Archive for May, 2009
May 26, 2009
It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website.
For an explanation of how the Case-Shiller data is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – March data is released in May).
Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Washington DC area* as of March:
March 2009
Month to Month: Down 1.2%
Year to Year: Down 18.4%
Change from Peak: Down 33.9% in 34 months
The following chart shows the DC area HPI scaled such that the May 2006 peak is 100% on the y-axis. Data on the x-axis is scaled to display the last time (pre-peak) the DC area HPI was at or lower than it was in the latest data (December 2003).
DC’s decline in March was the smallest in recent months, dropping below 2% for the first time since last August. The 1-month decline also just happened to match the 1-month increase seen in January 2004.
Here’s a chart of Case-Shiller HPIs for all the markets that Redfin serves, so you can compare the DC area’s performance to other areas across the country:
And here’s our final chart, in which we line up the peak Case-Shiller HPI value for each of Redfin’s markets, so we can see how long each market has been declining, and how much it has dropped from the peak.
Could this slight flattening in the DC area be the beginning of a slight spring bounce in the local market? The following months should be interesting. I suspect that even if we do see a slight spring bump, price declines may simply resume later in the year.
*[Case-Shiller defines Washington DC as the entire Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of the District of Columbia and all or part of the following counties: Calvert MD, Charles MD, Frederick MD, Montgomery MD, Prince Georges MD, Alexandria City VA, Arlington VA, Clarke VA, Fairfax VA, Fairfax City VA, Falls Church City VA, Fauquier VA, Fredericksburg City VA, Loudoun VA, Manassas City VA, Manassas Park City VA, Prince William VA, Spotsylvania VA, Stafford VA, Warren VA, and Jefferson WV.]
May 20, 2009
When first-time home buyers Danny and Andreea attended Redfin’s DC area home buying class on March 25th, they didn’t know much about buying a home. By the end of the class, they felt a little more comfortable: the next day they got pre-approved, started touring homes, made a couple offers, and ended up buying their first home just one month later.
Danny & Andreea's new home
Danny & Andreea’s Story
We had been looking at homes on Redfin and monitoring the Redfin DC real estate forum since early March. We liked being in control of our search, but had questions about how pre-approval would affect our credit score and were unsure about market conditions. It seemed like the right time for us to buy since prices and mortgage rates are low and we know we’re going to live in our home for a while.
We attended Redfin’s home buying class and met with Redfin agent Fernando Ferrufino and local lender Steve Fox. We had some concerns about whether pre-approval would lower our credit score. Steve answered all our questions and explained to us that pre-approval would last for 90 days without affecting our score. He told us that it’s an important first step in figuring out how much we can afford and assures home sellers that we’re qualified buyers. The next day, Steve helped us get pre-approved and we started touring homes with Redfin in Fairfax, Burke, Springfield and Annadale. We originally made an offer on a home with a pool, but after attending another open house in Fairfax one weekend early in April, we knew we’d found the right place. It just clicked.
Fernando worked hard to help us draft an offer on the home over the weekend. There were three others on the table, one even $100 higher than ours, but Fernando wrote a great contract, pitched it well and the sellers chose us!
Advice for Fellow First-Time Buyers
1. Lock down your finances early in your home search: we used myFICO.com to check our credit score. They offer free service for 30 days and we canceled the subscription before the free period ended. Also, get pre-approved right away so you know your target price range before you waste too much time searching for homes that you can’t afford.
2. Shop for mortgage loans: we used Bankrate.com to monitor rate changes and signed up for rate alert emails from the Wachovia Mortgage Center. Research a few different lenders to make sure you’re getting the loan with the best rate and terms. We went with Steve Fox, but also checked the estimates online and exchanged emails with lenders from our New Jersey credit unit (Affinity FCU), Bank of America, Wachovia and Wells Fargo. Here are important questions to ask lenders:
- When am I committed to working with you?
- What’s the down payment?
- What are my monthly rates?
- How often will you communicate with my agent to ensure an on-time closing?
3. Ask lots of questions: examine each contract and make sure you understand everything. I never sign anything I don’t read. There will be a lot of fine print, but don’t be afraid to ask about all the details. During the whole process, Fernando was always patient and incredibly responsive! All his advice helped us win this one from the beginning, even with competing offers. Thanks to Fernando, we learned a lot about the home buying process and everything is clear now, no questions unanswered. We would definitely recommend Fernando and Redfin to anybody asking us about an agent!
Danny and Andreea will move into their new home in early June and plan on claiming their first-time home buyer tax credit when they file their tax returns later this year. If any other recent buyers would like to share their experiences, just let us know!
May 20, 2009
We try to display the property tax information for every property in our database. We have homes for sale in so many different municipalities and counties that it is not practical to pull tax records from each assessor’s office. Instead, we use a third-party data aggregator that collects all the information, bundles it and send it to us.
Here’s where to find the property tax information on a home’s listing details page:
We try to show the most recent property tax values, but sometimes there’s a lag between when an assessor’s office releases its numbers and when our data provider sends them to us. For example, in parts of Northern Virginia our agents serve and the District, we’re showing the 2008 tax values, even though the 2009 tax values are on the assesors’ websites.
Why is this important? First of all, we are obsessed with data-quality and want to make sure our site has the freshest and best numbers. Second, home-buyers trying to figure out if they can afford particular home need to know how much they’ll be paying in property taxes every year. The good news is that for most homes in Metro DC region, the 2008 tax values are higher than those for 2009.
We’ve spoken with our data provider and we will have the 2009 numbers on Redfin.com later this summer. Until then, to find the 2009 tax values for these counties, you can look up tax assesment values on the assessors’ websites:
We’re sorry about this delay and we hope to have the 2009 values on Redfin.com soon.
May 8, 2009
Let’s look at our brokerage stats for the Metro DC region to see how what our clients are doing right now reflects what’s happening in the market.
Our Clients Love Our Fanatical Service
We survey every client and track every transaction in a central customer database. For the surveys we received in April from our clients in the DC area:
- 16 clients responded to our customer-satisfaction survey and posted a review online, up from 15 in March.
- All 16 of those clients, or 100%, would recommend Redfin to a friend, the same as in March.
In these surveys, Redfin asks customers to rate the likelihood that they would recommend Redfin to a friend on a 0-to-10 scale. Customers who rated 6 or higher count as people who would recommend Redfin to a friend.
More People Are Out Looking At Homes
In April, our Washington, DC area clients were busy seeing homes and making offers:
“With the warm weather, the low mortgage rates and first-time home-buyer credit, more and more people are out touring homes,” says Washington, DC agent Taylor Connolly. “We’ve had to hire 7 more field agents since the start of April to meet the increase in tour requests.”
We also had 41 people come to the April home-buying class our office in Falls Church to learn about the home-buying process and meet our agents. Check out the slide deck from the class.
It’s Taking 37 Days To Close On A Home
In April, the time it took our clients in the metro DC area to close on their homes was slightly longer than in March:
- For our clients who bought re-sales, the average time from initial agreement on terms to the close of the deal was 37 days, up from 34 days in March.
- All of our clients successfully financed their homes, the same as in March.
- All of our client’s deals passed the home inspection, the same as in March.
- Of our closed deals, the average discount off list price for homes sold was 4.23%, down from 5.64% in March.
Look For Our May Report
We’ll be back next month with our analysis of the May numbers. Let us know what you’d like to see in that report.
May 1, 2009
Open House Dates and Times:
Sunday, May 3, 1 – 4 p.m.
12513 Kuhl Rd Silver Spring, MD 20902
Priced at $549,500
Listing Agent: Taylor Connolly
Seller Comments
Coffee Shop of Choice:
Mayorga Coffee Factory for a long afternoon of sipping coffee – or numerous nearby Starbucks locations for a quick pick-me-up.
Favorite Restaurant in the Area:
Too many to count! This area is a foodie’s paradise.
Silver Spring Favorites
- CakeLove Bakery: Cupcakes are so delicious!
- Crisfield Seafood Restaurant: Simple restaurant, excellent food.
- Lebanese Taverna: Fantastic Middle Eastern food, and catering service is great too!
- Piratz Tavern: Fantastic steaks and grog. Staff takes the theme all the way – kids love it!
Wheaton Favorites
- The Chicken Place: Excellent Peruvian food, nice atmosphere for taking friends, friendly owners and staff.
- Cristina’s: Fantastic Italian very close by. Feels like an NYC restaurant.
- Irene’s Pupusas: A simple restaurant, specializing in a DC favorite.
- Marchone’s Italian Deli: Best sandwiches around – they bring in Amoroso’s rolls from Philadelphia! Owner is a sweetheart, and zepolle in the spring is amazing.
- Max’s Kosher Cafe: Falafel is fantastic!
- Moby Dick Seafood and Sushi: Quiet restaurant, excellent cuts of sushi.
Aspen Hill/Colesville/Misc. Favorites
- Azucar Restaurant: Spanish and Latin American cuisine. Very nice dining room, friendly with kids (and they participate in UPromise).
- The Bagelry: Fresh, delicious bagels and cream cheese. Deli sandwiches are also good.
- Bombay Indian: Fantastic Indian food, not too expensive.
- Greek Village Restaurant: Very close, friendly staff, amazing mousaka.
- Ledo’s Pizza: Great local chain, family-friendly dining room nearby.
- Sol d’Italia: Nice place for a weekend pizza or simple Italian, head out to the Ashton location for a nice country drive.
- Stained Glass Pub: Local favorite, good pizza and beer.
Favorite Places to Go:
- Brookside Gardens and Wheaton Regional Park – a local treasure, accessible by path in our neighborhood
- Downtown DC to visit the Smithsonian, the monuments, and the Tidal Basin (accessible by Metro, with a Red Line stop less than a mile and a half from our house).
- Baltimore – not very far, and with local roads you can even avoid most I-95 traffic to get there.
- Daedalus Books Warehouse Outlet – a fun book-browse with fantastic prices in Columbia, MD.
Best Features of the Home:
The floorplan is fantastic for living and entertaining. A traditional center-hall colonial, we have a good balance of formal spaces and casual family space. We also have a ton of room – bedrooms are sizeable, esp. the master suite, as are the living areas. The yard is quite large for the Silver Spring area and we have off-street parking and a garage. The neighborhood is well-established with lovely older trees and great gardens. A friendly neighborhood with a voluntary neighborhood association (yearly dues $25) that hosts special social and informational events.
Favorite Room:
The family area on the back of the first floor. The area features an open kitchen linked to a family room, with a breakfast nook in the middle, making it possible to make dinner and still be part of the family activities. The family room has a wood-burning fireplace and a double-open French door leading to the deck outside. A desk between the kitchen and breakfast nook is a wonderful craft area/ children’s desk /bill-paying station. Windows look at a beautiful large tree and a kids’ playset.
We have introduced a more natural color palette to the house through numerous painting projects (living room, dining room, 1st floor hall bath, 2nd floor hall bath, office/guest room, and nursery). In the 1st floor hall bath we also added ceramic floor tiles. In the 2nd floor hall bath we added new lighting, new vinyl tiles, new towel rods and a hotel-style shower curtain rod. We’ve installed new curtain hardware in the living room, master bedroom, and both kids’ rooms. We’ve re-mediated a minor radon problem (levels previously at 7; transferrable warranty on the radon system) and begun peg-boarding a wall for a workbench in the garage. We’ve done some minor landscape projects, including a new mailbox.
Most Romantic Spot in the Home or Neighborhood
Brookside Gardens, with its beautiful floral displays, lovely verandas, and great paths where you regularly see brides and grooms getting their formal portraits, families looking for turtles, and old couples strolling hand-in-hand. It is a sought-after wedding venue. Easily accessed from our neighborhood (you can leave your car at home!) the garden has many paths and hideaways to sit and relax, and the gift shop is a fun place to spend the dough you saved on the free admission to the gardens. There are several garden areas, including an azalea garden, rose garden, formal garden, and Japanese garden, as well as a conservatory that features rotating seasonal exhibits.
What’s in the neighborhood?:
In addition to Brookside Gardens, our development is quite close to the impressive Wheaton Regional Park, including popular Shorefield Park (including one of the best playgrounds in the DC area), an ice-skating rink, a dog park, nature center, and there is a lovely horse pasture adjacent to the Old Randolph entrance to our neighborhood. You can see the horses grazing, and occasionally a family of deer, as you enter the neighborhood from the Kemp Mill direction.
What you will miss most:
We will miss the house itself – the size and layout were perfect for us. However, we will have the hardest time finding another neighborhood like this, so close to the action in DC and downtown Silver Spring, yet removed just enough to provide some space and such beautiful natural surroundings. We love the community with its friendly local establishments (what wonderful food!) and will miss the people of this area.
