A few weeks ago, Forbes published it's list of most congested cities.  Oh joy, we made the list!  Washington, DC made the list at #1.Hardly newsworthy to the locals, and this does help those on the Washington Metro understand why they are packed in tight, the system averaging 800,000 riders daily in April 2008.This fact of life also helps understand why home prices inside the Beltway continue to rise, while those outside, on the fringes of the Metro Washington DC area, those home prices are in a tailspin, still dropping.Real estate is local, I often say "hyper local". What's happening to your colleague's house in Haymarket has nothing to do with what is happening to your Capitol Hill house. The same is true, whether you're a buyer or a seller. 05/08/2008

A Realtor searching for a Stager in Northern Virginia called to ask how much I would charge to Stage a property.  First, I assured her it was in both our best interests that I not provide pricing over the phone.  I have learned my lesson regarding giving quotes on properties, sight unseen!  What's the saying, "once bitten, twice shy?  Second, I informed the caller that I my territories are Maryland and D.C. and happily referred her to a fellow Active Rain Stager.  I was confident the Stager would assist her both promptly and professionally. No referral fee, just hoping to assist the agent with getting her listing sold.  I quickly sent an e-mail to the other Stager, giving her a heads up to expect a call.  She sent a reply thanking me, which was nice.  Within ten minutes, I had a referra... 05/06/2008

Do most real estate agents suffer from house envy now and then?  Or are we immune after a while?  We get to see a lot of magnificent homes.  Most of the time I feel inspired by a great place.  I don't ever recall wanting to live in one of them. But how about a certain type of house?  A certain feel of house? Yes, there has been a longing, and it never left me.  Because in the end so much comes down to emotions in real estate, and in the end it's always somehow about our past. When I went to attend the annual Historic Takoma House and Garden Tour yesterday, it really hit home (no pun intended). The very first place I had all to myself some twenty-some years ago was a squat in a turn-of-the century apartment building in East Berlin, Germany.  The landlord had abandoned it because the comm... 05/05/2008

Here are the Properties that sold in this Washington DC Neighborhood:  May 2008Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price           Closed Price     # Days on MarketCondo                       2/2                        $559,900            $559,900                  0* Condo                      2/2.5                      $949,900            $949,900                 186        Semi-Detached           3/1                        $599,950            $533,000                 133             Row House                4/3.5                    $1,249,000          $1,187,000                143Condo                       1/1                        $309,000            $309,000                 124Condo                       2/1                        $415,990            $385,900     ... 05/05/2008

Yes, Washington is famous for it’s cherry blossoms that bloom like crazy in late March or early April.  There is even a festival with a princess and everything.  So what happens when the blossoms fade and blow off the cherry trees? Next come the azaleas!  This week, they are all over town.  They are red, shocking pink, white and lavender.  On some houses, they are neatly manicured hedges, and on others they are sort of wild. They grow pretty slowly, so when you see a huge flowering display, you know that someone has lovingly nurtured the bush over many years.Even the simplest brick center hall colonials (Washington’s cliché houses) look amazing when they put on their lipstick and become absolutely flirtworthy!  These photos were taken over the last few days in Cleveland Park, Tenleytown... 05/02/2008

It's at 3460 Ordway Street NW.  Ordway is a street in Cleveland Park named after a guy named Edward Ord, who was a Major General in the Civil War and served under General Grant.  Rosedale Cottage is one of those houses that is just a shameless flirt!  You walk in the door, and your heart skips a few beats!  If Rosedale was a woman, I guess she'd be a cougar, because she's of a "certain age", old but nobody is quite sure how old.  She's had a lot of work done, however, and she can totally hold her own with the new construction down the street! Here are some photos taken by Peirs Lamb, who is my office's Art Director.  And he's a gifted photographer - and the reason I wound up moving to EVers and Company.  He puts together amazing marketing materials for our listings, including this one. ... 05/01/2008

I just listed an absolutely amazing house!  It’s “Rosedale Cottage”, and I feel totally honored to have been selected to market this place. It's built on property whose ownership dates back to 1793.   George Washington’s aide-de-camp, General Uriah Forest, built his home on what he called the Rosedale estate, a farm of about 1000 acres.  His large farmhouse was the first dwelling in one of Washington's chicest neighborhoods, now known as Cleveland Park.  While the date of the cottage’s construction is not established, it was probably built around the turn of the century (though we're not certain which one), and served as a guest house for Rosedale visitors.   While I don’t plan to include this information on the fact sheet, the home was constructed on the site of the farm’s pig barn. My... 04/30/2008

This weekend is to be great weather, and a good excuse to get out and explore neighborhoods.There's a great group, Cultural Tourism DC, and this weekend, they will have many tours;The Capitol Hill Saturday and Sunday tours are:Capitol Hill (mostly fully booked) NoMa tours will showcase the area north of Mass Ave & Union Station There will be H St and H St alleys tours Capitol Riverfront (aka Navy Yard/Baseball Park) and a whole set of others, as this program is growing For more info, check out their calendar, and have a great tour.In prior tours, I've gotten my dog to walk with me, which has worked well for both. 04/24/2008

Congratulations! You're getting married. From the day you popped the big question and changed your status from boyfriend to fiancé, you've no doubt been receiving lots of unsolicited advice from friends, family, and strangers about planning the wedding and about marriage.   So here comes your friendly Northern Virginia & D.C. REALTOR with some more advice for you as you begin the transition from YOUR BACHELOR PAD to YOUR MARRIED NEST.       First, a few fun quotes about marriage that every man needs to hear: "A man in love is incomplete until he is married. Then he is finished." Zsa Zsa Gabor "Courtship brings out the best. Marriage brings out the rest." Cullen Hightower "Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet." Mae West "Bachelors know more about wome... 04/24/2008

Yesterday, I was checking out stuff in my neighborhood on our MLS.  And Oh!  My!  God!  There was a house that I’d missed!  A stone Tudor, circa 1925, listed by Eddie Dugas, one of my absolutely favorite colleagues.  And the price was in the five hundreds – the price of a hovel in this neighborhood.  And this was not a hovel.  Was it?OK, there was a catch.  The MLS information said it was funky in the extreme.  But that’s fine.  I know someone who thinks that funky is good!  That would be master renovator, Henry Canby.  He waves his magic toolkit over the house and it becomes totally amazing.  So the showing instructions said the lister had to be there for showings.   I called Eddie to see if we could get in this evening at seven.  He said sure.   And he trusted me to show the place wit... 04/23/2008

 In the quiet NE DC area is the popular Washington DC neighborhood known as Brookland.  The Brookland neighborhood is most notable for being the home of Catholic University and the various Catholic Instititions in the area.Brookland is centered along 12th Street NE and is bounded by 9th Street NE to the west, Rhode Island Avenue NE to the south, and South Dakota Avenue to the east and to the North, Michigan Avenue.President Lincoln had a cottage in the area which was mostly farmland in the 19th century. In 1840 Colonel Jehiel Brooks built a mansion which was referred to as Brooks Mansion. This "Brookland" came into bring.  The DC street cars helped this part of the city grow and then in the late 1800s, the Roman Catolic Church bought large tracts of land.  Now home to Cathlic Universoty... 04/18/2008

What exactly will $400,000 buy in today's housing market?The real estate experts were right all along: it comes down to location, location, location.In a metro suburb or smaller city, you can buy the family dream house with all the latest upgrades. But in high-dollar areas on the West Coast or trendy urban neighborhoods in major metro centers, you might be talking about a fixer-upper or a lot less square footage.The most expensive in the country? The San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, Calif. area, where median home prices hit $845,300 in the last quarter of 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.The least expensive? The Youngstown/Warren/Boardman area of Ohio and Pennsylvania, which posted median home prices of $72,600 during that same period. The national median for singl... 04/14/2008

What's Selling - Washington DC - Logan Circle / Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Here are the Properties that sold in this Washington DC Neighborhood:  3/17 - 3/30Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price           Closed Price     # Days on MarketCondo                       2/2                        $549,900            $500,000                 410 Row House                5/3.5                    $1,179,000         $1,130,000                 270        Condo                       2/1.5                     $479,000            $477,000                 274             Row House                4/3.5                    $1,249,000          $1,187,000                143Condo                       2/2                        $539,000            $515,000                 130Condo ... 03/31/2008

Current Number of Homes Active and Under Contract in the Washington DC area: Here is the breakdown as of March 31st, 2008Typically the number of homes for sale in the Spring Market "PEAK" at the end of June.  Most areas of Washington DC; the current inventory is already above the 2007 "peak".  Examples:DC: 500+ Condos VS same time Last Year, 250 more Single Family Homes.PG County: Over 300 more condos for sale and almost 1900 more Single Family Homes; than the same time last year.   Washington DCSingle Family:     Actives: 1873           Expired: 45         Under Contract: 442Condos:             Actives: 1526           Expired: 15         Under Contract: 365 Arlington CountySingle Family:     Actives: 508             Expired: 10         Under Contract: 135Condos:             Actives: 53... 03/31/2008

3/25/08 Here’s what I learned today…The surfeit of Real Estate financing programs, which has sustained the market for the past decade has come to an abrupt end. Imagine, if you will, a pot luck birthday bash, to which hundreds of friends are invited. Too late it’s discovered that among the guests are an abundance of rival start-up caterers. Vying to out do each other, the guests arrive laden with rich entrées, an unending abundance of lavish desserts and bottles upon bottles of extraordinary vintage. A few circumspect guests nibble the scant plate of veggies and dip, swirl a wine spritzer and leave. Several more, eat a plate of salmon or beef, enjoy a tumbler of merlot and depart regretfully, having to relieve a baby sitter at home with an exam the next day. Those who stay find their ap... 03/25/2008

 What I've Learned in this Fluctuating Residential Real Estate Market In 2003-2005, our clients could be considered "Warriors."  Many intended to purchase a property at any and all costs.  Pricing sometimes went more than $100,000 over asking price; appraisal and inspection contingencies were removed from our contracts; financing was readily available.  These folks were on the warpath and the only way to win the war was to purchase property. Today's purchasers are more aptly referred to as "Worriers."  Everyone is looking for the "perfect deal," but today's buyers are skeptical even when they've found it!  There is that fear that a better deal may be just around the corner (maybe a short sale or foreclosure).  Making matters worse, there's all of the publicity surrounding the mortgage m... 03/18/2008

What's Selling - Washington DC - Logan Circle / Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Here are the Properties that sold in this Washington DC Neighborhood:  3/3 - 3/9Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price           Closed Price     # Days on MarketRow House                3/1.5                      $624,500            $602,000                  14        Condo                       1/1                        $399,900            $399,900                  90*             Condo                       2/2                        $397,900            $395,400                  12Row House                 5/2                        $749,000            $749,000                  N/A            *Units were part of multi-unit, newly-built complexes; DOM may not be accurate                ... 03/16/2008

Welcome home to 3801 South Dakota Ave. in North Michigan Park, N.E. Washington. This corner property has three bedrooms; three full bathrooms, a formal living room, formal dinning room, eat-in kitchen, finished basement, two working fire places, single car garage, screened-in sun porch and a beautiful fishpond, all of which overlook tennis courts (not apart of the property). This property is being sold "as is" by the owner. To make an offer, please contact the owner at dc_sports_club@yahoo.com. Thank you. 3801 South Dakota Ave., NE at 20th & South Dakota Ave., NE 03/11/2008

Top Floor - Two bedroom Condo with a View! - Brookland DC. 401 Evarts Street NE, # 402, Washington, DC 20017 View Map Let the sun shine in! - This top floor 2 bdrm condo not only has large sun filled windows but a wonderful skylight. Granite counter-tops & stainless appliances are just waiting for a chef. Your own parking spot is right outside; not that you need it when Metro is so close. Includes your own Washer/Dryer. 2nd bedroom even has built-in book shelves. Bring your Pet (under 100lbs). Plus extra storage! Visit: www.DCRealEstateNews.com News & Information for Home Buyers and Sellers. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 5028 Wisconsin Ave. NW Suite 100 Washington, DC 20016 202-362-5800 Office Details Asking Price: $274,575 MLS: DC6683663 Sq. Feet: 800 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 ... 03/05/2008

What's Selling - Washington DC - Logan Circle / Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Here are the Properties that sold in this Washington DC Neighborhood:  2/18 - 2/24Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price           Closed Price     # Days on MarketCondo                       2/2                        $419,762            $375,000                185        Condo                       2/2                        $719,900            $719,900                 149             Condo                       2/2.5                     $599,999            $562,500                102Condo                       2/2                        $410,000            $396,908                 41Condo                       1/2                        $484,900            $488,000                  1*Co... 02/29/2008