With the real estate market heating up, it appears that American homeowners are ready to start remodeling again. After years of decline, home-improvement spending increased 9% last year and will probably turn out to have surged by the double digits this year, according to studies. Planning to get in on… read more →
An improving housing market is great for the economy but not necessarily for first-time homebuyers. According to studies, mortgage rates rose from 3.49 percent in May up to 4.69 percent in August. While rising mortgage rates certainly make transactions more expensive, they shouldn’t deter your purchase. Here are five ways you can buy… read more →
A real estate agent’s job entails more than assisting clients with the nitty-gritty details of buying or selling a home. Good agents also tour as many homes as possible. Knowing the local inventory gives them an edge over the competition and provides great value for future buyers and sellers because those agents know… read more →
What distinguishes a great neighborhood from the merely so-so? It’s a difficult question, encompassing everything from physical attributes such as good design to the right number of parks and public gathering places. Is it a charming Main Street, good schools or an abundance of interesting shops, restaurants and other diversions?… read more →
Selling your home is a real art form these days. The marketing! The staging! Yet there’s one thing that you, Joe or Sally Homeowner, often forget: Would-be buyers don’t care how much you love your pets. And they’re not interested in seeing — or smelling — evidence of Fido or… read more →
Many factors contribute to the experience and success of buying and selling homes, but even in the digital age of a more transparent real estate market, working with a good real estate agent continues to be one of biggest impacts on either side of the transaction. But how do you pick… read more →
Activity in the Washington DC Metro Region continues to be steady and strong as we enter fall. Sales increased in September as compared to this time last year. Pending contracts also increased, but at a slower rate than earlier this year. The increase in pending contracts was driven by condos… read more →
With the housing market heating up in many parts of the country, it can be hard to find the bargain homes that were common in the Great Recession, when many sellers were desperate to unload their homes. Today, Sellers trying to get as much money as possible. Nonetheless, it’s still possible… read more →
Beginning this week, thousands of home buyers will be unable to get approvals for their mortgages because of the government shutdown, potentially undercutting the nation’s resurgent housing market. Without paperwork from the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and in many cases the Federal Housing Administration, banks and other… read more →
The nation’s housing recovery continues, but the best news is that sales volume in our Northern Virginia footprint has increased by about 12 percent throughout 2013 above the number of homes sold year-to-date last year. August home sales in Northern Virginia continue to defy sequestration and interest rate increases and… read more →