Finally, a little good news from the housing market:

Washington Post: Stocks Gain on Surprise Rise in New Home Sales

Sales of new single-family homes rose by 2.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 homes. Economists had expected sales would drop from the August level.

New home sales are a leading indicator for the country’s economy. While one month does not make a trend, hopefully the August sales figures will be the start of one.

Planned renovations to Washington, DC’s libraries have been getting attention on both local and national blogs of late:

DC Metrocentric: Georgetown Library Renovations

Dwell Blog: Adjaye Tapped for Two DC Branch Libraries

A redesigned Georgetown Public Library (which was damaged by a three-alarm fire in April 2007), Washington Highlands branch in in Southwest, and Francis A. Gregory library in Southeast should be good for property values in all three neighborhoods (more so with the last two).

But, as the post on Dwell and comments on DC Metrocentric point out, planned improvements are not the same as actual improvements.

Chef Geoff’s restaurant offers casual, yet sophisticated cuisine and an atmosphere perfect for patrons dedicated to excellent food at a fair price.

As a special offering to the BGA family, Chef Geoff’s invites you to lunch, Sunday brunch, or dinner.  Mention that Brandon Green & Associates sent you and receive a glass of house red or white as compliments from Geoff.

Downtown: 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004
Wesley Heights: 3201 New Mexico Ave. NW, Washington, DC  20016

Reservations are encouraged. Please contact Ralph Johnson, Chef Geoff’s fantastic Director of Service and Beverage, with any questions at ralphj@chefgeoff.com.

We are thrilled to host Linda de Marlor from Tax Masters Inc. to bring you up to date on everything you need to know about the rapidly changing tax environment. Whether you own a small business, just bought your first home, or have a complicated return with multiple deductions, this class will help you!

Linda has worked with more than 2,000 clients in 50 countries and is a regular on ABC Radio, CNN, C-SPAN, and NPR.  If you thought taxes were boring, you haven’t heard Linda.

Where and when:
Our office in Adam’s Morgan:  2410 17th St. NW, Suite 200
November 18, 2008
6:30 p.m.

Seating is limited so please e-mail Amber@BrandonGreen.com to reserve your seats.

There are some deals out there people!  We are shocked at the deals we are finding for our clients.  Find out how you can get a piece of the action–and why it matters who you choose to represent you to buy real estate property.

Where and when:
Our office in Adam’s Morgan: 2410 17th St. NW, Suite 200
November 11, 2008
6:30p p.m.

Seating is limited so please e-mail amber@brandongreen.com to reserve your seats.

Seriously, it matters who you choose to represent you in the sale of your home.  If you ever had any doubt, check out the following blogspot which oh so accurately catches the lousy photos permeating the real estate world.   A friend of mine pointed me to this site and I think it is spot on!  http://lovelylisting.blogspot.com/

Why do realtors post such bad pictures or none at all?  My sense is it is for one of the following reasons:

1.  A photographer costs money - it is cheaper to use a digital camera and most Realtors aren’t professional photographers.
2.  Some Realtors simply don’t understand yet that the buyer rules out properties immediately with no photos or bad photos.
3.  There is nothing good to photograph!  Foreclosures are especially in bad shape.

Our philosophy is to portray the home for what it is.  There is a buyer for every piece of real estate - at the right price.

We see it from clients all the time–they are thrilled to buy a new home or sell an old one. But that excitement is always tempered by the act of moving: sorting through piles and piles of stuff (there’s no better word) to decide what to pitch, recycle, move, or donate.

Unclutterer, a blog we’ve made no secret of loving, however, suggests treating moving as an opportunity to take stock of your possessions and cull your clutter, rather than just seeing it as a hassle:

Unclutterer: Moving creates an opportunity to declutter

• There is a limit of supply and a lag time to push more supply into the market.  That lag time frequently offers the best appreciation.
• A piece of real estate is an accumulation of commodities and the replacement cost of those commodities is going up.  A house is nothing but a bundle of copper, wood, brick, labor, etc.

Remember, like any wealth storage vehicle, the rate of return will vary.  Expect ups and downs.  Don’t get greedy during the ups and don’t panic during the downs.

Inventory is high, interest rates are low, many sellers are desperate, and prices are down. With all the bad news in the market, could it really be a good time to buy?

Wait a minute, what bad news? If you’re a buyer and you’re looking at the current set of circumstances, there is no bad news in this formula at all. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines and wait.

Now is the best time to buy real estate in a generation

The most common reason given for waiting to buy is the fear that prices will continue to drop. No one knows if we have past the bottom, are at the bottom now, or are facing the bottom next year.

It doesn’t matter.

If the fundamentals of your real estate purchase are sound, the goal is not to buy at the bottom, but to buy near the bottom. It is impossible to time your way to a successful real estate purchase at the bottom of the market.

When was the last time you timed anything with success?

• Did you time getting into a relationship at just the right moment?
• Did you time that perfect job in the perfect location?

No – it is absurd when you frame timing in that context, and it is foolish to attempt to time your real estate purchases with the market cycle.

If the following fundamentals are in place for you, now is likely the right time for you and it happens to coincide with the best cycle for buyers in decades

• Are you willing and able to hold the property for a minimum of 5 years?  (That means potentially renting it.)  Don’t expect to get rich quick in real estate; it is a slow growth strategy that takes years.  I can’t think of any extremely wealthy individuals that don’t have substantial real estate holdings. They are a vital part of your overall financial health.
• Can you afford the monthly payment? This fundamental is where most people are in trouble–their monthly payment far exceeds what they can afford. Don’t over extend yourself, err on the side of being conservative.
• Do you have a minimum of three months, preferably six months of cash reserves on hand after your purchase?  Job security is an issue right now, but whether you own or rent, you need to continue to make a monthly payment for your housing obligations. Have enough cash reserves on hand so that you can sustain yourself for several months if your income suddenly stopped.

Most people will miss this opportunity

And they won’t move into a purchase until long after the market swings back up.  Fear and indecision will override logic and history until clear gains are made in appreciation and overall stability. There will be opportunity then too, but the best opportunities will have past until the next buyer’s market.

The size of your opportunity, the strength of your financial portfolio, and the direction of your life is a result of the choices you make.

September 27’s Washington Post’s “Where We Live” section provided some real estate trends for condos.  The data compared the first three months of 2007 to the first three months of 2008.

As one would expect, metro-wide sales were down from 4,556 condos to 2,864 condos during the January to March period. Pricing held up well, however, with the median purchase price of $277,222 in 2007 compared to $274,175 in 2008, or a 1 percent decline in value.

But the District itself saw a much brighter picture.  Sales increased from 208 to 312 when comparing the two periods, and pricing went from $330,000 in 2007 to $379,500 in 2008 – a 15 percent increase!

Now, keep in mind that this is only a small snippet of the market, and one cannot draw meaningful conclusions from the data.  That being said, it is just another data point that supports the notion that living in the District has its advantages!