Calling all competitive Baltimore-area residents: Can you guess which neighborhoods are pictured in this post? C'mon, take a stab at it. The person with the most correct guesses receives a real estate book and due praise.

So far, just one guesser. The field is wide open. (It closes Thursday night because the big reveal is Friday.)

You don't have to live in the area to play, but I'm, ah, guessing Baltimore residency will help.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Twenty percent of Baltimore-area borrowers owed more on their single-family home loans than their homes were worth in September, down from 25 percent in June, according to Zillow's calculation -- part of its third-quarter real estate market report. Zillow uses its "Zestimates" to calculate values for all homes, not just the ones that sold. (I mention that because there's been discussion here and elsewhere about how accurate those are.)

Zillow said it found that Baltimore-area home values rose slightly from the spring to the summer -- 1.1 percent. (Values dropped about 5 percent from a year earlier, Zillow said, but it estimates that about one in five homes is actually worth more now.)

The slight upward movement in prices this summer might be helping some borrowers get out from a slightly under-water position, but it hasn't prevented sales at a loss. Almost one in six homes changing hands in September went for less than the seller had bought them for, according to Zillow's figures for the metro area.

That ranged quite a bit at a community level.

Continue reading "Zillow: Fewer homeowners under water on mortgages" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Delta Associates, a real estate information and consulting firm, counts 2,586 unsold units -- enough to last six-and-a-half years at the current pace of sales. And that's not all:

In addition, there are 1,111 units planned with probable sales within the next 36 months. There are an additional 3,200 units in the long-term pipeline in the Baltimore metro area, as well as 6,100 multifamily units planned as either condominiums or rental units.

All told, builders recorded 32 net sales in the Baltimore metro area during the summer, Delta said. The "net" is important -- it accounts for the negative effect of buyers canceling contracts.

Prices in September fell about 7 percent vs. a year earlier across the metro area. The decline is less in the city -- about 5 percent -- and more than 10 percent in the northern suburbs, Delta said.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Housing stats
        

In the case of an individual (and, if married, such individual's spouse) who has owned and used the same residence as such individual's principal residence for any 5-consecutive-year period during the 8-year period ending on the date of the purchase of a subsequent principal residence, such individual shall be [eligible for the credit] with respect to the purchase of such subsequent residence.

Does that mean people who lived in their homes for the past five years and want to move on? People who lived in their homes for at least five years after late 2001, have since been renting it out and now want a new primary residence? People who lived in their homes for at least five years after late 2001, sold the place and now want to buy again?

I posed this to a Senate Finance Committee aide, and he said yes. Yes to all three.

I wondered that to begin with, but the "ending on the date of the purchase of a subsequent principal residence" part made me second-guess myself.

I urge you all not to spend that $6,500 before it's a sure thing that you can get it -- let's see what the IRS has to say, eh? But Wonk reader SSK, it does look like you can take advantage of the credit. (SSK posed this question: "I lived in my Baltimore house for 12 years. Just sold it in July. I re-located to Ohio and am renting. I'm about to bid on a new home. So, I lived in my home for more than 5 years, but I'm temporarily renting now. Do I qualify?")

Continue reading "Who's eligible for the repeat-buyer tax credit?" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: First-time buyer tax credit, Repeat buyer tax credit
        

Next Friday, I'll unveil the long-awaited list of hidden-gem neighborhoods -- nice, off-the-radar and relatively affordable spots in the Baltimore region. In the meantime, can you guess the 10? Photos of each are above.

The person with the most correct guesses wins a copy of Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us by Alyssa Katz. Anyone with at least one correct guess is entitled to a Real Estate Wonk magnet.

Remember, each of the 10 is in the Baltimore metro area and had an average sale price under $250,000 in the first half of the year. More than half were suggested by you lovely Wonk readers.

Two hints: Each Baltimore-area jurisdiction has at least one. And a few of the spots are really communities, not neighborhoods.

You don't have to squint at the photos. Click on any and a larger version will pop up.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

The National Association of Realtors says the new provisions -- a longer time frame for the $8,000 first-time buyer credit, higher income limits and a $6,500 credit for certain repeat buyers -- will go into effect as soon as pen hits paper. The trade group has a handy "compare the tax credits" chart that you can find here.

You can also read more about the details on yesterday's tax-credit blog post.

The first-time buyer tax credit, hailed by the real estate industry as a stabilizing force for the battered housing market, has its critics. They say it's a lot of money, much of it going to people who probably would have bought anyway and some of it going to tax cheats (including 19,000 who didn't actually purchase a home). Some of you have said you think it's a stimulus that won't help in the long run.

In this running Wonk poll, I asked you a simple question about the bill: Thumbs up, down or sideways? The voting was overwhelmingly thumbs up at first. But as of last night, the results were split: 49 percent down, 47 percent up and 4 percent sideways. 

I chatted yesterday with Heather Fernandez, vice president of marketing with real estate search engine Trulia. She's enthusiastic about the soon-to-be-law, though not without reservations. One reason to cheer, she said, is that consumers pump money into the economy after buying a home ($30,000 within the first six months on items ranging from furniture to hot water heaters, Trulia found in a study last year). She also thinks the credits will help move more foreclosures and cushion prices in the short term.

There's a significant "but," though: "What happens to real estate demand on May 1?" Fernandez asks. April 30 is the last day you can sign a contract and still qualify for the first-time or repeat-buyer tax credits.

"While this may spur tremendous activity in the short term, what's going to stop demand from dropping off a cliff?" she said.

Continue reading "Expanded home buyer tax credits to become law" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: First-time buyer tax credit, Repeat buyer tax credit
        

With a 98 to 0 vote Wednesday, the Senate passed legislation to extend the credit for first-time buyers and add a credit for certain repeat buyers. It's expected to move to the House floor today.

It seems to be the same proposal we've been talking about for the last few days. Highlights:

--$8,000 for first-timers signing contracts through April 30 and closing by June 30. That credit was due to expire at the end of the month.

--$6,500 for repeat buyers who have "lived in their current residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight," the Los Angeles Times reports. But Sen. Harry Reid's press release phrases it as "those who have owned a home for five consecutive years within the previous eight years." More on this in a moment.

--Individual tax filers making no more than $125,000 and joint filers making no more than $225,000 could take the full credit, a significant increase of the income cap. The credit would decrease in value for people making more than those amounts, phasing out completely after $145,000 for singles and $245,000 for couples, the Times says.

--If the home you're buying is priced over $800,000, you can't partake.

You might be wondering what this "five consecutive years out of the last eight" really means for potential repeat buyers. I did, because it makes a difference whether it's "lived in their current residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight," as the Times writes, or "those who have owned a home for five consecutive years within the previous eight years," as Reid puts it -- or something else entirely.

Continue reading "Senate passes home buyer credits" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Repeat buyer tax credit
        

Sales in the summer were up about 7 percent from a year earlier in the D.C. region, and there were 5.4 months of inventory -- "below the normal, healthy standard of 6 months, signaling that demand is beginning to outpace supply," the report notes. ("Months of inventory" refers to the time it would take homes listed for sale to find buyers at the current pace of transactions.)

In the Baltimore metro area, sales in the summer rose a bit faster -- about 8 percent from a year earlier. But there's more catch-up to do: 8.8 months of inventory.

Homes are sitting longer on the market here as well: 117 days in the Baltimore area compared with 81 in the Washington area.

The market decline hit our southern neighbor first, and it started to recover first, too. D.C.'s job market is one of the strongest in the nation, which doesn't hurt.

The Delta and MRIS report also shone a spotlight on neighborhoods around BWI, a market between Baltimore and Washington. It offered some illuminating statistics about what exactly is selling.

Continue reading "Housing markets: Baltimore vs. Washington (and BWI)" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Housing stats
        

For those of you wondering what people with lavish houses do with all the space: Howard County police say a Columbia mansion -- a 4,600-square-foot spread -- was being rented out for a Halloween party this weekend that drew more than 100 people, possibly much more.

They're clear on the "more than 100" part, because that's how many people were still there when officers arrived in response to 911 calls about gunfire. A 19-year-old was killed and a 22-year-old was badly injured.

Police think the house was also rented out for a party that took place in June.

The Sun's Annie Linskey reminded me that several years ago, a big Anne Arundel County house was the site of a non-fatal shooting while rented out to two NFL players. Neighbors complained that the place was being used as an unauthorized nightclub even before that point.

Do you live near homes that are frequently used for parties, with or without cover charges?

(Photograph of the Columbia house by Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun)

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors
        

Should sprinkler systems be installed in every new single-family house? Fire safety advocates think so. Home builders aren't nearly as enthusiastic, noting the cost.

It's a national argument that last week came to Baltimore, during hearings held by the International Code Council. The ICC -- the organization that writes the building-safety rules adopted by states, counties and cities across the country -- entertained a proposal by the National Association of Home Builders that sprinklers be a "mandatory option" rather than a mandatory non-option. (A mandatory option might sound like an impossibility, but it would mean a feature that builders have to offer as an add-on, leaving the choice to buyers.)

Under the ICC's current code, sprinkler systems will be required in newly constructed single-family homes by 2011. The home builders are trying to get that changed, but sprinkler proponents outvoted sprinkler opponents. (Though it's not a done deal until the ICC's conference in May, it was a key vote.)

Sprinklers are already mandatory in all new townhouses in Maryland. Would you want sprinkler systems installed in all new single-family houses? What do you think of them, if you've had up-close and personal experience with them?

Given a choice, would you pay extra to have them in your home?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: New developments