Metro DC Housing Market

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Abe Pollin's new game: Affordable housing

Washington Wizards and Verizon Center owner Abe Pollin is planning to build a 120-home affordable housing community to serve the city's teachers, firefighters and police officers.

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[urbanvb]

3 Virginia Exurbs Near Top of U.S. in Growth

Home Prices Extend Frontier of D.C. Area

The Washington area's powerful economy has pushed out suburban sprawl so far that two semirural counties south of Fredericksburg have become bustling commuter frontiers that rank for the first time among the fastest-growing communities in the nation.

Caroline County officials predict its population will double within two decades. Among more than 10,000 new homes in the pipeline are 4,000 at the Haymount development overlooking the Rappahannock River. "Our market is pretty simple," developer John A. Clark said. "It's commuters in the I-95 corridor.

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Looks like if it keeps going it will be the Richmond-Washington-Baltimore corridor.

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Planners Back Vienna Project

Panel Sends a 'Better' MetroWest to Fairfax Supervisors

The contentious proposal to build 2,250 homes near the Vienna Metro station is headed to its final reckoning before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this month, after the county Planning Commission voted last night to recommend its approval.

The plan, dubbed MetroWest, has become the centerpiece -- and lightning rod -- of the county's effort to concentrate development around transit stops. In addition to the more than 2,000 townhouses, condominiums and apartments, the proposal by Pulte Homes calls for 300,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail on about 60 acres just south of the Vienna stop.

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[urbanvb]

Rent Control Bill Approved

Measure Would Tie Fees to Comparable Market Value

The District's decades-old rent control system would be overhauled if legislation approved yesterday by a D.C. Council committee becomes law.

The Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs voted 4 to 1 to do away with a system based on a rental unit's "rent ceiling" and implement one calculated more in relation to comparable market values.

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Millions for Roads Aside, Planners Oppose I-66 Project

Study Cites More Traffic And Too Many Houses

Despite the developer's unprecedented promise to pay for more than $100 million in transportation improvements, Prince William County planners are recommending rejecting a proposal for 6,800 houses on land that straddles Gainesville and Brentsville near Interstate 66.

The project by Brookfield Homes would create five times the maximum number of houses intended for the area under the county's Comprehensive Plan -- the master plan that guides Prince William's zoning decisions on housing, schools, stores and office space, according to a staff report on the proposal.

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[urbanvb]

In N.Va., a $500,000 House Has Become a Rarity

Condos Remain More Affordable

The median sale price of a single-family house or townhouse in the Virginia suburbs in 2005 was $491,447, up more than $100,000 -- 26 percent -- from 2004, according to a Washington Post analysis of government records around the region.

Condominium prices in Northern Virginia appreciated even more quickly last year, rising 31.1 percent, to $308,000. The median is the point at which half the sales were more expensive and half less.

Alexandria was Northern Virginia's highest-priced jurisdiction in 2005, with a median sales price of $585,000. Prices in Alexandria increased 17.2 percent -- the slowest appreciation in the Washington area, but still astronomical by historical standards.

Conversely, Prince William County's $398,000 median price was the lowest in Northern Virginia but reflected the region's highest growth from 2004 -- 32.7 percent.

Arlington sales prices rose 23.9 percent, to a median of $570,000.

In Fairfax County, the region's largest jurisdiction, prices were up 26.5 percent, to $529,900. Prices in neighboring Loudoun rose at the same rate, reaching $535,000.

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[urbanvb]

Monument cancels condo conversion

With condominium sales lagging, D.C.-based Monument Realty has canceled a planned conversion of a 574-unit apartment complex in Alexandria.

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[krazeeboi]

Wood Partners LLC of Atlanta has also cancelled a condo project.

[urbanvb]

anyone surprised by this?

Report: D.C. housing prices overvalued

Housing prices in the Washington area are over valued by 38 percent, according to a report, but that's nothing compared to the cities that fared the worst.

The most over-valued market is Naples, Fla., where the study estimates home prices are 102 percent over valued. California and Florida accounted for 17 of the top 20 over-valued markets.

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[krazeeboi]

Ha, check out this report in the Washington Post:

But This One Is Special

Each Developer Is Certain That Its Condos Will Sell

It's no secret: After a dizzying five years during which buyers threw ever-larger sums of money at condominium projects, units are languishing on the market and prices have stalled...

So why, then, are so many developers still building condos by the thousands? Do they know something that buyers don't? Is the market about to jump again?

The resounding answer from developers large and small is that the economy is strong; the region is adding jobs; and that, basically, their condo projects are so special, so uniquely designed, strategically located or attractively priced that buyers will continue to choose them over the competition.

Developers in DC will put up a condo building on any piece of land they get their hands on. I'll try to get some pictures when I'm up that way in 2 weeks.

[urbanvb]

What bad news! Get ready for for more McMansions.

Zoning Quirk Radically Altering Neighborhood

Builders Razing Old Fairfax Houses to Erect Two in Each Place

...For $700,000 cash, a corporation named Hall Hollin LLC is offering to purchase Mark and Nancy Welch's brick Cape Cod, built after World War II in one of Fairfax County's oldest neighborhoods. No contingencies, no inspection, immediate closing. As is, because the house would be knocked right down.

In its place would rise not just one four-bedroom manse with granite countertops, ceramic tile, hardwood floors and a two-car garage, but two -- towering 3 1/2 stories on the 13,000-square-foot lot and selling for $1.4 million apiece.

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[DCMetroRaleigh]

I am hearing people seeking condos stating that projects previously slated to be condos are being converted and reconverted to apartments. My friend has had so many incentives thrown at him that he is getting weak in the news and wants to seal the deal. I say wait til winter and see if the condo market crashes further.

[skylinefan]

I happened to be down on Mass Ave. on Saturday and noticed that the new Condominiums are now advertising 1 bedrooms starting in the $290's. I think had this been a year ago they would have been listed in the upper 300's. I think this is a sign of a cooling Condo market in DC.

[AlabamaGuy2007]

Haha, I bet the people that are relocating because of BRAC from Northern VA to North Alabama are gonna be happy. Our houses are much larger and cheaper than the ones in the DC area. I'd hate to have to make a living there. The area's nice, but I just couldn't live there.

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Sounds like a huge mess to me.

FAIRFAX COUNTY

Thousands of Homes May Be Too Tall

Officials Had Issued Building Permits That Violated Height Restrictions

Thousands of new and renovated homes in Fairfax County have been built far taller than allowed by law, even though the county issued permits to developers to build the houses at those heights, county and industry officials say.

The discovery of violations that have persisted for years has triggered a confrontation between the county and Northern Virginia's building industry, which says it's not the builders' fault that Fairfax planners and inspectors approved the plans for estates and high-end townhouses.

Phong Mai and Anh Trinh-Mai can't move into their 7,200-square-foot Oakton house because the roof is too tall.

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Builder promotion: free condo

With new home sales slumping, builders are getting creative to drum up business. Van Metre Homes thinks giving away a condo will get some attention.

The Ashburn-based builder, which has been running a promotion it calls "No Worries" it hopes will convince people now is a good time to buy, will hold a drawing for a townhome-style condominium at its Stone Ridge community in Loudoun County worth $415,000.

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What a way to drum up business!

[krazeeboi]

Will it pay the property taxes as well?

And why couldn't it be a condo in the District?

[bmorescottamanda]

Builder promotion: free condo

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What a way to drum up business!

That's crazy they are that bad off.

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High-End Condos for the Luzon Building

Early next month, District-based Intrepid Real Estate LLC will break ground on a condominium project that will incorporate the Luzon building and fill in the lots surrounding it -- some of the last vacant property along Pennsylvania Avenue.

Unlike many District condominium buildings with smaller units on the bottom floors and a few penthouses on top, Intrepid President John B. Mason plans to build a 16-unit, eight-story building filled with large units. He envisions a Fifth Avenue-style boutique building, with concierge service and elevators that open directly into the condos.

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[urbanvb]

Here comes that drop....

Moody's predicts big drop in Washington housing prices

Washington-area housing prices could fall more than 10 percent in the next two years if a Moody's study is correct.

In a report titled "Housing at the Tipping Point," Moody's Economy.com says the housing slump could extend into 2009. Greater Washington, Southwest Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada and Detroit will see the sharpest declines, according to the study.

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[NovaWolverine]

Here comes that drop....

Moody's predicts big drop in Washington housing prices

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Detroit?

[bmorescottamanda]

Here comes that drop....

Moody's predicts big drop in Washington housing prices

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That sucks

I hope Baltimore don't drop that much.

[urbanvb]

No surprise here... (at least the title)

D.C. Area Homes Stay on the Market Longer

It's taking longer and longer to sell homes in the Washington area--and even longer in the outer suburbs, a new survey reports.

Single-family homes and condominiums stayed on the market for an average of 109 days before selling in Loudoun County last month, for example. That compares with a 33-day turnaround a year earlier, according to data from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., which tracks real estate trends in the region.

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[skylinefan]

No surprise here... (at least the title)

D.C. Area Homes Stay on the Market Longer

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I think this is a painful but necessary readjustment of home prices. The pace of increase in home assessments has really priced alot of people out of the DC market. Maybe now there will be some leveling of the playing field so people with moderate incomes can afford to live somewhere in the vicinity of the city.

[krazeeboi]

Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You

Longer Commutes Outweigh Savings of Living in Outer Suburbs, Study Shows

A study of Washington and 27 other metropolitan areas by the Center for Housing Policy found that the costs of one-way commutes of as little as 12 to 15 miles -- roughly the distance between Gaithersburg and Bethesda -- cancel any savings on lower-priced outer-suburban homes...

The study also found that a lack of affordable housing near job centers in the Washington area and elsewhere forces low- to moderate-income families to live in outer suburbs where transportation options are few and costs are high.

[NovaWolverine]

Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You

Longer Commutes Outweigh Savings of Living in Outer Suburbs, Study Shows

I understand what the story is trying to get at but it's not that simple. Many people can really afford a more expensive home based on their monthly income, but don't have the credit or savings to afford something comparable to what they have in the suburbs. If you'll take something a lot smaller in the city for the same price for a bigger house further away, that's fine too. Lots of people don't like some of the taxes simply b/c of principle. Crime, schools, etc. There are other factors for families and those who could care less about being trendy or hip that make living in the 'burbs ultimately the better choice. So while some of us spend more money living in the city for things but consider it worth it, the same arguement can be made for those living in the suburbs who pay more according to this story.