October 2016

Please stop by...OPEN 1-4pm Saturday, October 22nd

3850 Rodman Street, Washington, DC 20016

Luxurious updated 2 Bedroom/loft. Lives like a treehouse, on the main level you will find a huge master bedroom with dressing area, oversized full bathroom, large living room, dining area & kitchen with window. Upstairs is flexible space, could be a bedroom plus den, high cathedral ceiling, 3 skylights, great bedroom closet, fan window & lots of extra storage. Hardwood floors throughout, central A/C, designer shutters on windows & skylights. Unlike anything you've seen at McLean Gardens. 1 dog, 2 cats, or 1 dog plus 1 cat permitted.

Amazing location, public dog park, tennis court, playgrounds, restaurants & shops, Giant, CVS, community garden, parkland

Thinking about buying or selling? You probably have questions. CLICK the link below for a free, confidential 17 minute conversation... LET'S TALK! 

Recently there has been a lot of talk about home prices and if they are accelerating too quickly. In some areas of the country, seller supply (homes for sale) cannot keep up with the number of buyers out looking for a home, which has caused prices to rise.

The great news about rising prices, however, is that according to CoreLogic’s latest US Economic Outlook, the average American household gained over $11,000 in equity over the course of the last year, largely due to home value increases.

The map below was created from CoreLogic’s report and shows the average equity gain per mortgaged home from June 2015 to June 2016 (the latest data available).

For those that are worried that we are doomed to repeat 2006 all over again, it is important

According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are currently at 3.47%. Rates have remained at or below 3.5% each of the last 16 weeks, marking a historic low.

The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power.

Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget.

The chart below shows what impact rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a home within the national median price

A Fairy Tale Cottage on Macomb Offers Vintage Touches

Back in the day, long before “tiny houses” and other architectural oddities were a thing, there were Sherman cottages - fairy tale structures based on the Arts and Crafts style. Built at the turn of the last century, these homes featured such decorative elements as angled windows, unusual rooflines, rope-dipped-in-plaster trim, and conservatories that gave each home its own distinctive profile.

Designed by Ella Sherman for one of the original Cleveland Park subdivisions in 1909, this 2,485 square foot seafoam stucco and shingle cottage at 3031 Macomb St. NW has four bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and one half-bath, a large curved porch, a pool house, off-street parking, and abundant charm.

The results of countless studies have shown that potential home buyers, and even current homeowners, have an inflated view of what is really required to qualify for a mortgage in today’s market.

One such study by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, revealed that many Millennials have not yet considered purchasing a home, simply because they don’t believe they can qualify for a mortgage.

The article quoted Jessica Lautz, the National Association of Realtors’ Managing Director of Survey Research, as saying that there is a significant population that does not think they will be approved for a mortgage and doesn’t even try. The article also quoted Fannie Mae CEO Tim Mayopoulos: 

“I do think that there’s a sense

Thinking about buying or selling? You probably have questions. CLICK the link below for a free, confidential 17 minute conversation... LET'S TALK! 

In today’s housing market, where supply is very low and demand is very high, home values are increasing rapidly. Many experts are projecting that home values could appreciate by another 5%+ over the next twelve months. One major challenge in such a market is the bank appraisal.

If prices are surging, it is difficult for appraisers to find adequate, comparable sales (similar houses in the neighborhood that closed recently) to defend the selling price when performing the appraisal for the bank.

Every month, Quicken Loans measures the disparity between what a homeowner believes their house is worth as compared to an appraiser’s evaluation in their Home Price Perception Index (HPPI).Here is a chart showing that difference for each of the last 12

CoreLogic released their most current Home Price Index last week. In the report, they revealed home appreciation in three categories: percentage appreciation over the last year, over the last month and projected over the next twelve months.

Here are state maps for each category: 

The Past – home appreciation over the last 12 months

The Present – home appreciation over the last month

The Future – home appreciation projected over the next 12 months

Bottom Line

Homes across the country are appreciating at different rates. If you plan on relocating to another state and are waiting for your home to appreciate more, you need to know that the home you will buy in another state may be appreciating even faster.

Thinking about

If you are debating purchasing a home right now, you are probably getting a lot of advice. Though your friends and family will have your best interest at heart, they may not be fully aware of your needs and what is currently happening in the real estate market.

Ask yourself the following 3 questions to help determine if now is actually a good time for you to buy in today’s market.

1. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with money.

For example, a recent survey by Braun showed that over 75% of parents say “their child’s education is an important part of the