The Mortgage Bankers Association blamed unemployment, which last month hit 7.3 percent in Maryland and 10.2 percent on average nationwide. Falling home prices are another factor, the trade group notes.

So: Are we at the point where everyone is affected in some way by the rising tide of foreclosures and delinquencies? Enlighten us all by weighing in on this choose-all-that-apply poll:

Have a tale to tell? Please share.]]> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/blog/2009/11/foreclosure_ripple_effects.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/blog/2009/11/foreclosure_ripple_effects.html The foreclosure mess Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500 $12.6 million: What author Tom Clancy spent on his new penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton Residences in the Inner Harbor

3: Penthouses Clancy combined to make his new mega-digs

12: The number of 1,000-square-foot condos -- the sort of residence certain Wonks own -- that could fit in Clancy's condo

$285,768: Clancy's annual city property tax bill, either right away or -- if he gets the new-construction tax break that phases in the amount -- after five years

50: Buyers it would take to equal those taxes among folks getting $250,000 city homes

2: The number of prospective buyers the Ritz-Carlton developer says it is in talks with about combining units to make more mega-condos

38: New condos selling in the city during the first nine months of the year

530: New, ready-to-occupy condos that builders are trying to sell in the city

All of them: number of condo sellers who wish Clancy had wanted their place

Neighborhood: Lauraville

Location: northeast Baltimore

Average sales price: $184,000 (January through June)

Notable features: Single-family homes -- some quite large -- on streets with a quiet, off-the-beaten-track atmosphere. Yet the eastern boundary is Harford Road, a major artery. Businesses in the area include a Safeway grocery store and Main Street-style independently owned shops.

Lauraville was mostly built in the 1910s and '20s, but it became a village with a post office just after the Civil War, according to the Lauraville Improvement Association. Much of the neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It recently got a nod from This Old House magazine as the "Best Old House Neighborhood" in Maryland. (I pondered whether to disqualify it as a "hidden" gem for that reason, but I think it's still off most folks' radar.)

Here's the clincher: Residents here are super-enthusiastic about their neighborhood. I say that because lots of people put in nominations for Lauraville and the whole "Greater Lauraville" area, which includes the surrounding neighborhoods of Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Hamilton Hills, Mayfield, Moravia-Walther, Morgan Park and Waltherson.

On the one hand, there are owners of larger homes having a hard time downsizing because -- agents say -- it's a hard-hit part of the market. On the other hand, the Ritz-Carlton Residences just sold a nearly 12,000-square-foot penthouse condo -- a unit that was originally three separate penthouse condos -- for a record-setting $12.6 million.

Does the really, really high end have more going for it than the merely high end?

Before you start adding thousands of square feet to your home in hopes of attracting a buyer, remember that few have the financial heft of novelist Tom Clancy, who (The Daily Record reported in a keen scoop) is the buyer of the huge penthouse.

How big is 12,000 square feet? As big as five typical new U.S. houses.

But the prevailing trend is smaller, not bigger -- as you might expect during a prolonged downturn. Last year, the median new house was smaller than it was the year before, the first drop since 1995.

Neighborhood: Lake Walker

Location: northern Baltimore

Average sales price: $235,000 (January through June)

Notable features: This neighborhood hard against the city-county line is, architecturally speaking, the opposite of the suburban cul-de-sac where every house looks exactly the same. Here you'll find nineteenth-century farmhouses, modest Depression-era homes, bungalows, brick townhouses, stylish Tudor townhouses (pictured above) and even some homes that could participate in a suburban cul-de-sac exchange program without anyone being the wiser.

There's no lake -- the neighborhood is named after two streets. But the tree-lined Lake Avenue looks awfully nice even without water as a draw.

Lake Walker, bounded on the west by York Road, is within walking distance of a Giant grocery store. Because it's just south of Towson, it's not far from malls, colleges and Interstate 695. But never mind that for a moment. See what I mean about the homes:

Neighborhood -- or, in this case, community: Havre de Grace

Location: Harford County

Average sales price: $241,000 (January through June)

Notable features: Water, water, everywhere. Havre de Grace's northeastern boundary is the Susquehanna River, and along its southeastern edge flows the Chesapeake Bay. There's a boardwalk promenade along the river and boats galore, plus a quaint downtown on the National Register of Historic Places.

Some of the homes here are historic and stately. Some are just darn cute. Take a look:

Q: I’m already a homeowner. If I buy a replacement home to use as my principal residence, do I have to sell my home to qualify for the homebuyer tax credit?

A: If you meet all of the requirements for the credit, the law does not require you to sell or otherwise dispose of your current principal residence to qualify for a credit of up to $6,500 when you buy a replacement home to use as your principal residence. You must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. Additionally, you must have lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the replacement home is purchased.

I'm still waiting for an answer to the question that many of you have posed: Is a couple eligible for the $6,500 if only one of the spouses meets the five-year ownership requirement?

Looking for more information about the repeat-buyer tax credit? This link will take you everything I've written on the topic. And here's the link for blog posts on the first-time buyer credit.

You can find the Black Friday questions here. Or go to baltimoresun.com/lightsource, our main page for our "be a news source" effort.

Why are we doing this? Because economic news coverage is better and more relevant when it's not just the pundits talking.

Grateful thanks to all who participate and -- better yet -- spread the word.

Neighborhood: Brewers Hill

Location: Southeast Baltimore

Average sales price: $223,000 (January-June). The cheapest home that sold was $157,000; the most expensive, $271,000.

Notable features: Ask people in the region to name a funky Baltimore neighborhood near the water, and they'll probably come up with Canton. Brewers Hill, its small next-door-neighbor to the east, gets a lot less attention. But it has neatly-kept rowhouses, cool beer-brewing history (wave hello to Mr. Boh, pictured above) and easy access to Canton hot spots without the bustling activity.

As reader EL put it when nominating this neighborhood for gem consideration, "We have all the fun of Canton, but none of the parking headaches or intoxicated frat boys."

Some of the blocks look very much like Canton:

First up on the hidden-gem list: Ashburton.

Location: Northwest Baltimore.

Average sales price: $141,000 (January-June).

Notable features: Beautiful single-family homes -- some brick -- and lots of mature trees. An old-money feel without the price tag. Directly to the south is Hanlon Park, with Lake Ashburton.

A 2002 study of city neighborhoods, prepared by Johns Hopkins University graduate students, called Ashburton "a well-defined enclave in northwest Baltimore that has established itself as the home of Baltimore's black elite." In fact, I almost disqualified Ashburton from this list because I thought it was an unhidden gem, a place most people know about. Until I started asking around and got puzzled looks, that is.

Here's the view down Ellamont Road:

Here's hoping for another 10 years at least, assuming the newspaper industry still exists at that point.

On that note: Thanks to everyone who subscribes to a newspaper, whichever one it may be. Newspapers' online offerings -- including blogs -- would not be possible without you.

Six percent said not now, but when the economy's doing well.

Just two percent opted for the straight "no."

And one person felt so strongly about this that he or she skipped over the "yes" option to write in an answer: "Hell yes."

People usually like the idea of having less taxes to pay, so that was a pretty easy question for you all to answer. Now I challenge you to tackle a harder one: What cuts or adjustments should the city make to account for the (at least short-term) drop in revenue? What can the city do to avoid counteracting the "come on in" message of lower taxes with the unwelcome-mat of decreasing quality of services?

Proponents of rate reductions say a big cut would bring more residents, increasing the sources of revenue, but let's assume for this exercise that tens of thousands of people won't immediately drop everything to move in. (Also, you'll want to take into account that the city is already grappling with reduced revenues. Mayor Sheila Dixon announced in September that the city would have to "immediately reduce spending" to deal with a $60 million decline in revenue and state aid.)

Extra points to anyone with an idea more specific than "reduce waste." Here are two proposals from commenters to get you started.

Fiscal Haiku is on Twitter, too.

Here's a housing haiku from a San Diego woman:

Home values are down

Foreclosures are plentiful

I still cannot Buy

I see some Maryland submissions, though none from Baltimore. Here's one from a Greenbelt man:

Work'd for fifty years

401(k), zero K

Work for fifty more

And by a D.C. 'burbs guy:

Lament of the wind -

"Don't spend money you don't have."

"You bloody idjits."

Got one? Share!]]> http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/blog/2009/11/fiscal_haiku_a_poetic_outlet_for_the_frustrated.html http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/blog/2009/11/fiscal_haiku_a_poetic_outlet_for_the_frustrated.html The economy Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500 You'll be helping demystify the process for other would-be buyers. Better yet, you get to weigh in on what works and what drives you up a wall.

We're specifically looking for a first-time home buyer or someone who wants a foreclosure or short sale to live in. (Or you could fit into both categories.)

If this is you, and you're fairly early in the process, drop me a line at jamie.smith.hopkins(at)baltsun.com.