Bethesda, Chevy Chase Real Estate News

The stimulus plan signed into law this week and the new efforts the President announced today to shore up the credit markets are likely to have numerous favorable effects on a rapidly eroding economy, but at least from the sound bites he and congressional leaders are making, there seems to be an imbalanced emphasis on plugging holes in the dam, not dealing with what’s missing most in our failing economy: buyers.

The economy’s fundamental problem (among its many “fundamental” problems), is that "ordinary people" - the 93 percent or the workforce still employed and who likely are still in relatively sound financial condition - are scared to participate in the economy. They are afraid to buy, to spend money, to invest… to do the things that stimulate and create markets... to help bring back to life the other side of our economy. The demand side. The emphasis seems to be on patching our troubles, not rebuilding. To do that, we need the demand side of the economy to reawaken. The $8,000 or so house purchase credit for first-time buyers is a nudge in the right direction, but it probably needs to be $20,000 or $30,000, or even more, and not be limited to first time buyers…. and maybe it should not have had income caps on who could take advantage of it, or if retained, at least much higher ones. Maybe we should have put $100 billion of the $789 billion rescue package into that effort.

Much of today’s speech about the Treasury’s coming efforts to stem foreclosures and beef up credit institutions seems again to put the emphasis on patching holes in our walls... That putty may keep the inventory of homes on the market from rising further (or more slowly) because it might stem the rising number of foreclosures, but it doesn’t create buyers.

We need buyers for our already inflated housing inventories. The nation’s housing supply is enormous, and in response, housing prices have...

According to a recent Forbes Magazine article, Washington, D.C. ranks only behind Madison, Wisconsin in potential job growth for the coming year.

Thanks to expected increases in government and government related employment, the D.C. area should fare well in 2009. In addition, defense contracting and law are big employers in our Nation’s Capital, as is education. Washington, D.C. is home to many well respected colleges.

Madison, Wisconsin does well on the education front because of it is the home of the main campus of the University of Wisconsin which has a very large technology and medical arm. It is also the center of state and county government.

Ranking #3 is Boston, Massachusetts which, of course, also employs many people in the field of education. It has also become a hub for both technology and pharmaceutical industries.

The other cities noted in the Forbes study are: #4. Richmond, VA #5. Milwaukee, WI #6. Pittsburgh, PA #7. Baltimore, MD #8. Seattle, WA #9. Houston, TX #10. Dallas, TX

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Just Listed 7507 Vale Street / Chevy Chase Maryland 20815

We just put a new listing on the market in Chevy Chase and it is a really special property located at 7507 Vale Street in the Rollingwood Subdivision. It started its life in 1938 as a fairly modest red brick colonial, but after several handsome additions it now boasts 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, an updated kitchen that opens to a breakfast and family room, a first floor office, an attic bedroom/studio (current owner is a quilter) and a lower level that has two family rooms (or overflow guest space) and a walk out. Both the formal living room and dining room are generous and the house gets a lot of natural lighting. A one car garage and off street parking finish the picture.  Priced at $1,325,000.

Want a Peak?  See the "Interactive Virtual Floor Plan Tour"

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Contributing Chevy Chase Maryland blogger: Kevin Koitz: Last week I produced a report containing the final quarter home sales in Chevy Chase Maryland (2007 vs. 2008).  For those of you unfamiliar with the Chase MD, take a quick peak at that post if you're interested in a briefe synopsis of the area and map.  For those of you who have already read the market stats from that post, you know that I had suspected I had miscalculated some of the figures (there's a first for everything).  Below are the revised statistics, checked, and re-checked for your viewing pleasure.  Thanks for your patience!

Chevy Chase Home Sales Quarter 2007 vs. 2008

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	2007	2008
Number of Homes Sold	61	68
Median Sales Price*	$938,5000	$875,000
Average Sold Price*	$1,061,054	$1,047,743
Average Days on Market*	38	46
Average Sales Price as a % of Ave. List Price*	98%	96%

Pardon this "aside" from DC Metro Area real estate but just wanted to share some quick thoughts. You were getting tired of the market reports anyway!



In the 11th grade I was taught one of my favorite terms – the “Hardyism” – named after poet Thomas Hardy who had a knack of creating his own “iterations” of words that just seemed to fit perfectly into his prose. I thought about that class when Gretchen came up with her own Hardyism last week…“Sullyfication”. No, not a reference to dirt, or corruption, or the worst of America…rather, the best.

I can’t even remember the exact context of the conversation but we started talking about the “the Sullyfication” of America in reference to the extraordinarily talented, and exceedingly humble pilot, Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, who so skillfully landed the broken plane into the Hudson River.

As a nation, we’re telling ourselves that we’re in a new time. The fact that almost 2 million people attended the inauguration of President Obama in an atmosphere of caring and acceptance and optimism (even when people were crowded and cold and short on basic services) is hopefully just a precursor of things to come. But in this “new era of shared responsibility” wouldn’t it also be great if we achieved without expecting congratulations or even recognition?

As a society, we seem to be set up to “reward” success. Lately, you can’t turn on the TV without tuning into an “all star” game or an award show. And there’s nothing wrong with recognizing excellence. But we have become...