Relocating to the Washington DC ?  Here is a list of some helpful websites for you. James Downing -Your Real Estate Agent Search Homes on the MLS Independent School Evaluation Site Metro (Subway & Bus system) - Includes a map and Trip planner DC Government Web Page VA Government Web Page MD Government Web Page Smithsonian Institution Craig's List (Classifieds for jobs, services & more)  Monster.com (Job search) Moving.com (Moving help and advise) ZIP Car  ZipCar is a local car rental - rent for an hour or a day!                                                   Things You'll Need once you are here:   Info for DC Parking Permit Change your Driver License (DC) Change your Driver License (VA) Change your Driver License (MD) Local Utilities Contact Information           Contact James Downin... 01/19/2008

911 or 311?  Now DC Residents know; or least someone made a decision.In Washington DC, residents have often been told to call 911 for an emergency.  Including a "Real or Serious Crime" emergency.The number 311 - was for "Lesser" crimes.Then we have the "Mayors Response Line" 202-727-1000; which is used to report street lamps not working, graffiti removal, or towing of abandoned cars or trash removal.This lead to many folks complaining (and asking) WHAT IS A "REAL/SERIOUS CRIME"?  Is it one that wasn't important?  Is it a crime that deserves less attention and response to by the Police?The issue is that Police in DC were often accused to giving 311 calls a MUCH lower Priority.  Now this Memo from the DC Police Department: Start Using 911 for ALL Police Calls, Not Just Emergency CallsPLEA... 01/18/2008

Just received an e-mail about this upcoming neighborhood event: TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2008Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 Eye Street, SW6:30pm – 8:00pmFind out how on street parking in Southwest will change in the next eight weeks! Plans presented.Questions answered.Councilmember Tommy Wells will hold a Southwest Town Hall meeting to discuss Baseball Parking Plans that will be implemented in our neighborhood this season.  He will also discuss his plan for Curbside Performance Parking that he believes will help protect residential neighborhoods from traffic and parking at the new stadium and help small business maintain access and availability for their customers.There will be a brief presentation of the parking plan to explain how it will work, followed by an open Question & Answer ... 01/17/2008

There are many great condominums in the Glower Park neighborhood.  The most populous are 1 bedroom units, follwed by 2 bedooms and few studios.   Here is a breakdown of the Condos Curently For Sale in the Glover Park Neighborhood of Washington DC:  Here is a chart showing the Condos SOLD (since Nov 1, '07), in Glover Park: Row Houses in Glover Park.  Both Actives and Solds (since Nov 1, '07) are on the same chart:    Call James for all your Real Estate needs and questions; servicing Glover Park and the Greater Washington DC area. 01/14/2008

What's Selling - DC - Logan/Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Properties that sold 1/7 - 1/13Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price           Closed Price     # Days on MarketCondo                       1/1                        $299,900            $291,773                143      Condo                       1/1                        $324,000            $305,000                 55*   Condo                       1/1                        $479,900            $470,000                314             Condo                     Studio                      $174,900            $174,900                 49              Condo                       3/2                        $639,900            $620,000                 37Row House                3/3.5                    $1,275,00... 01/14/2008

The Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington will be presenting the 12th Washington, DC Restaurant Week from January 14-20.During Restaurant Week participating restaurant's will offer lunch for $20.08 and dinner for $30.08. It's a great opportunity to try out that restaurant you've heard people talk about! Agents, it's a great time to take out the client you've been meaning to take out to lunch!A list of participating restaurants is online: http://www.washington.org/restaurantwk/ ---Search the MLS for the DC region: http://search.myDCagent.comEddie RangelRE/MAX Allegiance220 7th Street SEWashington, DC 20003202-547-5600www.myDCagent.comEqual Housing OpportunityAll information deemed correct, but not guaranteedEach RE/MAX offi... 01/11/2008

Every month I will feature a different DC neighborhood.This month features: Glover Park.Glover Park is an area in North West Washington DC; just North-West of Georgetown and West of Observatory Circle, where the Us Navy Observatory is located; and more importantly, the Vice-Presidential Mansion.A small neighborhood, (about 1 square mile); it is bordered by parks to the West (Glover-Archibold Park) and South (Whitehaven Park); with easy access to retail shops and restaurants along nearby Wisconsin Avenue to the East.Glover Park is home to many DC residents, including home to the nearby Russian Embassy.  What makes Glover Park so likable by many residents; are the surrounding parks.  The community has a very green, suburban feel - with smaller residential streets and so many trees - this ... 01/09/2008

What's Selling - DC - Logan/Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Properties that sold 12/31 - 1/6Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price           Closed Price     # Days on MarketCondo                       2/2                       $1,395,000        $1,342,260               7*      Condo                       2/3                        $599,000           $550,000                0*   Condo                       2/2                        $539,900           $490,260                0*             Condo                       1/2                        $499,900           $509,900               90*              Condo                       2/2                        $889,000           $873,100               10Row House                 2/1.5                     $529,000          ... 01/07/2008

There were 19 Properties Sold the the Dupont Circle Area in December.Here are the homes sold in DUPONT CIRCLE* in December 2007:The properties sold between: $310,000 - $2,834,050The average List price was:    The average SOLD Price was: $822,646Average Days on the Market: 52*** Note that several properties sold in less than 2 weeks and 42% sold for List Price or HIGHER! Type           #Bedrooms/Baths          List Price         Sold Price        Days on MarketRow House            6/3                   $1,199,000      $1,150,000              165Condo                  1/1                     $349,000         $349,000                65Row House           4/3/2                 $2,175,000       $2,235,000                7Condo                   2/2                    $549,000         $510,50... 01/04/2008

Here are the Properties Sold in SW DC...  December 2007Last month, 6 homes sold in SW DC / known as the Waterfront.The properties sold between: $189,000 - $285,000The average List price was:    $236,450The average SOLD Price was: $232,333Average Days on the Market: 81 Type           #Bedrooms/Baths        List Price       Sold Price      Days on MarketCondo                 1/1                    $275,000      $255,000             193CoOp                  1/1                    $219,900      $215,000             129Condo                 2/1                    $285,000      $285,000              87Condo                 1/1                    $215,000      $215,000               7Condo              Studio/1                $234,801      $235,000              52Condo              Studio/1   ... 01/04/2008

What's Selling - DC - Logan/Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Properties that sold 12/24 - 12/30Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price        Closed Price    # Days on MarketCondo                       2/2.5                     $899,000           $870,000              18      Condo                       1/1                        $279,000           $267,500              55   Condo                       1/1.5                     $469,900           $460,000               9*             Condo                       2/2                        $639,000           $630,000              118              Condo                       1/1                        $299,900           $297,000              19*                   *Units were part of multi-unit, newly-built complexes; DOM m... 12/31/2007

What's Selling - DC - Logan/Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Properties that sold 12/17 - 12/24Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price        Closed Price    # Days on MarketCondo                       2/2                        $409,646           $360,000             111*      Condo                       1/1                        $289,097           $285,000              89*   Condo                       3/2.5                    $1,200,000         $1,150,000            68             Row House                 2/2.5                    $1,475,000         $1,445,000            58              Condo                       1/1                        $369,900           $355,000              45     Condo                       1/1                        $285,000           $280,... 12/24/2007

What's Selling - DC - Logan/Mt Vernon Square Neighborhoods Properties that sold 12/10 - 12/17Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price        Closed Price    # Days on MarketRow House               (4 floor Shell)           $975,000           $845,000             51      Condo                       2/2                        $444,348           $439,000            412    Condo                       1/1                        $380,000           $362,790            148             Row House                 3/2.5                     $735,000           $722,000            67              Condo                       2/1.5                      $399,000          $380,000            190     Condo                       2/2                         $540,000          $538,000       ... 12/17/2007

Late Thursday afternoon, I needed comfort food.  And I found it at the Colorado Kitchen - one of the few real restaurants near my home in Northwest Washington. It's located on Colorado Avenue just east of 14th Street.  A friend and I pulled into a parking space at the front door at 6:05, only to find a big old "Closed" sign on the door, right above the sign on the door promising they opend at 6:00 pm;  Oh dear, were they closed on Thursdays?  But when the staff spotted us, the immediately ran up and switched it to "Open". If we'd gotten there a bit later, we might have had to wait for a table.  This place is often mobbed with a long wait for at the tiny bar, but at 6:05, we were seated immediately.  Before taking our order, the server brought us little sake cups with samples of the soup... 12/16/2007

Properties that sold 12/2 - 12/10Type of Property      #BR/Baths                 List Price        Closed Price    # Days on MarketRow House                 2/1                        $450,000         $450,000               64Condo                       1/1                        $299,900          $299,000              35Condo                       1/1                        $309,900          $301,400              21Row House                 3/2.5                     $499,900          $490,000              31Condo                       2/1                        $215,000          $215,000              21Condo                       1/1                        $454,900          $454,900              0*         *Units were part of multi-unit, newly-built complexes; DOM may not be accurate  ... 12/11/2007

 Earlier this evening I had a converstion with some clients about different regions. I did see this and told them about the DC Metro area and it's walkability. So I'd like to submit this to the rest in case there were compairing. A Brookings Institution researcher says after the advent of the shopping mall, developers forgot how to build great cities, but that's changing as urban areas again strive to be walkable."For 50 years we had this collective amnesia about how to build great places," says Christopher B. Leinberger, a real estate developer and visiting fellow at Brookings.Leinberger quantified the walkability trend by ranking the 30 largest metropolitan areas in terms of the number of walkable urban places they had clustered about them, then divided the number of places by the tot... 12/09/2007

Last November, 4 condos sold in SW DC / known as the Waterfront.The properties sold between: $320,000 - $480,000The average List price was:    $408,225The average SOLD Price was: $398,725Average Days on the Market: 80   Search for Homes in Washington DC                DC Real Estate NewsCall James for all your Real Estate needs and questions; servicing SW DC and the Greater Washington DC area. 12/05/2007

 Condos sold in DUPONT CIRCLE* in November 200718 condos sold in the Dupont area.... Property Address               ListPrice     Close  Price1099 22nd St NW #611              $659,000                     $631,5001918 18th St NW #1                 $524,900                    $512,0001830 Jefferson Pl NW #9          $1,049,900                 $1,020,000 1625 16th St NW #303             $519,900                   $520,0001715 15th St NW #201             $550,000                   $530,0002201 L St NW #308                  $294,500                  $279,2501621 T St NW #705                  $375,000                   $375,0002114 N St NW #15                    $329,900                  $310,0001830 Jefferson Pl NW #10         $1,150,000               $1,005,000 2130 N St NW #201           ... 12/05/2007

Investment Guru Jim Crammer was on the Today Show on NBC yesterday with Matt Lauer on how to get rich and stay rich. Jim said that anybody can get rich and stay rich if you have 2cents or $200,000,Good or bad with money,credit card debt. Then Matt asked Jim what's the gimmick? Jim said the gimmick is homework. He said that if you do your homework,spend time analyzing good brand stocks,you can beat anybody. At least one hour of homework every week. He said that you have to have a budget. People should manage their own portfolio. Read the Quarterly and Annual report of companies. Listen in on the company's conference call. Jim pick of stocks include Caterpillar,Goldman Sachs,Conocophillips,XTO Energy,Transocean Hologic,Inverness Medical Innovations,Freeport-Mc-Moran,Hewlett- Packard,Googl... 12/03/2007

November 2007 has been a very interesting month in the Washington DC's residential real estate market for properties selling over $1,000,000.  There were thirty-eight properties that sold in that price range  Three of which, sold for over the asking price and none of the properties included seller's subsidies, which has been the norm for properties in the lower price ranges. This is the exact number of homes which sold at the same price range in 2006.  These numbers show that there is still a strong market for properties priced over $1,000,000.  Most of the properties were located in Georgetown, Chevy Chase, Spring Valley, Kalorama and Palisades.  The others were sprinkled around in areas like Logan Circle, Dupont, Capitol Hill and Cleveland Park.As the year closes, we will see how stro... 12/03/2007