Between 1908 and 1940, Sears Roebuck is said to have sold about 100,000 homes from their catalogue.  They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and Rosemary Thornton’s book, The Houses That Sears Built, gives lots of details on how they were built and how to spot one.They became popular after World War I, filling a demand around the country for homes for returning servicemen starting families, as well as immigrants coming through Ellis Island.  They were affordable, and supposedly very easy to build.My former in-laws owned a one of these homes on Morrison Street here in Washington.  It is one of many Sears houses located in Chevy Chase, a favorite Upper Northwest neighborhood in the capital.  The original owners ordered it from the Sears catalogue, in 1930 according to the public recor... 08/26/2007

Cleveland Park started off as a place for summer homes, so wealthy residents of Washington could escape from the horrendous heat and humidity - not to mention August outbreaks of typhoid fever! It gets its name from President Grover Cleveland, who was one of its earliest renovators.  He bought an old stone house near 35th and Newark Streets and renovated it for use as a summer White House.  He sold it when he left office, and it has since been torn down. In the late 1800's, street car lines linked the neighborhood to downtown and changed its character, turning it into one of the capital's early suburbs. While President Cleveland's house fell to the wrecking ball, many of the big old frame houses remain, with their wrap-around porches and original details in tact.  And there is an active... 08/18/2007

   AV sold PricePrice vs.     Last YRUnits SoldUnit Sold vs. Last YRDOMDOM vs. Last YR.% Sales Price$565,1946.61%74010.61%6017.65%96.39%While the Real Estate market in many parts of the country remains slow and declining; the state of the market in the Nation's Capitol is looking up.In the month of July, the average SOLD price has increased over last year, as has the number of homes sold.  Days on the market (DOM), is still higher than last year, but is down from it's highest point in years.  In March the DOM was 84 days.  So we have seen some improvement this year.Homes in the District of Columbia are selling at an average of 96.39%.  No huge deals here.   08/16/2007

BEAUTY IN ANACOSTIA?This D.C. neighborhood on the east bank of the Anacostia River is primarily known for its excessive crime rates.  Out of 195 D.C. homicides in 2005, 62 occurred in the Greater Anacostia area of the District.  But amidst this turmoil, neglect, abandoned homes, and bad reputation, there exists an oasis of beauty!Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens Yesterday I ventured to Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, the only National Park Service park dedicated to cultivating water-loving plants.  I first learned about Kenilworth about a week or so ago in The Washington Post story "The Life Aquatic" which detailed the Waterlily Cultural Festival held at the gardens on July 21st.  The article described the beauty of the lotus flowers and waterlilies and said that the annual festiv... 07/30/2007

If you've outgrown your house, you have a couple of choices. You can try to change the house with a renovation or addition. Or, you change your location - move! My house, which I love in many ways, wasn't working.  I chose renovation.  The next time, I will just move. Move is a 4-letter word.  I get that.  But, so is renovation!  Actually, it's a bunch of 4-letter words: DUST MESS LEAD FUNK WORK  There are a bunch of other adjectives that have more than four letters, like disruptive, expensive, disconcerting, upsetting, uncomfortable, inconvenient, daunting and I could go on.  I know, because I am experiencing it all first hand! I'm sitting at my I-Mac wearing a mask to minimize the amount of lead paint that I inhale.  My contractors gave it to me.  That would be uncomfortable. My forma... 07/19/2007

Halfway through the year, here are the top twelve sales in Washington D.C. so far in 2007.  D.C.'s Top Dozen Sales: (information provided by MRIS) 1.  2860 Woodland Drive, NW 20008 -- topping the list at a sales price of $7,400,000, this home in Massachusetts Avenue Heights is on almost an acre with 6 bedrooms, 5 and 2 half baths and a pool.  Yearly property taxes on this home are $82,055! 2.  2401 Kalorama Road, NW 20008 -- this interesting home was originally built in 1754 in Massachusetts and moved to D.C. in the 1930s and reconstructed on this lot in Kalorama.  The updated kitchen includes a Vulcan stove and SubZero fridge and sold for $7,165,000 in February. 3.  3249 N Street, NW 20007 -- this 1820 home in the heart of Georgetown featured a garage, chef's kitchen, home theater, lib... 07/08/2007

Community News:  This is a Message from your Realtor - Cheryl S. Miller The National Fireworks on the Mall can be viewed just about anywhere in the Nations Capitol.  Traditional many family spend a great portion of the day on the mall to secure their front row seat.Those families wishing not to spend their day in the hot sun may tend to congregate on one the major bridges such as I-395 or I-295.  Although local law enforcement frowns on motorist  pulling over on the bridge, these bridges general come to a complete stop during the display, leaving just enough room for light traffic or emergency vehicles to get through.  Families choose to watch from these areas to avoid the high volume of traffic.  Arlington, Virginia, has a great spot to enjoy the fireworks on the Mall. One of three gre... 07/01/2007

I get a lot of calls from potential clients looking for "a deal". In my experience, most of the callers are watching infomercials late at night because they believe that Foreclosures and HUD owned homes are deals. My purpose today, is to inform and enlighten on the continuing dynamic Washington DC metro area housing market. There are currently 254 single family homes listed as foreclosures, 41 single family homes listed as pre-foreclosures, 1 single family home listed as a HUD owned, and 218 single family homes listed as bank owned properties in the MRIS in the extended DC metro area. These homes are priced as follows: Price Range # Foreclosures # Pre-foreclosures # HUD # Bank Owned Under $100,000: 1 $100,000 - $199,999: 7 4 $200,000 - $299,999: 39 3 1 33 $300,000 - $399,999: 85 9 79 $4... 06/11/2007

Here is my top 5 ways to market your open house list - please note that these may vary by market, and the type of house you are selling:1) Invitations to the neighbors - Neighbors are inherently nosey (myself included) they have always wanted to know what your house looks like on the inside.  An open house sign is their chance to do that.  The only ones who won't come are those who feel like they have to come up with an excuse to come to your open house - since they already live in the neighborhood and won't be buying your home. Invite them to a "NOSEY NEIGHBOR NIGHT" where you have cocktails and snacks.  Go knock on doors and drop off invitations.  It is a nice social setting to find out if they know anyone interested in moving into their neighborhood!2) Evites - Everyone loves an evit... 05/20/2007

Thanks, Mary Ellen, for sharing this cool link with me: One of the best Rent vs. Buy calculators I've seen, especially for the visually-oriented and "what if" type of people:Rent vs. Buy Calculator :http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/2007_BUYRENT_GRAPHIC.html?ex=1178683200&en=2165805548a5d4ea&ei=5070 Check out the "Advanced Settings," especially on Buying, where you can enter such things as condo fees (count on at least $250-300) and costs of buying home (about 3% for closing costs is a good rule-of-thumb) and selling (count on 7-10%), maintenance costs, It even lets you enter the return on alternate investments and inflation rate, and the capital gains exclusion. This is simply the most thorough calculator I've seen.The only downside to this particular calculator is that it doe... 05/07/2007

There are currently 5 single family homes for sale in Washington, DC that feature in-ground Swimming Pools, with an average list price of $2,453,980. There are additionally 2 Pool Homes currently under contract, with an average list price of $4,447,500. In March, 5 Pool Homes were Sold for an average sales price of $2,070,780. They were on the market for an average of 64 days.Tune in next Friday for updated statistics. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Gregory's Monthly Real Estate Newsletter: Newsletter.GregoryMaley.INFOStay Up-To-Date on Real Estate News & Advice: DailyNews.GregoryMaley.INFOChat with Gregory Online     (AOL, Yahoo, MSN, Google Instant Messengers):  RealtorGregory* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *... 04/27/2007

New Construction Condos & Lofts   The developers of many new construction lofts and condos fail to advertise their units in the Multiple Listing Service.  I don't know why because it would open their sales to a much broader market of people like yourself that use the MLS to search for their next home.    Until now, you had to drive around town and look for signs on new construction to find out about these great properties.  Now, there is a great resource that consolidates the information into one website which I have provided below for your convenience.   All of these developers have budgeted to pay a commission to realtors for bringing buyers who purchase units from them.  These smart buyers realize that without a buyer's representative they must go through the entire process on their ... 04/26/2007

 I recently read an article on Money Magazine's website that addressed the possibility of the government and lenders allowing some borrowers with ARMs to swap them out for fixed rate mortgages.  Speakers at a Congressional hearing of the House Financial Services Committe called for restructuring ARM loans to help solve the subprime crisis. A Congresswoman from Ohio (which apparently leads the nation in the foreclosure rate) recommended the following three-prong approach:- Establish a rescue fund for short-term problems casued by illness, layoffs, or other one-time events.- Create a bond fund to pay for switching borrowers out of unaffordable ARMs.- Refinance loans for victims of predatory lending.These measures also calls for lenders to agree to modify the terms of existing loans to pre... 04/21/2007

 Have you ever applied for a mortgage and all of a sudden get a swarm of calls from other lenders the next day promising to give you a better deal?  This phenomenom occurs because the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) sell your information for a pretty penny and other lenders can buy this information on a daily basis.  With the cooling of the hot real estate market, many lenders are investing heavily in this type of lead generation for business.  It is very attractive to lenders because for the most part, all of the leads are currently in the market for a mortgage.  The "lead" is generated when your current lender pulls your credit.  This is one of the most sought after lead and the credit bureaus charge a premium for them.  As a consumer, you are open to shop around as... 04/17/2007

MyCommunity Mortgages: which are sponsored by Fannie Mae and is designed to assist low and moderate income families, public service employees, and disabled people to realize their dream of owning an affordable home.  This program allows for 100% financing and little to no money required into the transaction for those who qualify. I can't stress enough how great this Fannie Mae sponsored program is.  It allows certain borrowers to qualify for a home with no money down and less than perfect credit.  It is a great alternative to some of the subprime loans that are now disappearing from the marketplace.  The best feature of this loan program is that it offers a low interest rate that is fixed over 30 or 40 years, not just 2 - 3 years like the average subprime mortgage.  Most subprime borrow... 04/11/2007

We all know that the woes of the subprime market has now made it difficult for a good number of the population to obtain mortgages. Most of the 100%, no money down, no credit needed financing are now disappearing. Those of us with good credit may be thinking that "this won't affect me". Or maybe you are laughing at the people that took these loans and are now suffering the consequences of 2 year ARMs that are increasing by over 3% in interest rate. To make matters worse, these homeowners can't even refinance their homes because similar subprime loans are no longer available. In addition, their credit is not good enough to go "prime", so for many the only option is foreclosure. Well, the demise of the subprime market has some ripple effects on the rest of the market. For one, the tighten... 04/09/2007

We have all seen the increase in business for the home inspector in this buyer's real estate market. The professional home stager is another real estate business that is seeing a resurgence in activity. This Spring will see an increase in homes on the market and each seller needs to get every competitive advantage available to them. The setup, look, feel, furniture, smell, and lighting of your home could have a more positive effect on a potential transaction than a lower sales price. Homes that are cluttered with children's toys and/or pet odors or hair may be hurting their chances of getting an interested buyer. With so much inventory on the market, it is easy for a buyer to move on to the next property. Sellers may consider hiring an accredited professional stager (ASP) who can help t... 04/09/2007

I have been working with a lot of first-time buyers as of late and several of them have asked me...what questions should I be asking that I'm not asking?  It has really reminded me that oftentimes, first-time buyers just don't know what they don't know. :)So, in response, here's some pointers I share with my first-tme buyer clients to help them through the process.*The Pre-approval process - I provide all of my buyers with a glossary of terms...Basically, what is an ARM, and I/O loan?  There are so many types of loans and programs out there that many times they don't know what to choose.  While a good loan officer with walk them through the process, if they've brought in their own lender, I don't necessarily know how that lender operates, so it's good to do a checks and balances with bo... 03/27/2007

 With spring upon us, there will be an increase real estate market activity.  Sellers will definitely be selling ..... and hopefully buyers will be buying :).  But what are the best strategies for getting the best deal out there.  Well today, I am on the buyer's side ... sorry sellers ;).  One technique that I use when negotiating an offer price is to find out what the current owner paid for their property.  The days of $100,000 appreciation per year are gone, so owners are now more willing to negotiate.  But what if the owner paid $500,000 for that great property in 2006 and now is selling it for $525,000 and it is really worth $475,000?  Chances are he or she will not have much if any negotiation room.  If a buyer offers less than that .... lets say $500,000, he or she may be wasting ... 03/26/2007

Adams Morgan is located in the Northwest part of Washington, DC.  The area is best known for its diverse resturants and nightlife.  I would guess there are some 50 or so restuarants and bars.  The different choices in food include, but not limited to:  French, Spanish, West African, Ehtiopian, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, and American.  The nightlife includes places like The Angry Inch, Adams Mill, Millie & Als, Heaven & Hell, and many more.  I lived above two restaurants, The Diner and Fasika's Ehtiopian Restaurant, and was there only a short 15 months.  Everyone I met in the area were wonderful.  If traveling to Washington, DC, I highly recommend visiting the Adams Morgan area for the food or the nightlife or both. 03/24/2007