of area housing market nearing pre-recession levels
Washington Examiner

The strongest signs of growth are in the region's inner core of the District, Arlington County and Alexandria. In particular, the District's median price in August was nearly 90 percent of its November 2005 high.

Grand opening: Old Town Commons
DC Urban Turf

The 44-unit boutique building will have one-bedroom, one-with-den and two-bedroom units, all of which will include garage parking with lockable storage areas. 

Small time real estate developer has big dreams
Washington Post

For decades, Buzzard Point has been the Washington waterfront’s next big thing. From The Post, October 1989: Buzzard Point is "the blighted neighborhood south of the Capitol that is now being touted in the real estate trade as the Tysons Corner of the 21st century."

A little architectural knowledge can go a long way for homeowners
Washington Post

When real estate agents list a property with the multiple listing service, they have complete discretion over how to categorize the architectural style of the house. Sometimes they get it wrong. Official records occasionally get it wrong as well. And often, homeowners themselves aren’t even sure.

National real estate news stories:

Exploring the 15-year loan
The New York Times

Fifteen-year mortgage rates certainly look enticing these days, and the idea of owning a home, debt-free, in less time than it takes to raise a child, sounds grand. So what’s the catch?

South Florida property values show modest decline
Miami Herald

Recent figures showed a slowdown in the three-year freefall of property values, with modest countywide declines of 2.8 percent in Miami-Dade County and 1.6 percent in Broward County, according to property appraisers.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

Autumn home selling and buying
Baltimore Sun

Home sales in the Baltimore area generally peak in June and slide pretty much for the rest of the year, so you can see why some would-be sellers pull their homes from the market with the idea of trying again the next year.

D.C. Economic Partnership not ready to go
Washington Business Journal

The nonprofit partnership describes itself as "your first point of contact for development and business opportunities in the District of Columbia."

Tour Chancellor's Row development in Brookland
Curbed DC

Out of the one hundred homes in the first phase of their Chancellor’s Row development in Brookland, only eleven remain on the market. Of those eleven, only two are available to move into this year. 

National real estate news stories:

In the beginning of land title claims
St. Augustine Record

If someone makes a title claim, it’s up to the landowner to defend his ownership.  Title insurance not only provides and pays for legal representation to defend your ownership rights, it will also pay out the policy amount should that defense fail. 

Redfin Web site now publishes data on real estate agent success
The New York Times

The tool can help sellers find agents who are active and who have had success in their specific neighborhood. Using information from local multiple-listing services, where agents list the home they are representing for sale, the “Scouting Report” tool provides data on roughly one million agents.

Conforming loan limit drops Oct. 1
Housing Wire

Congress elevated the conforming loan limits in 2008 to allow the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to insure and guarantee more mortgages when the credit markets froze.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

New condo project gets moving in Mount Vernon Triangle
DC Urban Turf

The new project would be following in the footsteps of CityVista and Yale Lofts, condo developments built over the last decade that represented the changing face of the area.

The risk of asking too much for your house
Baltimore Sun

It can seem counter-intuitive, especially to a seller who is trying to account for the possibility of lower offers from buyers by making the asking price 10 percent higher than he would actually take. But in a market where sale prices are dropping and lots of listings are jostling for attention, pricing too high really hurts sellers. 

National real estate news stories:

Vetting the lender
The New York Times

Ferreting out good information is not that easy. For one thing, different kinds of lenders are held to different rules, licenses and disclosure requirements.

Can mortgage servicing be saved from itself?
Wall Street Journal

Loan servicers have been forced to revamp their operations after revelations surfaced a year ago that they used so-called robo-signers who signed foreclosure documents without personally verifying their contents, possibly breaking state laws.

Their efforts to foreclose on members of the military have also raised alarms. And many homeowners were not offered loan modifications despite being eligible for them.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

Jair Lynch buys a block on H Street
Washington City Paper

It's just one of a bunch of big moves on H Street lately, with a deal for Murry's in the works, H Street Connection ready to go, and the Autozone site and 1350 Maryland spoken for.

DC home prices show slight annual increase: Case Schiller
DC Urban Turf

The index reported that home prices in the DC area increased on both a monthly (+2.4%) and annual (+0.3%) basis.

Where does the dirt go?
Washington City Paper

As long as construction keeps rolling, the D.C. dirt economy will do well.

Why do women pay more for mortgages?
National Association of Realtors

Authors of a recent study offer another explanation suggesting that women pay higher rates because they are more likely to choose lenders by recommendation while men tend to search for the lowest rate.

National real estate news stories:

Who wants to buy a new home?
Wall Street Journal

New homes are designed for the way Americans live today, maximizing the usability of space and offering amenities that speak to modern needs, such as big closets. Plus, new homes are built to be more energy efficient.

How are mortgage rates determined?
HSH.com

If you are watching mortgage rates so you can lock in a loan at the best time, you will notice that rates tick up and down regularly. Here are a few of the factors that regularly influence mortgage rates.

America's top cities: Cheapest real estate in the world?
Creditsesame.com

Even though many economists predict that prices may continue to fall, thus expressing a view that U.S. real estate is still overpriced, real estate in America’s top cities is cheap when compared with the rest of the world. 

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

Are LeDroit Park and Bloomingdale DC's hottest rehab market?
DC Urban Turf

Over the past year, homes sold “as-is” which, in real estate parlance, means “what you see is what you get” are scooped up after a short window on the market, renovated from top to bottom (and in some cases enlarged) and back up for sale several months later.

Is the new rate worth the refinance?
Washington Times

If making the higher payments does not affect other financial aspects of your life, it would make sense. If the higher payment would result in taking away from important investments, such as a college fund or a retirement account, you may not want to be in the position of a required 15-year payoff.

Michelle Rhee sells at a slight loss
Curbed DC

The house in 16th Street Heights that Michelle Rhee had listed back in April sold at the end of August for less than she paid for it in 2007. She had paid $855,000 then, and the final sales price was $841,000.

The Yards virtual tour
DC Metrocentric

Developer Forest City gives a sneak peak of the development with this great fly through of how all the projects will looks once complete, including the Yards Park, Foundry Lofts, Lumber Shed, and more.

National real estate news stories:

Why rent when you can nest?
The New York Times

The children of baby boomers have inherited an expectation of early independence that in today’s economy is hard to sustain, and many of them are moving back home — if, of course, their parents live in a place that holds the potential for jobs.

Rate drop spurs home refinancing
Wall Street Journal

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped below 4%, possibly triggering a refinancing boom for many of the same borrowers who already have taken advantage of rock-bottom interest rates.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

What happened to the proposed 20-percent down payment rule?
Washington Post

The 20-percent proposal is still alive, but it’s temporarily bogged down in agency reviews of the roughly 12,000 comments filed by interest groups and individuals. It almost certainly would not be ready for adoption until the first quarter of 2012.

Historic celebrity homes attract tourists
Voice of America

Elvis Presley’s Graceland and George Washington’s Mount Vernon are two of the most popular, but there are also small houses devoted to preserving the memories of the celebrities who once lived there. 

In spots, buyers gain edge again
Washington Times

Sales chances are calculated by dividing a month’s sales figures by the inventory on the last day of the month, resulting in a percentage. A figure below 20 percent indicates a buyer’s market. Higher figures mean we’re in a balanced market or a seller’s market.

National real estate news stories:

5 steps to creating a property website with Wordpress
Inman News

The ability to create a unique property website is not only a fantastic listing tool, but an effective way to compete in search with national syndication sites, including Trulia and Zillow.

Quick refi may ding credit
Bankrate.com

You can comparison shop mortgage lenders in a relatively short (two weeks) time period, and that will only count as one inquiry on your credit score because it's clear you're shopping for a mortgage.

Don't drive yourself crazy, consider the commute
HSH.com

When you buy a home, you buy neighbors, amenities, a lifestyle…and a commute. If you're about to commit to a home purchase, apply the brakes until you understand the implications of the home's location, location, location.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

Caveats for helping children buy a house
Washington Times

Some parents are opting to help their adult children get into the real estate market by giving them cash for a down payment, co-signing a home loan or arranging a rent-to-own scenario.

Homeowners guide to confusing crime statistics
Sun Gazette

Numbers are only an indication of the past. It's still important to be proactive instead of reactive. A home security system can help protect your home and family during this period of uncertainty and into the future.

National real estate news stories:

Buying a home safer investment than gold
Inman News

Among current homeowners, 80 percent said they plan to buy another home in the future and 57 percent said owning a home is among the best long-term investments they could make.

Mortgage rates at their lowest rate in 60 years
ABC News

But as anyone who has ever purchased a home knows, there is much more to consider when thinking of the bottom line on a home purchase or refinance. But if you shop around and check old documents, you could shaving hundreds of dollars off closing expenses.

Property prices near coast holding up better
Miami Herald

In Florida, the coastal market had 5,101 existing home sales in the first quarter, the highest total in five years. But a large number of distressed sales dragged average prices down 14 percent. Among non-distressed properties, prices went up 0.4 percent.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

Close quickly and get better mortgage rates
HSH.com

Once your loan is approved, you'll need to schedule your closing. It can often be more difficult to get a slot with a settlement agent at the end of the month, so be as flexible with your time as possible.

Refinancing? Inquire about the 'Reissue Rate"
ABC News

Conventional wisdom is that it takes somewhere in the 5 to 7 year range to recoup the point that you would pay upfront on a loan, which is good for buyers to keep in mind when they are envisioning how long they will live in the property they are purchasing.

Existing home sales rise
Washington Post

The NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement that rising rents, low mortgage rates and increased investor interest in gobbling up foreclosed properties may account for the uptick.

National real estate news stories:

So what could go wrong?
St. Augustine Record

Home ownership should be hassle free, but when it comes to real estate, there’s a lot at stake.  Title insurance covers the hidden risk that goes along with home ownership.  

Higher mortgage rate fees proposed
Bankrate.com

A deficit-reduction package released Monday proposed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increase fees by one-tenth of one percent for new, guaranteed mortgages. Rates could be set higher than that in areas where there is more risk of foreclosure.

Title fees hard to swallow when refinancing a mortgage
Los Angeles Times

Home buyers and refinancers should shop around when it comes to title insurance. Rates charged by each company can vary by hundreds of dollars.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

Time to refinance ... again?
Washington Post

For starters, figure out what your monthly payment would be at the new rate. Compare it with what you’re paying now and decide whether the savings — if any — will offset the cost of refinancing the loan.

Points and low interest rates: A primer
DC Urban Turf

Conventional wisdom is that it takes somewhere in the 5 to 7 year range to recoup the point that you would pay upfront on a loan, which is good for buyers to keep in mind when they are envisioning how long they will live in the property they are purchasing.

Charting the market: Prices lift in Northern Virginia
Washington Times

Median sales prices in Alexandria, Arlington and the District are back up to where they were in 2005 - the year sales started to decline.

National real estate news stories:

The Academy Award for best real estate video goes to...
Inman News

A real estate agent in Los Angeles produced a "movie short" about a Hollywood Hills listing, marketing it as a sizzling Hollywood Hills bachelor's home and reeled in (pardon the pun) a buyer in less than 30 days. 

Is it possible to build a house for $1,000?
Wall Street Journal

The prototype house boasts a modular layout with hollow brick walls with steel bars for reinforcement and wooden box beams. It is designed to withstand a magnitude 8.0 earthquake.

The buddy system, or the buyer's broker
The New York Times

So why should a buyer bother using an agent? In a nutshell: to protect his or her interests in an expensive, often complex purchase.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

New refinancing options for lower title fees
Washington Post

In the Washington area, Federal Title & Escrow provides as much as to $1,100 off total closing costs for home buyers who use its online “Real Credit” software platform for their transactions.

Insurance a must-have for condo owners
Washington Times

Homeowners need to make an estimate themselves of how much it would cost to replace all their clothing and personal items in case of a total loss because of a fire or some other disaster.

National real estate news stories:

Top 10 home improvements that pay you back
AOL Real Estate

It's a buyer's market, and between tighter purse strings and plenty of properties to choose from, shoppers want homes that are move-in ready and free of the need for home improvement projects that will add to their own bottom lines.

There's more to refinancing than low rates
Bankrate.com

Closing costs are critical to the decision, and you typically don't know the exact closing costs until the day before closing. You have to decide if it's worth chasing these lower rates.

The newest threat to home prices
CNN Money

On Oct. 1, higher limits are slated to drop back down again in expensive markets nationwide — ranging anywhere from $483,000 in counties like Monterey, Calif., to $625,500 in cities like New York and Washington.

Saving on mortgage taxes
The New York Times

It’s important to inquire about a mortgage assignment at the very beginning of the refinancing process, mortgage experts say, because locating and transferring all the necessary paperwork could be time-consuming.