Don’t Make An Offer Yet

The first time I bought a house, I wrote my offer by hand on a piece of foolscap paper, during the open house. My husband and I offered what was asked, no questions asked. The seller actually accepted it … I think because she had a crush on my husband.

That was ten years ago. These days, before you make any offer on a house or condo, I urge you to take a look at the local neighborhood trend information — and particularly the price reduction charts — that are available for free on www.redfin.com/washingtondc. Sellers will find this helpful too. The level of detail is incredible and it lets you see important differences between the condo and house markets. 

For example, the chart shown below is a summary for Georgetown properties sold or taken off the market in the last 90 days. It shows that one-third of all properties had at least one price reduction. But you can also see that among those properties, houses had a median of two reductions, and a total median percentage reduction of 10% off the original list price, compared to only 5.8% and one reduction for condos. This knowledge could save you thousands of dollars by helping you price your offer in the right way.

Check out a few neighborhoods and you’ll start to see the differences from one area to the next. The price reduction  stats for Columbia Heights are similar to Georgetown, for example, but if you look at Shaw you’ll see that more than 75% of condos had price reductions and 50% of houses. There are also graphs on all these pages that show exactly how many reductions all the properties had, and over what timeframe. 

Just for interest, looking at NW Washington, DC as a whole, I found that about 40% of all properties (condos and houses) had at least one price reduction. For condos, the median reduction from the original list price was 5.8%, similar to Georgetown. For houses, it was 7.5%.  

Need help for your search?

Type in the neighborhood you want using the regular Redfin search box. Then click on the “Stats & Trends” words that come up under the search box once your search listings appear. Scroll down the Neighborhood Stats & Trends page and also read the fine print of how these charts and graphs work. It is worth the 5-10 minutes you’ll spend to understand them.

You can also access the neighborhood detail pages from the bottom of any individual property listing page. Just click on the neighborhood names.

Have fun,
Allison

Size Matters: SQFT Deals in Cleveland Park, Kent, Mount Pleasant, Columbia Heights

In real estate it is hard to say what a “deal” is because buying a house is a subjective exercise. One way to look at it, however, is in the pure and cold dollars-per-square-foot aspect.

Among the open house listings today, I found a few houses where the $/sqft price was quite a bit lower than the median for the neighborhood. Two are self-declared fixer-uppers, one doesn’t specify and one is newly renovated.

Remember that most house listings in DC do not give a square foot number (the condos do.) These picks are from the houses that did list their actual size.

Mount Pleasant:

1650 Park Rd NW – $829,900 – 6 bed/3.5 bath semi-detached Victorian. This is a HUGE house built in 1907, with many period details like pocket doors and high ceilings. Over 5,000 sqft including a 2-bedroom income unit, giving it an overall very low $158/sqft. The median value for this area is about $250/sqft. Open today from 2-4.

Columbia Heights:

521 Rock Creek Church Rd NW – $629,900 REDUCED & RENOVATED - 4 bed/3.5 bath Spanish colonial semi-detached home built in 1910. This is a restored house and when I saw the pictures I actually said “Wow, neat house” aloud to myself. With over 3,400 sqft, it is only $185/sqft. The median value for this area is about $250/sqft. Open today from 1-4.

Cleveland Park:

3127 Newark St NW – $949,000 – 4 bed/2.5 bath semi-detached Victorian. This is a great property but a fixer-upper, on a famous street that normally commands very, very high prices. The listing says the house has 4,000 sqft, giving it a price of $237/sqft. The median in this neighborhood is well over $400/sqft. Built in 1900. Open today from 1-4.

Kent:

4910 Klingle St NW – $759,000 – 4 bed/3bath rambler with above-grade lower level. This fixer-upper is on a corner lot and quiet street. It has 2,800 sqft, putting it at a very low $271/sqft in an area where the median is over $500/sqft. Beat that! Open today from 1-4:30.

Cheers,
Allison

Photo: McClouds

Got Nuts? Check Your Back Yard

Here’s a fun, healthy, free and tasty way to cheer yourself up if the depressing news in the media has got you down lately.  Look for and collect nuts! ‘Tis the season. You can do it while you’re scoping neighborhoods.

Yeah, I’m serious. Tap into your hunter-gatherer genes. If you find a good tree, it’s better than an Easter egg hunt.  Why leave all the treats to the squirrels?

What kind of nuts? Chestnuts and walnuts, mainly.

Those spiky green balls you’ve seen rolling down sidewalks and parking lots are chestnuts (pictured above.) The thick green skin cracks open naturally to reveal two or three beautiful brown nuts – the kind you can roast. Just find the tree where they’re coming from and they’ll be lying on the ground waiting for you if no one has beaten you to it. Careful, the green spikes are quite sharp. 

Once you collect a nice big handful, roast them over the stove in a cast-iron skillet until they smell toasty. You’ll feel like you’re on the streets of Paris or Rome. The dark shell will crack slightly, and its OK if the outside blackens a bit. Crack them open and enjoy while warm.

You may also see bumpy, round, green balls that are about two inches across. These are walnuts.  If you crush the outside skin you’ll get to the walnut shell that we all recognize from the store. Inside that is the meat. It seems like a lot of work and I am not as familiar with how to handle them as with the chestnuts. I do know that fresh walnuts taste kind of sweet and are not at all like the bitter/older things my mother used to buy in bags for her baking. Maybe one of readers can give it a try and report back one day.

If you’re really lucky, you may find some fig or apple trees on public land too. I can think of a few in my own neighborhood but that’s a secret I won’t divulge!

Cheers,
Allison

5-Year Price Snapshot in Your Zip: 20010

Who among you took statistics class in college or high school? Well, this is your lucky day. For all others interested in pricing trends, you’ll still find the numbers below to be informative.

Every month the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS) comes out with publicly available statistics about property sales for the previous month, by zip code. Since I looked at the current SFH market in Columbia Heights the other day, let me stay in the area but expand to the whole 20010 zip code.

The information below includes both condos and single-family homes. The sales split between them is usually about half-half. With these numbers you get a snapshot of market activity for one month, compared to the same month the year before. I have also added the August snapshot figures for 2007 and 2006, plus October 2005 (that’s as far back as the MRIS allows.)

It is important to remember that the numbers from one month to the next can vary widely depending on what types of properties sold that month – so you can’t really conclude that “prices generally are falling/rising” if the numbers change over one month. It is still interesting to look at what was happening during August of the last five years, however.  What do you make of it?

Zip: 20010                        Aug/08         Aug/07         %Chg                  Aug/06        Aug/05       Oct/04

Total Sold                     $11,789,200    $12,272,815    – 3.94 %

Avg  Sold Price:                $512,574         $490,913       4.41 %           $450,200     $564,321    $506,347

Median Sold Price:          $390,000         $445,000    - 12.36 %            $392,250    $519,750   $449,500

Total Units Sold:                   23                     25         - 8.00 %                   30              34             30

Avg Days on Market:             75                      91         - 17.58 %                73             21             24

Avg List for Solds:           $539,424        $509,833          5.80 %             $483,253  $563,869  $510,450

Avg Sale Price as a %
Avg List Price:                    95.02 %          96.29 %                                93.16 %        100.08 %    99.20 %

I hope these numbers fall into a proper chart order on your browser! I have had a heck of a time getting them in line – sometimes it seems to work, sometimes not. If I figure it out I might do this for other zips, if you find it worthwhile. Let me know. 

Happy computing.

Cheers,
Allison 

Columbia Heights Day Celebration

The second annual “Columbia Heights Day” celebration is coming up on October 4th, so check it out – or, even better, get involved to help make it a success. 

 There will be live music from local entertainers, artisans, entertainers and local business representation.  You can see who they’ve lined up on the event’s Web site. I understand last year’s event was not well attended, but mainly because it was not well known. Given the strong local spirit of Columbia Heights residents, I am hopeful that things will pick up this year.

As for the real estate market, I haven’t focused on Columbia Heights for a while. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the single family home category.

Today there are over 60 homes for sale in the area, not including the Mount Pleasant neighborhood west of 16th St NW. The average list price in Columbia Heights is $595,000, and houses have been on the market for an average of 116 days.

The interesting thing is that there is a very large disparity on how fast the houses are moving – more than I have noticed in other places. Some properties have been on the market for a REALLY REALLY long time (400 to 800 days), making it look like a slower market than it really is.  Perhaps these  homes are owned by investors who have the luxury of waiting around.

The highest priced property at the moment is an old house at 1207 Lamont St NW that was fully gutted and renovated into a modern beauty, including a two-level rental unit. Going for $1,275,000, it has 6 bedrooms and 6.5 baths.

At the median range you can get a Victorian row house with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths at 3578 13th St NW, priced at $599,000. One of the bedrooms and one bathroom are in the English basement rental unit. It is described as a “jewel” in the listing information but there are no photos, which is unusual. The price has come down by $60,000 and was last reduced in July, so the owner may be ready to negotiate.

The least expensive home in the neighborhood right now is a self-declared fixer-upper over at 2317 Sherman Ave NW. For $220,000 you’ll get 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. The price was originally $240,000 when it went on the market in July.

It is now easy to see recent sales information for any area in DC using the Redfin Web site. Click here to see the latest for Columbia Heights. This includes both condos and single family homes. To do your own past sales search, go to the search filter, choose your neighborhood, and then check off the blue house icon for past sales. Make sure all the other categories (house, condo, etc) are NOT checked if you only want to see past sales.

Cheers,
Allison

Photo: Mr. T in DC, Creative Commons license

20016: Past Condo Sales & Median Prices

A couple of days ago I wrote about condos in McLean Gardens in Upper NW DC. Below, for comparison, are past sales for condos in the entire 20016 zip code. My chart includes median price and SQFT info (assuming my Excel program is trustworthy.) 

We can now access past sales info for DC properties directly through Redfin. When I started blogging in January, this was not available for DC. This makes my job MUCH easier and it should help all potential buyers get a better grip on the market at any point in time. Now, if only there were a way to automatically get the condo fee info into that mix ….  

Condo Sales in 20016: Past Three Months 

Cheers,
Allison

DC’s McLean Gardens: Quality of Life or Boring Uniformity?

I am back in DC after an extended summer absence. Upon my return I discovered my neighbor had moved to McLean Gardens. This is a laid-back, 60-year-old, 43-acre neighborhood/development in Cleveland Park. You surely know it … all those small, uniform, spread-out, brick apartment buildings off of Wisconsin Avenue NW.  

Quality of Life for Under $500,000

Upper NW DC is lovely but expensive. To me, McLean Gardens offers an excellent compromise for those who like the idea of living in a traditional, colonial house but who prefer a condo because of either lifestyle or price. These days, you might find two bedrooms, two baths, and even a den for under $500,000. The condos often have two levels, and most have hardwood floors. You’ll get acres of green space and adjacent parks, playgrounds, a pool, mid-to-low-ish condo fees, plus views of parkland and National Cathedral. You can sign up to get your own vegetable plot at the neighboring Newark St. Community Garden. Also, you can get the best thin-crust pizza in DC at nearby Two Amy’s. 

In other words, you get a great quality of life. But it may not be the place for the fast lane crowd.    

My taste is not universal, of course. I tried to convince a girlfriend about McLean Gardens a few years ago. She hated the place because of its resemblance to older military housing.

She does have a point. I am also one who dislikes housing developments full of identical buildings. And, in fact, the development did begin life as a housing project for an influx of defense workers during World War II. But she is an artist who probably doesn’t love colonial architecture anyway. Personally, I could live with some external uniformity when considering the rest. And it sure beats moving to the suburbs for the same kind of fresh air and quiet location. At the same time, it isn’t very close to the Metro. You would need to take a bus if you use public transport.

There are four properties for sale in McLean Gardens at the moment:  

Two bedrooms:

3680 38th St NW #244 - $445,000 – 2 beds/1 bath. This is a corner unit with 1,146 sqft and exposure on three sides (another reason to like small buildings.) It’s been on the market for about 40 days. Monthly fee: $335.

3500 39th St NW #A667 - $455,000 – 2 beds/2 baths, plus den. This is a bi-level apartment with 1,261 sqft. The listing says it is in ”turn key condition,” with renovated kitchen and baths. On the market for over 60 days, with one price reduction. Monthly fee: $491.

3600 38th Street NW #276 - $479,000 – 2 bed/1bath. This two-story loft apartment is special. It has an open floor plan, lots of light and 1,290 sqft to move around in. The MLS pictures are really nice. It looks like the second bedroom is actually the loft and not enclosed for now – but I am not sure.  It has been on the market over 80 days, with 2 price drops. 

One bedroom:

3541 39th St NW #507 – $379,000 – New on the market. 1 bed/1 bath, with 781 sqft. Refinished floors, S/S appliances, extra storage unit. Monthly fee: $307.

Enjoy your day!
Allison

Walk This Way: Mount Vernon Square (20001)

“Mount Vernon Square is a city square in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.. It is located where the following streets would otherwise intersect: Massachusetts Avenue, New York Avenue, K Street, and 8th Street NW. 

Mount Vernon Square is bounded on the east by 7th Street, N.W.; on the west by 9th Street, N.W.; on the north by Mount Vernon Place; and on the south by a two-block section of K Street that is slightly offset from the rest of K Street. 

On the north side of the square is the new Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the largest building in the city. On the south side is the Techworld office development, and on the east, offices of National Public Radio. In the center of the square is the City Museum of Washington, D.C., which closed in November 2004 for lack of enough visitors. The white marble building, finished in 1903, was originally the District of Columbia Public Library, a gift of Andrew Carnegie. Washington’s Chinatown is centered two blocks to the south. The closest Metro station is Mt Vernon Sq/7th St-Convention Center. The giant marble Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church is another landmark. 

Mount Vernon Square is also a Washington neighborhood and historic district, named for the adjacent city square, bounded by 9th Street N.W. on the west, 1st St and NJ Ave N.W. on the east, N Street N.W. on the north, and Massachusetts Avenue N.W. to the south.” – Wikipedia 

Mt. Vernon Square is number 6 on Walk Score’s DC list and has an overall score of 95 (walker’s paradise).

REAL ESTATE STATS
20 homes for sale; 18 are condos
5 bank-listed foreclosures
4 FSBO
Average price: $440,900
Median price: $409,900
Average days on market: 87 

It turns out that all of the properties at or near the average/median prices are to-be-built condos, so I chose to feature a condo at a slightly higher price point. 456 M St. NW, #1 is listed at $499,000, has 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 1240 square feet, and has been on the market for 46 days. It’s described as having “dramatic, open spaces with soaring ceilings” and includes a renovated gourmet kitchen, spa baths, 2 fireplaces, hardwoods and a washer/dryer. 

Walk score: 89 (very walkable)
Walk to: Starbucks (0.05 mi); Food USA (0.06 mi); Johnny’s Half-Shell (0.17 mi); National Mall (0.65 mi)
You can view the entire list of nearby attractions here.  

Next up: No. 5, Foggy Bottom

Photo credit: Schuminweb.com; Creative Commons license

Walk This Way: Friendship Heights (20015)

Chase Point in Friendship Heights

During my research for this post, I discovered that Friendship Heights is much like Hollywood used to be: Everyone knows it’s there, but there are no true boundaries to distinguish it from other parts of the city. (Hollywood had its boundaries officially established in 2005).  Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:  

“Friendship Heights is a residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, DC and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. Though its borders are not clearly defined, Friendship Heights consists roughly of the neighborhoods and commercial areas around Wisconsin Avenue north of Fessenden Street NW and Tenleytown to Somerset Terrace and Willard Avenue in Maryland, and from River Road in the west to Reno Road and 41st Street in the east. Within Maryland west of Wisconsin Avenue is the so-called “Village of Friendship Heights,” technically a special taxation district.” 

Whenever I do posts like this, I like to find homes at different price points to give readers an idea of what they can get for the money. One thing was very clear when I did my Redfin search: Living in Friendship Heights may be incredibly convenient, but it does not come cheap. The average price for a residential property is $1,403,991; the median is $1,269,000. It turns out that both the least expensive ($699K) and most expensive ($2.9M) condo are in the same luxury building in 20015 (Friendship Heights also covers 20016), and you can find the goods on them below. To find out more about the building and its amenities, visit PNHoffman.com.

Building: Chase Point
Walk Score: 86 (very walkable)
Close to: Giant (0.2 mi); Starbucks (0.11 mi); AMC Mazza Gallerie (.015 mi); Friendship Heights Metro (0.39 mi – right outside the park that encloses the building)
You can find the complete list of nearby attractions here.

4301 MILITARY Rd NW, #506
Price: $699,000
1 bd/2 ba; 980 sq. ft.; $713/sq. ft.
In addition to the bedroom, this unit also has a den that could function as a second bedroom. The killer kitchen includes a granite island and Viking appliances. One garage parking space is included.

4301 MILITARY Rd NW, #PH 10
Price: $2,999,000
3 bd/3.5 ba; 3200 sq. ft.; $937/sq. ft.
Along with the 3200 sq. ft. of interior space, the buyer of this penthouse unit will also enjoy a 900-sq. ft. wraparound terrace. Along with the 3 bedrooms, the unit includes a den and a second-level family room. There are hardwood floors throughout, and the furnishings can be negotiated as part of the purchase. Four garage parking spaces are also part of the deal. 

Next up: Kalorama 

Related Sweet Digs Posts
Walk This Way: Georgetown (20007)  
Walk Score Really Likes Us!

Where the Wild Things Are

In the original Three Little Pigs story the wolf gets cooked in a cauldron when he comes down the chimney of the brick house. Well, unless you keep your chimney flue in good repair, you could end up cooking some critters yourself.

DC is known for being a very green city (as in trees, although Fenty’s crew is working on the other kind of green too). Where there are trees and parks … there are also plenty of animals. Welcome or not, if you are going to live here, then expect visitors from time to time. 

I took this picture in mid-afternoon a few weeks ago. It is someone’s porch in Cleveland Park. A second raccoon was hiding under the gutter.

Cute and cuddly? Maybe at first. Raccoons, deer, rabbits, rats, o’possum, squirrels, hawks, owls, woody woodpecker, many songbirds, what else? These are the things that I have encountered in my back yard over the years. 

I like most of them. The o’possum is slow and steady when he appears at night, keeping to himself. The hawk and woodpecker were exciting viewings. The deer annoyingly ate the vegetables in my community garden plot. The squirrels entertain my cat, while staying at a safe distance (unlike the unlucky mice and many little birdies.) 

I hated the rat in my wall, of course.

Then we come to the raccoons. Ask any homeowner who has had raccoons tear up the air conditioning unit in the attic and he/she will probably get a look of distaste and proclaim “I HATE raccoons.” I am one of those people — except the raccoon was on my kitchen counter, not in the attic. It had climbed a step ladder leaning against my house and entered through the window.

I laugh now, but my laugh is followed by a grimace. Raccoons are nasty and they can carry rabies. Eventually I had to call a (live) trapping service. Within a day we caught one raccoon, after first catching my cat. This seemed to scare off the other raccoons I had seen, at least during the day. The trapping service promised to release him back to the wild but I have my doubts.

If you too are sharing space with the wild things, then here are some tips. Also, visit the Humane Society Web site for some insights:

• Remember back yard animals may seem tame but they are not. Enjoy them (or loathe them) from afar.  
• Watch for unusual behaviour that could be a sign of rabies, which can be transmitted to pets and humans. It can be fatal.
• Don’t leave food out for raccoons. They will get used to coming around and you will never get rid of them.  
• Remove or repair things that might attract unwelcome creatures - like open trash cans, an open chimney flue (perfect for nesting), or holes in your roof. 
• Clear out any underbrush in your back alley. This attracts and shelters rats.
• If you raise fences to protect vegetables from deer then they have to be quite high. Consult your local garden center or check online. Here is one guy who has thought it all through for you.
• If deer are eating your flowers, try planting varieties that they do not like.  
• Call a trapping service  if you need to have animals removed. Remember these animals need a place to live too, so try to find a service that will take them to sweeter animal digs.
• Alternatively, if you are sure of yourself, you can buy live animal traps. The price of one trap is much less than the daily fee to have a service come to your house.  
• Place bird houses out of reach of the cat, and if you have a bird feeder, make sure you fill it regularly through winter. Birds will begin to depend on this food source and you may cause hardship if it is suddenly taken away.
• I have no mercy for the rats. But keep rat poison away from kids, pets and edible plants!  

Cheers,
Allison