The decline of the newspaper  The top 25 newspapers in the country are listed below.  The data was compiled by ABC.  The figures are for the six month period ending March 2009 as compared with the same period last year. USA TODAY ------------------------------- 2,113,725 - (-7.46%)THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ------------- 2,082,189 -- 0.61%THE NEW YORK TIMES ------------------- 1,039,031 -- (-3.55%)LOS ANGELES TIMES ----------------------- 723,181 -- (-6.55%)THE WASHINGTON POST ------------------ 665,383 -- (-1.16%)DAILY NEWS (NEW YORK) ----------------- 602,857 -- (-14.26%)NEW YORK POST --------------------------- 558,140 -- (-20.55%)CHICAGO TRIBUNE ------------------------- 501,202 -- (-7.47%)HOUSTON CHRONICLE --------------------- 425,138 -- (-13.96%)THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC ----------------... 04/27/2009

Renovated and Priced to Sell 810 52nd Street NE, Washington, DC 20019 View Map This duplex home has been updated and looks very nice! Two nice-sized bedrooms, renovated kitchen and bathrooms look great. Complete with hardwood floors and ceramic tile in the kitchen. New windows and Central Air is a plus! Even a fenced in yard with room for parking! James T. Downing Team Leader - The Downing Real Estate Group REALTOR, GRI, ABR Licensed in Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC 703.244.3971 Direct Jim@JimDowning.com Email Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 5028 Wisconsin Ave. NW Suite 100 Washington, DC 20016 202-362-5800 Office Details Asking Price: $240,000 MLS: DC7040639 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 # of Floors: 3 Subdivision: Deadwood Year Built: 1945 Property Amenities - Range/Oven- Sink ... 04/24/2009

It’s no wonder that with the 50 year low interest rates and record-breaking mortgage application (mostly for refi’s) the housing market is looking like it’s going to rebound.  The Obama administration has two pots from the stimulus package to work with in order to stimulate the housing economy and diminish the number of foreclosures, which affect home values across the board. It’s still unclear what the stimulus package will do for the housing market, but in February we’ll find out.  It is anticipated that a huge chunk of the $770 Billion Dollar package will go toward the housing sector.  There is also a forecast that the nationwide real estate market will rebound from the down-turn and in the coming quarters, we’ll see an upturn in home values.  Already, we’re seeing values increase i... 04/24/2009

Hi Everyone, Please, take a look at this great short-sale information. This was an original post by Wanda Phillips in Fl. There are 12 keys points. If you are considering purchasing a short-sale these are such great tips.  1. There are usually no guarantees from the lender (or the seller) with short sales. Be prepared to be flexible. 2. The employees of the lender that are negotiating the sale are not there for the benefit of the buyer or the seller. Their only goal is to collect as much money possible for the lender. The lender may:• Misrepresent their own policies or use other means to pressure the parties involved into paying more money.• Require the seller to sign a note or new loan for the balance of the mortgage due.• Change their price and terms up until the moment of closing.• ... 04/23/2009

GREAT Studio in Foggy Bottom 522 21st Street NW, Unit #911, Washington, DC 20006 View Map Large Sunny & Bright Studio located in the heart of Foggy Bottom. Beautiful wood floors plus a huge closet make this place perfect. Convenient bike storage and laundry located in building. ELECTRIC, A/C, HEAT, WATER INCLUDED. 1st Months rent & Sec. deposit in certified funds. Close to GWU, GW Hospital, World Bank, IMF, State Dept., Metro, Restaurants, Kennedy Center. James T. Downing Team Leader - The Downing Real Estate Group REALTOR, GRI, ABR Licensed in Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC 703.244.3971 Direct Jim@JimDowning.com Email Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 5028 Wisconsin Ave. NW Suite 100 Washington, DC 20016 202-362-5800 Office Details Asking Price: $1600/Month MLS: DC7031249 Sq. ... 04/22/2009

If you live either outside of Anacostia DC or Washington DC,you probably don't know about this story. DC Mayor Adrian Fenty is hogging tickets to the professional baseball team Washington Nationals that was supposed to be given to DC Council members. DC Mayor Adrian Fenty tried to give some of the tickets to some of the council members who he likes. But in a show of unity,all of them refused to accept the tickets. Council member Vincent Gray (D) said that he was supposed to get 19 tickets for the Washington Nationals home opener. Heck can I just get one ticket? I have never been to a baseball game before. (Little MeMe information?) Anyway what I didn't know that DC Mayor Adrian Fenty hogged tickets last year as well until Attorney General Peter Nickles had to get involved and deliver th... 04/18/2009

04/17/2009

Long & Foster has just rolled out a great Job Loss Protection Plan for buyers offered by the Rainy Day Foundation's HELP program.  We are the market leader in providing this new program in most of our market area. The Job Loss Protection aspect of the HELP program assists homeowners who’ve involuntarily become unemployed keep their mortgage payments current for up to $1,800 per month for up to six months, while looking for work. The HELP program also offers six months of telephone counseling and educational e-newsletters. This is a seller-funded listing advantage. The program price is $550, and it is paid by the seller. It does not cost the buyer anything. Long & Foster’s Buy Confident™ Plan Job Loss Protection is a powerful selling tool. The times call for this added level of buyer co... 04/17/2009

Lately I have been trying to answer the question "What should I do to drive more traffic to my website and blogs?" My online marketing is suffocating right now and I need to breathe life into it. So I am trying to figure out which one of the two giants should I choose?                                                       OR                                                            LISTING ROUTER                                            Lately my leads have just dried up. I am not getting any hits on my personal blogs www.GetDCSold.com and/or website anymore and I am trying to figure out what I need to do to keep people coming back to my blogs and website. Some Active Rainers rave about the success they have experienced using the listing router and how it is working for them? However... 04/14/2009

You may have heard of the Kennedy connection with respect to the first family's first dog, which rumor has it will arrive next Tuesday.  And I must clear something up.  Willie the hyperactive Labradoodle puppy is not moving to the White House! The new first dog is a Poutugese water dog, and looks a lot like a Labradoole.  And he was born in at a breeder in Texas, where Senator Ted Kennedy's dog was born.  The dog's previous owners reportedly returned him to the Dallas breeder, probably because, like Willie, he is a handful.  And they were trying to "rehome" the little guy when he came to Senator Kennedy's attention. Then the Senator sent the referral to the Obama family. Now, when you are a dog and move into the White House, you have some poor slob Secret Service agent who gets stuck wi... 04/10/2009

The entire process of purchasing property to live requires thought, analysis and decisions.  Active buyers are constantly processing questions like Will I enjoy living in this new community?  Is this location safe for me and my family? Can I easily manage all of the necessary payments to maintain this property? Will all of my personal items fit within this property? When a vacant property is shown, this forces even more on the buyer to think think think!  Buyers wonder whether their items will fit or if they need to purchase items, what will fit in the space.  This becomes even more of an issue with smaller condos and homes. Let's face it - open spaces just confuse buyers. Common in condo spaces is an the open area...which tends to confuse lots of buyers. But staging a home with furnitu... 04/10/2009

A couple of weekends ago I was out showing property to a motivated buyer. I 1st touched base with this client about a year and a half ago. He moved to Rockville from Pittsburgh and wanted to get acquainted with the area before buying. I helped him get a rental and the past several months have given him ample time to get familiar with the city. A month ago he contacted me to let me know that he's been pre-approved and ready to go home shopping. We had our home buying counseling session and hit the streets. He quickly located a neighborhood that he loved and we investigated every 2 bedroom condo on the market. We noticed that there was a bank owned property that was priced about 25K below the competition. From the remarks on the MLS it seemed to be in decent condition. My client was very ... 04/09/2009

The catch is...you gotta be a blackberry user!!! I found a cool tool in the Blackberry application store. It's called "Homes for Sale by Smarter Agent". You can search listings and homes for sale by Broker/zipcode...basically like MLS. First you have to have a blackberry (LOL), then you download Blackberry Application World to your phone, go to: http://uk.blackberry.com/services/appworld/download.jsp#tab_tab_download   Follow the directions to download and install. Once you have done so, go ahead into the icon/app on your phone and go to the search option and type in "Homes For Sale"...it will take you right to the application and give you step by step insturctions to download and install.  I am sure there may be something similar for those who use Iphones (they have meebo for Iphone an... 04/08/2009

Today's blog post, though a bit off topic, I think can be appreciated by all.   I just got over the flu, FINALLY feeling human and 100% again! I hadn't been cursed with the flu since age 11 I think? Anyhow, I must say, I am glad I have yet to attain a client roster as of yet, because I don't know how I would be able to work with the flu! I am assuming alot of you more established agents have an assistant, are on sales teams, or somehow have someone who you can count on to back you up should something like this keep you out of commission for a bit (in my case 8 whole days). Needless to say, this has inspired me to encourage all of us to take care of ourselves when we are well. Such a line of work is going to need us to be as healthy as ready when the time calls for us to go above and bey... 04/02/2009

You can't be a blogger from Washington, DC without taking note of our famous cherry blossoms.  They are supposed to be at their peak between today and April 4th, turning the tidal basin into a fairy land. These beautiful trees were a gift from Japan.  The first shipment arrived in 1910, and unfortunately, the Department of Agriculture inspectors found they were infested with bugs, including nematodes, and not the friendly kind! This was a little sticky for the diplomats of both countries, because the trees had to be destroyed.  Then, in 1912, the Japanese sent another 3,000 trees.  Some were planted on the White House grounds, but most went to the Tidal Basin, put in between 1913 and 1920.  The trees grew happily until 1941, when four of the trees were cut down by vandals following the ... 04/01/2009

         ------------ ©2009 - AmazingVideoTours.com - All Rights Reserved. Any use of this photo, including reproduction, modification, distribution or republication, without the prior written consent of Amazing Video Tours, is strictly prohibited. Amazing Video Tours offers photography and full motion video marketing solutions to Realtors, and other individuals with property to sell, lease, or rent.  A departure from the old fashion 360 Virtual Tour, Amazing Video Tours takes online property marketing to the next level. 04/01/2009

...And assuming these agents have buyers, which of you ahead of time makes a little portfolio of YOUR listings to hand to them should they have buyers that qualify for them? No?....Well consider that your tip of the day!! Later! :) 03/30/2009

HERE I AM STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU.   To be honest, it's not a bad place to be.  At all.   What we're talking about here is home affordabilty.  CNBC.com reports with some nifty online slideshows detailing the Least Affordable Metro Areas & the Most Affordable Metro Areas. These lists are based on median home prices in each locale and median family income in those areas.  Based on 4th quarter 2008 data from the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, this survey examined the percentage of affordable homes in each metropolitan area. While homes in the D.C. metropolitan area certainly are not inexpensive -- the average sales price for all homes in 2008 was $394,700 -- area homebuyers can take solace in the news that the Washington area did not make ... 03/27/2009

  ResidentialUnit SalesNumber of Bedrooms Active Listings   Time on Market Price Class 2 Or Less   3 4  or More   CondoCoop GroundRent Residential   CondoCoop GroundRent of Units Sold(No. of Units) Under $100,000 0 0 0 0 0 6 13 0 1 -30 Days 3 $100,000 - 149,999 0 1 0 0 0 22 19 0 31-60 Days 0 $150,000 - 199,999 0 1 0 0 0 23 26 0 61 - 90 Days 3 $200,000 - 249,999 0 1 1 2 0 23 15 0 91-120 Days 0 $250,000 - 299,999 0 1 1 0 0 27 4 0 Over 120 Days 3 $300,000 - 349,999 0 0 0 0 0 10 3 0 Total 9 $350,000 - 399,999 0 0 0 0 0 10 1 0   $400,000 - 449,999 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 Type of Financingof Units Sold(No. of Units) $450,000 - 499,999 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 $500,000 - 599,999 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Conventional 3 $600,000 - 699,999 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 FHA 3 $700,000 - 799,999 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 VA 1 $800,000 - 899,999 0... 03/25/2009

  Besides the fact that 20 houses were sold in Deanwood Washington DC zip code 20019 in february 2009 42.86% more than february 2008,there is nothing good to write about for the Deanwood Washington DC zip code 20019. Total sold dollar volume for houses in Deanwood Washington DC zip code 20019 in february 2009 was $3,075,000 compared to $3,094,073 in february 2008 a 0.62% drop. Average sold price of a house in Deanwood Washington DC zip code 20019 in february 2009 was $153,750 compared to $221,005 in february 2008 a 30.43% drop. Average days of a house on the market that sold in Deanwood Washington DC zip code 20019 was 129 days compared to 104 in february 2008. Average list price of a house that sold in Deanwood Washington DC zip code 20019 was $185,165 compared to $234,450 in february ... 03/25/2009