Nighttime view of Adams Morgan. (Photo credit: CooltownStudios.com)

• Is FIOS in downtown DC’s future? [Penn Quarter Living]
• Urban Turf DC asks, “Is Adams Morgan More Dangerous than Anacostia?”
• On Monday, the Dow broke its record 8-day losing streak. [WashingtonPost.com]
• Psychologists are ranking the emotional turmoil in today’s real estate market as being on par with divorce and death. [WashingtonPost.com]
• Glass half-empty: “One in six homeowners owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth.” Glass half-full: “Five out of six homeowners owe less on their mortgage than their home is worth.” Which type are you? [Examiner.com]

Downtown Leesburg could be a contender as the site for GMU’s Loudoun campus.

• 93% of Loudoun County’s high schoolers graduated on time. We’re second in the state only to Falls Church City, which has just 1906 students in a total of 4 schools. [LoudounExtra.com via Our Loudoun Schools]
• Loudoun has its own wiki! [LoudounPedia] 
• Want to know how to start a business in Loudoun? [Gateway to Loudoun]
• Where’s the best place for GMU to build its full-service Loudoun Campus: near the to-be-built Moorefield Station (with Metro access), or downtown Leesburg? [Living in LoCo]
• Will larger class sizes be an inevitable result of Loudoun’s budget crunch?[Leesburg Tomorrow]

Recent Loudoun County Posts
Priced to Sell
HGTV “Dream House”

If you’ve been wondering what $49,000,000 will get you in the DC real estate market (and really, who hasn’t?), I have an answer for you: Evermay. Built in 1801 by Nicholas King (who helped Pierre L’Enfant design DC), the estate is now owned by Harry Belin (heir of diplomat F. Lammot Belin, who bought the place in 1923). Belin has been leasing the estate to the Evermay Society, a charitable organization that rents the estate in exchange for hefty fees. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Why would Belin decide to unload nearly $50 million worth of historic property in today’s market? In this The Georgetowner editorial, the author reveals the reason for the sale. Harry Belin decided to sell the estate due to a dispute with neighbors over the number of parties held on the premises. The neighbors are unhappy with the noise and parking inconveniences caused by social events held at the estate. I wonder how those same neighbors will feel if developers buy the estate and divvy it up for townhomes. 

On to the details… 

1623 28th St Northwest Washington, DC, 20007
9 bd/8.5 ba; sq. ft. unavailable
Website: www.EvermayDC.com 

Situated on 3.5 acres with views of the Washington Monument and Rock Creek Park, the estate features renowned grounds and gardens, parking for 100 cars, a ballroom and a gatehouse. Interested parties must receive advance qualification and provide 24 hours notice in order to tour the house.

Thanks to my fellow blogger, Allison Scuriatti, for the tip about this property.

• Remember when oil was trading at $35 to $40 a barrel? We could see that again in the next year or so, along with gas at about $2 per gallon. [CNN Money]
• The number of jobless claims fell by 20,000 last week. [WashingtonPost.com]
• 30-year mortgage rates fell below 6% this week. [WashingtonPost.com] 

Recent Sweet Digs Posts
Loudoun County Open Houses, 10/11 & 10/12
NW DC SQFT Deals of the Week

That being said, I was pleasantly surprised to see that both 20147 and 20176 are having a decent amount of open houses this weekend (20148 only has four). Both the most expensive and least expensive open houses are in 20147. If you’re going to be out looking, you’ve got beautiful weather for it. Happy hunting!

Click here for open house listings in 20147. 

Most expensive: Belmont Country Club
19805 Rothschild Ct, Ashburn
Price: $1,350,000
5 bd/5.5ba; 7011 sq. ft.
On the 18th green and directly across from the Clubhouse. Professional movie theatre; main level in-law suite with sitting room and full bath; deck and hot tub.
Open: Sun. 10/12 from 1 to 4:00 

Least expensive: Westmaren
21023 Timber Ridge Ter, #101, Ashburn
Price: $170,000
2 bd/1 ba; 925 sq. ft.
Patio with view of common ground/pool; in-unit washer/dryer; home warranty.
Open: Sat. 10/11 from 1 to 4:00 

Click here for open house listings in 20148. 

Click here for open house listings in 20176. 

Here’s an update on the Capitol Riverfront development. [Urban Turf DC]

Recent Sweet Digs Posts
Posh Not Selling in Kalorama / Fixer-Upper Will Sell
Reduced Again: Coveted Hall Place in Glover Park
Priced to Sell 

1.       Those who don’t want to face how much money they may have “lost” by not selling a few years ago.

2.       Those who believe that overpricing the property will result in a higher sales price.

3.       Those who fall prey to realtors who “buy” their listing. 

My responses to these types of sellers are as follows: 

1.       Home equity is purely imaginary, because it is always based on what the bank thinks you can sell your home for. There is no pile of money buried under your house that shrinks or grows with the state of the housing market. Therefore, unless you are upside-down on your mortgage, you will not “lose” money by selling your house for less than what your neighbor sold hers for three years ago . If you are actually upside-down on your mortgage, then I really feel for you – but that doesn’t change the fact that overpricing your house to make up for that loss will only harm you more in the end. I’m sorry, but it’s true.

2.       Overpricing your property because you think it will put you in a better bargaining position never, ever works. EVER. If you think your home will fetch $650,000 based on recent comps, pricing it at $675,000 because you know buyers are going to bargain you down, anyway, will not get you an offer of $650,000. It will most likely get you offers that are insultingly low or no offers at all, because any interested buyers will think you are unreasonable. With so many houses on the market, why would a buyer choose to deal with an unreasonable seller? Too many times, I have watched sellers set up this “negotiating cushion”, only to watch their homes languish on the market, have to be pulled off the market, or have to go through a price reduction. Here’s a little tip: You are better off pricing your house 1 to 2% below the most recent comps than you are overpricing and then going through a price reduction. Either approach will likely get you to a similar price. But pricing your house below comps could actually get you multiple offers or your asking price quickly, while overpricing and then going through a price reduction will end up substantially weakening your bargaining stance. You don’t want that.

3.       It’s obvious from the sheer volume of overpriced homes on the market that there are some realtors out there who aren’t doing their jobs properly. Realty is like any other business in that there will always be those that will tell you what you want to hear, or who may not stand their ground firmly enough when they do tell you what you don’t want to hear. When a realtor knowingly agrees to overprice your house just so they can get your business, that’s called “buying a listing.” Any realtor who “buys” your listing is not looking out for you – he is looking out for himself. If you’re going to be paying a realtor a chunk of money to help sell your house, don’t you want someone who is going to truly have your best interests at heart? I know of realtors who refuse to take on overpriced listings, and those are the realtors that I would want to hire. Those realtors are the ones who don’t feel right leading you down the primrose path, can’t stomach the thought of adding yet another home to our overstocked inventory that will then sit there, or who take their reputations too seriously to engage in that sort of behavior. Here’s another little tip: A realtor who believes that the home is priced properly will be a much better negotiator and advocate for you than the one who just told you what you wanted to hear.  

Now that I got that off my chest…here’s a link to the Loudoun Times-Mirror article that got me thinking about all this again. Entitled, “Selling Your Home in a Buyer’s Market”, it lists seven things to do to prime yourself for proper pricing. Good luck!

We look forward to hearing from you. As always, we ask that comments be kept constructive and respectful. Thanks in advance!

A satellite view of Cindy McCain’s childhood home

• In a surprising twist, Wachovia has spurned the government-backed deal with Citigroup and is hooking up with Wells Fargo instead. Not surprisingly, Citigroup is not handling the rejection well. [Wall Street Journal]
• Here’s an update on the Skyland Town Center waiting to be built in Southeast DC. [And Now, Anacostia]
• The intersection of Woodland Drive at 32nd Street NW, as it looked in June 1913. [DCMetrocentric]
• Is this the end of the traditional living room in new builds? [WashingtonPost.com]
• Cindy McCain’s childhood home is about to be auctioned off. [Zillow Blog] 

Recent Sweet Digs Posts
HGTV “Dream House”
Loudoun Links
Embassy Row: $2 Million per Bedroom