Washington DC Real Estate & Neighborhood Blog

Feb 16

Homebuilder Confidence Returns To Pre-Recession Levels

February 16, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

New construction buyers in District of Columbia , look out. The nation's home builders are predicting a strong 2012 for new home sales. It may mean higher home prices as the spring buying season approaches. For the sixth straight month, the National Association of Homebuilders reports that homebuilder confidence is on the rise. The Housing Market Index climbed four points to 29 in February, the index's highest reading since May 2007. The Housing Market Index is now up 8 points in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: February, home builder, Homebuilder Confidence, Housing Market Index, NAHB, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Homebuilders, New Home Sales, Real estate pricing, washington dc

Feb 14

Fewer Jobless Claims Suggests Higher Home Prices Ahead

February 14, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 1 Comment

Economists believe the strength of the 2012 housing market will be closely tied to jobs. If they're right, the housing market is ripe for a boost. It spells good news for District of Columbia home sellers and may mean the end of bargain-basement prices for buyers. Since peaking in mid-2009, the number of U.S. workers filing for first-time unemployment benefits has dropped 44 percent. Over the same period of time, the U.S. economy has added more than 2 million jobs and the national … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Buyer, Department of Labor, Federal Housing Administration, Initial Jobless Claims, Jobless claims, Jobs, Labour economics, Real estate economics, Real estate pricing, Unemployment, United States

Feb 10

Revamped HARP : Unlimited Loan-to-Value And Same Great Rates

February 10, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie 2 Comments

The government's new, revamped HARP program is 6 weeks from release. Homeowners in DC and nationwide are gearing up to refinance. HARP is an acronym. It stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program. HARP is the government's loan product for "underwater homeowners". HARP makes current mortgage rates available to households which would otherwise be unable to refinance because the home lacks equity. This is a big deal -- especially today. Mortgage rates are at an all-time low and millions of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Administration, Freddie Mac, HARP, Home Affordable Refinance Program, Home insurance, Loan, Making Home Affordable, Mortgage loan, Refinancing

Feb 07

Lock An Instant 13% Savings On Your Monthly Mortgage Payment

February 7, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 1 Comment

Falling mortgage rates make owning a home more affordable. Mortgage rates are directly tied to monthly mortgage payment so as mortgage rates drop, so does the cost of home-ownership. It's a money-saving time to buy a home in DC -- or to refinance one. Mortgage rates have never been this low in history. According to Freddie Mac, last week, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.87% nationwide for borrowers willing to pay an accompanying 0.8 discount points plus closing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage, Closing Costs, Fixed rate mortgage, Freddie Mac, Mortgage loan, Owner-occupier, Payment, Point (mortgage), Refinance, Refinancing

Feb 06

The 10 Longest Commutes In The United States – Washington, DC Ranks #2

February 6, 2012 By Joshua Oliver Leave a Comment

According to the Census Bureau, more than 3.2 million U.S. workers spend over 3 hours commuting to and from work each day. Commutes exceeding 90 minutes in each direction are known as "extreme commutes" in Census Bureau parlance. As compared to typical commute times nationwide, they're aptly named. The national, average commute time is just 25.1 minutes. For home buyers in District of Columbia or in any U.S. city, make sure to make commute times a consideration before placing an offer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Neighborhood News Tagged With: Census Bureau, commute, Commuting, rush hour, Transportation, United States, United States Census Bureau, washington dc

Feb 03

Banks Start To Loosen Up In Underwriting

February 3, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie 3 Comments

Washington DC Banks Loosen Underwriting Conditions

After a half-decade of tightening mortgage guidelines, banks are starting to "loosen up". The Federal Reserve conducts a quarterly survey of its member banks and, last quarter, not a single responding bank reported having tightened its mortgage guidelines for prime borrowers. A "prime borrower" is defined as one with a well-documented credit history, high credit scores, and a low debt-to-income ratio. 53 banks responded to the Fed's survey and none said that mortgage … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: buying, District of Columbia, Federal Reserve, FICO, financing, Loan, mortgage, real estate, Senior Loan Officer, underwriting, washington dc

Feb 02

Home Affordability Threatened By Friday’s Jobs Report

February 2, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 1 Comment

This week, once more, we find mortgage rates are on a downward trajectory. Conforming mortgage rates have returned to near all-time lows. After Friday morning's Non-Farm Payrolls report, however, those low rates may come to an end. It's a risky time for DC home buyers and would-be refinancers to be without a locked rate. Each month, on the first Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report for the month prior. More commonly called the "jobs report", … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Bureau of Labor Statistics, District of Columbia, Friday, Jobs Report, Mortgage loan, Non-Farm Payroll, Non-Farm Payrolls, report, Unemployment, Unemployment Rate, Wall Street

Feb 01

Case-Shiller Index Says Washington DC And Detroit Lead The Market

February 1, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie 2 Comments

Standard & Poors released its November 2011 Case-Shiller Index this week. The index measures the change in home prices from month-to-month, and year-to-year, in select U.S. cities. According to the data, for the second straight month, home values fell in 19 of the Case-Shiller Index's 20 tracked markets. In addition, also for the second straight month, Phoenix, Arizona was the lone Case-Shiller-tracked city in which home values rose. Overall, November's Case-Shiller Index showed a 1 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Case-Shiller Index, Condominiums, Home Values, real estate, Real estate pricing, United States, washington dc

Jan 31

Supply Of New Homes At 6.1 Months Nationwide

January 31, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 2 Comments

New Home Sales slowed into the New Year but the market for newly-built homes remains strong. For home buyers in DC and nationwide, December's New Home Sales report is yet one more signal that the housing market recovery may be underway. According to the Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold in December 2011 slipped 2 percent to 307,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis nationwide. A "new home" is a home that is considered new construction; a home for which the buyer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Buyer, Census Bureau, New Home Sales, New Home Supply, real estate, Real estate economics, Sales, United States Census Bureau, washington dc

Jan 27

Pending Home Sales Index Posts Second Best Month Since April 2010

January 27, 2012 By Joshua Oliver 1 Comment

After 3 consecutive months of growth, the housing market appears to have eased a bit in December. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, December's Pending Home Sales Index slipped 4 percent from the month prior. The index measures the number of homes under contract to sell nationwide, but not yet sold. Despite falling below its benchmark "100 value", December's Pending Home Sales Index is the reading's second-highest value since April 2010 -- the last month of last … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: District of Columbia, Freddie Mac, Mortgage loan, NAR, National Association of Realtors, New Home Sales, Pending Home Sales Index, PHSI, real estate, Real estate pricing, washington dc