The increasing value of Eco-Friendly

Given the ever increasing interest in "green" technology and living, it isn't surprising that the real estate industry is adjusting to some new realities. In the past, when an agent put a client's property in the Multiple Listing System (MRIS), there was no particular place to highlight properties in which owners had invested in green technology.

So MRIS has just added several "green" categories to the listing profile in the system which enable listing agents to promote these unique positives in a given property. This is being driven by both buyers and sellers...buyers looking for property which has some of these features, and sellers wanting to differentiate their properties by virtue of these features.

Maybe more importantly, this will enable appraisers to more easily take eco-friendly features into account when appraising a property for sale.

Interest rates not likely to rise in 2010

In a speech Thursday, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo said, "The relatively modest pace of recovery, the continued high rate of unemployment, subdued inflation trends, and well-anchored inflation expectations together suggest that the need for highly accommodative monetary policies will not diminish soon.”

Likewise, Donald Kohn, Fed vice chairman in a speech in San Francisco, said the Fed would raise rates, “in due course,” but he also noted that low rates "help offset the lingering restraining effects on economic activity and prices."

So far, rates have risen modestly, but analysts speculate they will likely become much more volatile down the road. “It’s an uncertain type of market,” says Keith Gumbinger of HSH.com.Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Association, predicts that the Fed will have created a situation where there are days or weeks of low-rate opportunities, and other days and weeks when rates rise significantly.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (04/08/2010), and The Wall Street Journal, Jon Hilsenrath (04/09/2010)

Road closures on April 12 and 13

This is a notice from Jack Evans regarding road closures related to the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit coming up on April 12 and 13. I have quoted it in its entirety below.

As you may be aware, the District will be hosting the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, taking place on Monday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 13 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. While this event will have the greatest impact on those living near the convention center, it will also result in rolling roadway closures and emergency vehicle caravans throughout many parts of Ward 2.

With this event will come several street closings, as well as parking restrictions (times of these restrictions vary block by block, so please be sure to refer to the posted Emergency No Parking signs), pedestrian screening, and changes to public transportation routes and trash/recycling pick up. My office has requested that street sweeping for streets immediately outside the “no parking” area be suspended on Monday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 13 to provide additional residential parking. In addition, the Mt. Vernon/Convention Center Metro stop on the green and yellow lines will be closed from midnight Sunday until 5am Wednesday morning.

Road closures and parking restrictions will begin as early as 10pm on Sunday, April 11.

Road closures will include:
• New York Avenue NW, eastbound and westbound from 6th Street, NW to 7th Street, NW and 9th Street, NW to 11th Street, NW
• K Street, NW, eastbound and westbound from 6th Street, NW to 7th Street, NW and 9th Street, NW to 10th Street, NW - Traffic will be allowed to run eastbound and westbound on K Street, NW between 7th Street, NW and 9th Street, NW but will then be diverted southbound on one of those two Streets
• Massachusetts Avenue NW, eastbound and westbound from 9th Street, NW to 11th Street, NW
• L Street, NW, eastbound and westbound from 6th Street, NW to 10th Street, NW
• M Street, NW, eastbound and westbound from 6th Street, NW to 10th Street, NW
• N Street, NW, eastbound and westbound from 6th Street, NW to 10th Street, NW
• 7th Street, NW, northbound and southbound from O Street, NW to Massachusetts Avenue NW
• 8th Street, NW, northbound and southbound from O Street, NW to N Street, NW
• 9th Street, NW, northbound and southbound from O Street, NW to New York Avenue NW
• 10th Street, NW, southbound from L Street, NW to New York Avenue NW
• There will be intermittent closures of other intersections in the vicinity of the Convention Center that will temporarily affect vehicular and pedestrian movement
Restricted parking will be in effect on:
• 7th Street, NW from Massachusetts Avenue NW to O Street, NW
• 8th Street, NW from N Street, NW to O Street, NW
• 9th Street, NW from New York Avenue NW to O Street, NW
• 10th Street, NW from New York Avenue NW to N Street, NW
• 11th Street, NW from H Street, NW to I Street, NW and K Street, NW to L Street, NW (1150 mid-block)
• 12th Street, NW from H Street, NW to I Street, NW and K Street, NW to L Street, NW (1150 mid-block)
• 13th Street, NW from H Street, NW to I Street, NW and the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue N
• 14th Street, NW near the intersection of New York Avenue NW
• N Street, NW from 6th Street, NW to 12th Street, NW
• M Street, NW from 6th Street, NW to 10th Street, NW
• L Street, NW from 6th Street, NW to 12th Street, NW
• K Street, NW from 6th Street, NW to 10th Street, NW
• Massachusetts Avenue NW from 6th Street, NW to 13th Street, NW
• New York Avenue NW from 6th Street, NW to 14th Street, NW (mid-block)
• H Street, NW from 13th Street, NW to 14th Street, NW (mid-block)
• I Street, NW and intersection of 11th Street, NW
• Rhode Island Avenue NW (1100 block – Connecticut Avenue NW, including Logan Circle) from 8 am to 9 pm on Monday, April 12 and 8 am to 9 pm on Tuesday, April 13
Please click here to read the joint release from United States Secret Service, Federal Aviation Administration, US Coast Guard, Metropolitan Police Department, District Department of Transportation, Department of Public Works, and Metro. Here you will find information on all services impacted by this event, as well as contact information for the coordinating agencies. This release also contains specific information for residents of McCollough Terrace, as well as Circulator rerouting plans.

If you have additional questions or are having difficulties obtaining more information, please feel free to contact my office at 724-8058.

Sincerely,

Jack

A Spring Surge??

The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that pending home sales rose in February. One possible reason for this is in response to the home buyer tax credit. The data reflects contracts and not closings (which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months).

This information is drawn from the NAR Pending Home Sales Index. The link below will take you to the full article. This is a national index, so does not reflect the exact state of Georgetown Real Estate. But it is an indicator which matches my own observations of our local market.

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 9.0 percent to 77.7 in February and is 18.9 percent higher than February 2009.

Research.

Georgetown Stats - week of March 29 - April 4

According to the MRIS (Multiple regional information Service), the following real estate transactions have taken place in Georgetown real estate during the week of 3/29-4/4:

6 new listings: 5 Single Family ($989,000 - $5,600,000) and 1 condo/co-op ($395,000)

2 properties came under contract: 1 SF ($1,315,000) and 1 C/C ($545,000)

3 properties went to closing, all three SF ($828,000 - $3,995,000).

Saying goodbye to a beloved house

"It was supposed to be my Forever House — the home you think you will never leave, the house you love beyond all others, where you’ve recaptured only what made you feel safe and happy in your childhood and left the rest behind. The Forever House is where you’ve passed along the values you admire to your own children — and filled the rooms with laughter and tears."

This is from an article in the New York Times, written by Dominique Browning, who had to sell, unexpectedly, her house of 25 years. The profound way in which she talks about this process struck a deep chord with me, and reflected my observation of that process over my 27 years in the real estate business.

I know how difficult it is for owners to let go of the houses they have made into their homes. It is one of the most sensitive and sometimes difficult things a real estate agent deals with when working with sellers. The best agents are those who understand the depth of feeling experienced by sellers, and who are skilled at helping them adjust to the reality. Georgetown real estate may be particularly intense in that way because the houses here are commonly owned for 25 or more years at a stretch.

Here is a link to the article. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/magazine/28fasttrack-t.html?scp=1&sq=azalea&st=cse

Georgetown House Tour

Just a little plug for the Georgetown House Tour. It's a wonderful event combining Georgetown real estate, history and interior design. This year's tour will take place on April 24th, 2010 and will feature eight to twelve of Georgetown's most beautiful homes and their impressive gardens. Every home on the Tour will be open from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Houses are arranged for easy walking at one's own pace taken in the order one prefers. The ticket price includes a tour booklet full of useful information including a map of the houses which makes it possible to see the properties in any preferred order.

For more info visit their website at http://www.georgetownhousetour.com/