Archive: Real Estate
Prince William Foreclosures Get International Attention
By Alejandro Lazo Prince William County's high rate of home foreclosures is drawing some international eyes. Piotr Malecki, a 41-year-old Polish photojournalist, concluded a two-week reporting trip in the county yesterday, documenting people who have either lost or are on the brink of losing their homes in Woodbridge, Dumfries, Manassas...
By Terri Rupar | July 2, 2008; 12:11 PM ET | Comments (0)
Q&A: Deborah Ratner Salzberg and Development
Due to human error (I forgot to push the right button), the full text of Thomas Heath's Q&A with Deborah Ratner Salzberg wasn't published here yesterday. Here it is, with my apologies. Deborah Ratner Salzberg, president of Forest City Washington, shared with Thomas Heath what her company is developing in...
By Terri Rupar | April 8, 2008; 05:41 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, the Washington area's multiple-listing service for real estate, made a rule change that allows sellers to withdraw their home from the market for 90 days, then put it back on as a new listing. Previously, the wait was 180 days. See story *Blooms Crossing in Manassas...
By Terri Rupar | February 23, 2008; 12:19 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*For Washington area homeowners with "jumbo" loans - or those over $417,000 - the economic stimulus package could mean some interest-rate relief. See story *Langley Park in Prince George's and and the Victory Heights apartment building in Columbia Heights are profiled....
By Terri Rupar | February 16, 2008; 01:57 PM ET | Comments (1)
Real Estate
*People are trying to give their teenagers a place to hang out, remodeling their basements or even adding a half-pipe. See story *Many communities have their own Web sites. How to get one started and figure out what you want it to do. See story *Alexandria's Del Ray and Bethesda's...
By Terri Rupar | February 9, 2008; 01:32 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*When you get your property tax assessment, you might want to consider a challenge. See story *An Arlington house decorated by interior design students at Marymount University is for sale. See story *16th Street Heights in the District and the Arbors at Arundel Preserve are profiled....
By Terri Rupar | February 2, 2008; 01:06 PM ET | Comments (0)
Report on the Regional Office Market
The Downtown DC BID released a report on the regional office market that compares the prices in the District with prices elsewhere in the region and suggests ways to keep D.C. office space competitive. The report's author expresses concern that the office market will stop growing at its current rate....
By Terri Rupar | January 31, 2008; 03:20 PM ET | Comments (0)
NVR Profit Slumps on Falling Orders for New Homes
Local builder NVR said its fourth quarter profit tumbled 50 percent as tighter lending standards prompted more home buyers to back out of contracts. See the company's news release. The Reston company said it earned $67.3 million ($11.72 a share) in the period ended Dec. 31, down from $135.2 million...
By Mike Shepard | January 29, 2008; 01:17 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*Can a house with seven bedrooms, 6 1/2 baths and four fireplaces (as well as a a gym, two laundry rooms and two kitchens) be green? Joe Monfredo of Anne Arundel thinks so. See story *There's more than one way to tap home equity, and you should figure out what...
By Terri Rupar | January 26, 2008; 01:01 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*Local renters are among the winners as the real estate market weakens and dwellings that were condos are turned into apartments. See story *A D.C. house listed at $18.5 million is the most expensive on the market. See story *High Ridge in Howard County and Cleveland House in the District...
By Terri Rupar | January 19, 2008; 01:05 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*Residents of an Adams Morgan condo building in October are figuring out what their insurance will and won't cover - or that they should have had insurance in the first place. There are often misunderstandings on what insurance will do. See story *Fairfax City offers programs to help people upgrade...
By Terri Rupar | January 12, 2008; 01:04 PM ET | Comments (0)
Commercial Real Estate Update: A Walk Down Half Street
F. Russell Hines, executive vice president of District-based Monument Realty, stood on Half Street SE Thursday morning, at the foot of the frenetic development site that is the new Nationals baseball stadium, laying out his vision for the street leading into the park. He spoke of flashy retail shops, restaurants,...
By Mike Shepard | January 11, 2008; 11:02 AM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*Most houses have a lot more toys than they did a month ago. So where to put them? Many people are turning to playrooms to keep the rest of the house toy-free and their sanity intact. See story *The archtiect who oversaw the Capitol Visitor Center is selling his house...
By Terri Rupar | January 5, 2008; 01:31 PM ET | Comments (0)
Commercial Real Estate Update: Coffee Break in NoMa
A specialty coffee shop called Pound Coffee will soon start serving office workers and commuters in the District's burgeoning NoMA -- North of Massachusetts Avenue -- neighborhood. Khalil Ghannam, 45, plans to open his new café next month at 2nd and N Streets Northeast, just outside the New York Avenue...
By Mike Shepard | January 4, 2008; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*It's not just credit scores anymore - now lenders want to see more information on prospective home buyers' finances. See story *Columbia's Encounter Row and Bethesda's Rosedale Park are featured....
By Terri Rupar | December 29, 2007; 01:29 PM ET | Comments (0)
Commercial Real Estate: Something New for Dulles
Technology company GTSI has agreed to move its headquarters next year from Chantilly to a new building in Herndon, providing a shot in the arm to the Dulles commercial real estate market, which has seen a surge of speculative construction over the past few years. GTSI, which sells furbished computers,...
By Mike Shepard | December 20, 2007; 02:55 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*A new kind of assisted-living community has plenty ofa menities and is aimed at older people who don't need nursing-home care but can't live on their own. See story *Michigan Park in Northeast Washington and the Concord Residences in Crystal City are profiled....
By Terri Rupar | December 8, 2007; 02:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
Commercial Real Estate Roundup
Work began earlier this week on Towers Crescent, a new 13-story office building in Tysons Corner that investors and developers are hoping will benefit from the eventual opening of a Metrorail station in the business hub. "With the planned extension of Metrorail, Tysons Corner will continue its evolution towards a...
By Mike Shepard | November 30, 2007; 03:15 PM ET | Comments (0)
Pinkard Stepping Down as CEO of Firm He Founded
The chief executive of Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers, one of Washington's largest commercial real estate firms, is stepping aside after 23 years at the helm. Robert Pinkard, who co-founded the company in 1981, will leave his spot in January to become chairman. Joseph Stettinius, now the managing director of investor...
By Mike Shepard | November 28, 2007; 06:08 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate: Some Crazy Stories
Real estate veterans share their on-the-job stories, ranging from horrifying to entertaining. See story The author of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" lives in Cleveland Park. Recently, Alexander, now 40, and his wife and children, moved in with her for a few months during a...
By Terri Rupar | November 10, 2007; 03:51 PM ET | Comments (0)
In Trial Run of Ferry Lie Dreams of An Easier Commute
Could the Washington area go in the direction of Seattle, New York and Venice -- cities that use their waterways as an important mode of transportation? A test run last week of a high-speed ferry between Quantico in Prince William county and the Navy Yard in the District, made that...
By Mike Shepard | November 2, 2007; 04:52 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
*Frederick is growing and being revitalized, but some question whether the town is losing what makes it special. See story *Gum Springs in Alexandria and Dominion at Eden Brook in Columbia are profiled....
By Terri Rupar | October 27, 2007; 12:35 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
Need to remodel? It might be easier to find a contractor with the current slowdown. See story Rivercrest in Loudoun and Lakeside in Centreville are profiled....
By Terri Rupar | October 6, 2007; 12:55 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
The real estate market in the Washington area is the slowest in years, but that's about all that can be generalized for the region. Selling times and prices and supply vary by Zip code. See story Sellers are learning to sell in a market that has swung toward buyers. See...
By Terri Rupar | September 29, 2007; 03:16 PM ET | Comments (0)
Real Estate
What's included in the base price of new homes? The wet bar? The disposal? See story Powhatan Beach in Anne Arundel County and Wisconsin House in the District are profiled....
By Terri Rupar | September 22, 2007; 02:04 PM ET | Comments (0)
Inspections and Artists
Area projects are aiming to help low-income artists buy a home and a place to work. See story Just because a house is expensive and new doesn't mean the inspection won't find lots of flaws, a local inspector says. See story Foxhall Village and Hill House in the District are...
By Terri Rupar | September 15, 2007; 05:13 PM ET | Comments (0)
From Baltimore, McLean and Bluemont
The Real Estate section profiles Baltimore's Bolton Square townhouse complex; Bluemont, Va., in Loudoun County; and the Ashby at McLean apartment building....
By Terri Rupar | September 8, 2007; 03:58 PM ET | Comments (0)
Tishman Speyer Leases Herndon Building to VW
And the winner is ..... Tishman Speyer. The New York commercial real estate firm and owner of the iconic Rockefeller Center will be Volkswagen of America's new landlord when the automaker moves its North American headquarters from Auburn Hills, Mich. to Herndon. Tishman Speyer has leased its 185,000 square-foot Woodland...
By Mike Shepard | September 6, 2007; 01:41 PM ET | Comments (0)
Wine Cellars and Southeast
People have built gyms, home theaters and bars in their basements. Now they're building wine cellars. See story Washington Highlands in Southeast Washington is home to a mix of professionals and working-class residents. See story And over on 15th Street SE is a building that Joan and Joel Simon bought...
By Terri Rupar | September 1, 2007; 01:32 PM ET | Comments (0)
Pets and Wells
More condos mean more pet owners and non-pet owners sharing small spaces. See story Is a private well a deal-breaker? See story Prince Frederick and Arlington's Courthouse Crossings are profiled....
By Terri Rupar | August 25, 2007; 02:13 PM ET | Comments (0)
Republic Property Trust To Be Sold
Republic Property Trust, the District real estate company embroiled in a long-running dispute with its founder and president, announced that it reached agreement to merge with Liberty Property Trust in a deal valued at $850 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Liberty will acquire all of Republic's outstanding common...
By Dan Beyers | July 24, 2007; 07:49 AM ET | Comments (1)
