Northern Virginia Leads DC, MD in Housing Recovery

The Northern Virginia area is ahead of Maryland and Washington, DC when it comes to the housing market (including a bottom and an eventual housing recovery). This is according to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Thomas A. Lawler, founding member of Lawler Economic & Housing Consulting, LLC.

In the article, Mr. Lawler cites statistics that show that Northern Virginia's housing market hit a peak and started its downturn ahead of the rest of the DC metro area. 

He also states that the amount of depreciation in home values that Northern Virginia has seen is greater than the rest of the DC metro area. In fact, he says that DC and MD have a ways to go before dropping as much as Northern Virginia already has.

Mr. Lawler explains one of the reasons for the difference in local markets:

One reason why reported sales prices have declined more rapidly and sales have rebounded more sharply in the northern Virginia area is that the area has seen a much greater increase in distressed sales — in part because Virginia is a “non-judicial” foreclosure state while Maryland is a “judicial” foreclosure state. The typical timeline from when a borrower stops payment to when the home is actually foreclosed on is longer in Maryland than in Virginia. As a result, the Maryland suburbs have a much larger overhang of loans that are currently in some stage of foreclosure than is the case in Northern Virginia…

Just goes to show that you can't even look at a regional area as a whole anymore – you need to look closely at the "hyper-local" real estate market you're in. What the mass media says about the U.S. housing market as a whole or even a large geographical area such the DC metro area doesn't always apply to you and your specific area.

P.S. Yes, I know…Mr. Lawler was senior VP for Fannie Mae through 2006 which is not necessarily a good thing for the resume right about now…but the statistics and his points are valid.

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NVTA Mimics Google To Help Plead It’s Case

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) seems to be mimicking Google in their latest tactic to gain support for congestion relief.

Similar to Google driving around and videotaping streets across the country, the NVTA is asking residents to create orignial content videos of their commute and upload them to a special NVTA You Tube channel.

The idea is to show legislators just how much traffic congestion affects residents’ daily lives.

Here is the NVTA press release:

Read more

How To Get A Refund On Your Grantor’s Tax

If you sold your home in Virginia after December 31, 2007 and paid the higher Grantor’s Tax rate ($5 per $1000), you may request a refund on your Grantor’s Tax of the difference between the old rate ($1 per $1000) and the new rate.

The NVTA is currently handling the requests two ways – by phone (per locality) or by email. For the list of numbers for each locality, click here. If you wish to email the NVTA, here is their email: TheAuthority@thenovaauthority.org.

Official Press Release From NVTA Regarding Today’s Court Ruling

As many of you know, the VA Supreme Court today ruled that the taxing powers given to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) were unconstitutional. Well, here is the official press release from the NVTA on the matter:

Read more

Grantor’s Tax Update – Court Rules NVTA Taxing Powers Unconstitutional

Today, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the taxing powers given to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA). This gives serious doubt as to whether the Grantor’s Tax will remain in effect. The Grantor’s Tax was increased by 500% beginning January 1, 2008 as part of the NVTA’s plan.

Governor Tim Kaine and the Virginia General Assembly originally empowered the NVTA to collect specific taxes in Northern Virginia to spend on transportation improvements in the region. Part of these taxes included the "Grantor’s Tax" paid by home owners when selling their homes.

The NVTA went to an Arlington court to confirm its authority to sell bonds against the increased tax revenue that would be collected. Loudoun County immediately jumped in to oppose the NVTA.

The case then made its way up to the Virginia Supreme Court, which heard arguments on January 8, 2008 and ruled on it today.

Those who settled between January 1, 2008 and today can contact the NVTA to request a refund on their Grantor’s Tax.

For the actual VA Supreme Court ruling, click here.

UPDATE: If you sold your home after December 31, 2007 and paid the higher Grantor’s Tax rate ($5 per $1000), you may request a refund. For more information on how to do so, click here.

Partial Source: Loudoun Easterner

Zillow Reports 1 in 3 New Homeowners Have Negative Equity

According to a report of national home values released yesterday by Zillow, 1 in 3 new homeowners have negative equity. The report also says that, in the fourth quarter, national home values fell 3.5 percent from the previous quarter to a national indicator of $224,890, and declined 3 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The report is based on the median "Zestimate" valuation, and measures the value of all homes in an area, not just those that have sold during the quarter. "Zestimates" are Zillow’s term for home valuations the company has compiled through county records and other information sources. The company uses an algorithm to aid in calculating the Zestimate number that appears with the home on Zillow.

Though the accuracy of Zillow’s Zestimates have come under a lot of scrutiny, there numbers are least good at showing trends.

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Loudoun County Real Estate Market Inventory – January 2008 vs 2007

Here’s a look at the number of new listings in Loudon County this past December and January as compared to the previous December and January:

• There were 896 properties listed in December 2007 versus 791 listed in December 2006, an increase of 22 percent
• There were 1218 properties listed in January 2008 versus 1271 listed in January 2007, a decrease of 4 percent

In order for the market to start rebounding, we need to see inventory go down or buyer activity pick up. Best case scenario would be to see both of those to happen at the same time.

We’ll post the first half February numbers later this week.

D

Farewell Coach…

Public Hearing On Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s Future Projects

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) will hold a public hearing on Thursday, January 10, 2008 to get the public’s feedback on their proposed plan and projects for fiscal years 2008 to 2010. Here’s the official notice with more information:

"Notice of Public Hearing – January 10, 2008 – Northern Virginia Transportation Authority

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) will hold a public hearing on Thursday, January 10, 2008, at 6 p.m., at George Mason High School Auditorium, 7124 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA, to solicit feedback from the public on NVTA’s proposed initial Six Year Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2008 to FY 2010. The projects included in the Program are funded using 60 percent of revenue collected and retained by NVTA. These projects are a mix of highway, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and multimodal projects. They also include funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE). Specific information regarding the projects is posted on NVTA’s website: www.TheNoVaAuthority.org.

The Authority will begin hearing comments at 6 p.m., or shortly thereafter. Individuals may speak a maximum of 3 minutes and organizations a maximum of 5 minutes. The deadline for submission of speaker slips is 7 p.m. Written comments submitted up to 5 p.m. on December 31, 2007, will be distributed to NVTA members in advance of the hearing. Materials received after that date, up to 3 p.m. on January 9, 2008, will be distributed to members after the meeting. Comments may be submitted by U.S. mail c/o Christopher Zimmerman, Chairman, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, 2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22201, or by email to TheAuthority@TheNoVaAuthority.org. For more information, visit the NVTA website at www.TheNoVaAuthority.org.

For ADA accomodations only, email Isequeira@arlingtonva.us or call 703-228-3130 or call the Virginia Relay Center 1-866-246-9300 (TTY) or 711, by 5 p.m. on Friday, January 4, 2008."

On a side note, NVTA to appoint John Mason as Authority’s first  Executive Director. Authority members will vote formally to approve Mr. Mason’s contract during their regular meeting on January 10, 2008.

Robert Melton’s Catalog Of Local Real Estate Blogs

In October 2006, Robert Melton cataloged 500 real estate blogs to watch. On April 9th, he updated the list in order to celebrate the first day of Project Blogger and the list now stands at 750.

Thank you to Robert for including Loudoun Stats as well as our other three blogs, real/diaBlog, The Ashburn, Virginia Community Blog and BlogBack in the original and updated list.

You can find the list on Robert’s Pittsburgh Homes Daily blog. The local and national  blogs on the list provide a wealth of resources for consumers and professionals alike.

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