4101 Albemarle Street NW #431, Washington, DC 20016     Closed at $449,900   The Abbott Klar Real Estate Group is happy to announce they sold this great condo right above the Tenleytown Metro! Talk about an easy commute! This large 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit features floor to ceiling windows for tons of light and incredible views. It boasts a fireplace, hardwood floors, granite counters, new appliances, a built-in desk and garage parking. City living doesn't get much better! Congratulations to our buyer, we hope you love it here!                   Thanks for reading our blog! We at Abbott Klar Real Estate Group are an experienced, full-service real estate team that specializes in the diverse neighborhoods of the…

Want to know what is going on in the HOT DC real estate Market?  Here are 3 charts from RBI that explain it all.

1. Median sales price is at the highest on record. It is up 13.58% year over year!
2. Inventory of homes for sale is near an all time low.  We are currently at 30% of 2008 levels.
3. List to sales price is at an all time high.

The DC real estate market is hotter than ever.  What are you waiting for?

Action Plan:

1. If you are a buyer-Be proactive and creative.  Get pre-approved for a loan, hire a professional buyer agent, rethink your 'wants and needs' in a house, consider a pre-inspection, and be ready to move fast.
2. If you are a seller- Get that house ready for sale.  This is a seller's market.  What are you waiting for?
3. If you

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This house at 3618 Prospect Street NW was just listed this morning by Mark McFadden of WFP.  Wow!  Simply amazing.

Washington DC is awesome.  Live here!

We show and see lots of houses every day, and sometimes we are truly inspired by the garden space some DC home owners have made.  This amazing space behind a 2826 27th st NW in Woodley Park we viewed with our client today was truly awesome.  Love DC.

Washington DC is awesome.  Live here.

Still waiting for the bloom...  Beautiful day today, but the blossoms are a bit late this year.  We'll put up updated pictures once they are in full bloom.

Known for much of it's existance as an unofficial town hub for the Capitol Hill neightborhood, Easten Market is DC's oldest continually operated fresh food public market. Designed by architect Adolf Cluss and built in 1871, the building began serving as a public market in 1873 and has continued to do so to the present day, with the exception of 2 years when the market moved across the street due to fire damage and the subsequent repairs. Close to the eponymous Metro stop serving the Orange and Blue line trains, Eastern Market is easy to get to.

The Market is open during the week, with the exception of Monday, and is home to thirteen merchants with permanent stalls selling a wide variety of flowers, seafood, meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and baked

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Real estate is an jargon filled industry.  Here is an attempt to declutter some of the terms.

Let's start with what is the "value" of a house?:

Appraisal:
This is what the bank uses to determine how much money they will lend on it.  This number can be flawed. 

• It is based on past data.  Appraisers can only look at homes that have sold in the last 180 days.  We all know the adage that "past performance is no guarantee of future return."  Looking at the prices of similar houses that sold recently should only be the starting point in analyzing what a home is currently worth.  Appraisals often miss turning points in markets and are often low in a rising market.

Assessment:
As a home owner you want this number to be as low as possible, as this is the

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DC real estate market is HOT! 
Now this is not really news, (DC Metro home prices are up 5.9% according to Case Shiller  and are up 8.5% year over year for DC according to RBi) as DC has remained a very strong market even in the downturn nationally.  But it It is clear that many buyers who have sat on the sidelines for the last 4-5 years are now ready to buy.  Inventory is picking up a little bit, as it always does around this time of year, but we still have 30% fewer houses on the market than last year and about a 2/3 less than 5 years ago!

Fewer homes for sale + More buyers + low interest rates = Increasing prices.

Found your dream home?  Now what?
If you've found a property you love, you now need to decide how much you're willing to offer.

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Imagine this?  A real estate agent reccomending that you should buy a house... Shocking!  Well... here are the top 3  reasons you should consider buying now:

1. Rents are going up
2. Interest rates are going up
3. Prices are going up

Rents:
Rents in DC are increasing at an increasing rate.  Why are you paying your landlord's mortgage?
In DC buying is 41% cheaper than renting.  Yes you read that right!  See the article here.  Buying now will save you money.

Interest Rates:
Predicting the future is a fools game, but... it is clear that these historically low interest rates are not here to stay.  Here is a real world example of the impact of interest rate increase on the monthly costs of a mortgage.  In DC the median price is $432,500 (Assuming a 20% down

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