Morning Real Estate Review

Sequestration:  Government cutbacks are the thing to watch (Costar)  The coming $1.2 trillion in budget cuts could have a big impact on the DC market, though market watchers fear the big picture even more.

Existing home sales show element of vitality to recovery (WLTX) Existing home sales rose 2.3% in July, and prices were up 9.4% over this time last year, kept up by a smaller inventory, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Norton: Federal construction projects still skimping on local hiring (Washington Times) Number of residents getting local federal jobs is going up, but it remains unacceptably high.

Former ex-Tarp  boss issues "modern" financial reform (CNBC)  When it comes to official reform, the Obama administration could do what it did with GM.

Morning Real Estate Review

State of the DC market summer of 2012 (Huffington Post)  This time when your agent tells you your house of choice is not going to last long so bid fast, he might not actually be lying.

Mortgage rates move lower following Fed minutes (Mortgage News Daily) Mortgage rates moved sharply downward following the release of the Federal Reserve Bank's minutes.  Fed officials showed a strong commitment toward aggressive policies that would help the bond market, sending interest rates lower.

Voters fault Obama and Romney on solution to mortgage crisis (Huffington Post)  President Obama's timid response to the housing crisis and Romney's silence on the issue have voters unhappy with both when it comes to solving the underwater mortgage problem.

Fannie Mae tightening standards for some loan types (Businessweek) FNMA, the largest provider of capital for home loans, said it will reduce loan to value ratios for some types of home purchases and refinances, from 97% to 90%.  The average credit score requirement will go from 620 to 640.

Existing home sales rise despite tightening inventories (Mortgage News Daily)  Sales of existing homes increased in July across the nation, to 4.47 million annually, a slight increase over June but a bigger increase over July of 2011.

Unbuilt DC: Public Murals Dot DC's Underdeveloped Landscape

Map of BicycleSpace & MuralsDC bike tour

While DC is rife with cranes and construction projects, for some sites the time has not yet come - at least not for condos. In a whirlwind, art-chasing bike journey that led through the northwest DC neighborhoods of Shaw, Columbia Heights, Kalorama, and the U Street Corridor, MuralsDC hosted a mural bike tour this weekend chasing down 18 of the city's (officially sanctioned) murals.  

MuralsDC and bike purveyor BicycleSpace, located on 7th Street NW between the Shaw and Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhoods, organized the mural tour.  The (official) murals are publicly-funded through the MuralsDC program, an organization established in 2007 with the goal of deterring graffiti on historically "frequently-tagged" walls.

Eric B. Ricks (right) in front of his mural at 8th and S Streets NW

Through the program, building owners can apply for their building to be considered for a mural.  The city - through the DC Department of Public Works (DPW) and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and the Humanities (DCCAH) - works in collaboration with the group Words Beats & Life Inc to settle on the artists and designs.  In DC, at least 35 murals have been painted through the MuralsDC program and seven more are being created this summer.  Four of those, according to MuralsDC tour guides, were due to be completed yesterday.

Albus Cavus's "Blended", 2030 8th St NW

During a stop at one of the newest MuralsDC works - due for completion this summer - mural artist Eric B. Ricks, whose art appears at S and 8th Streets NW,  said his hummingbird piece reflects the ideas of work and productivity, and is also a symbol that could be a harbinger of joy for the neighborhood.  "The humming bird is one of the hardest-working animals," Eric B. told us.  "As a totem animal, it always carries joy and brings joy wherever he goes."

From Albus Cavus's "Blended"

Other graffiti art groups create non-publicly funded murals, such as the D.C. collaborative public art and art education group Albus Cavus.  One of the group's murals - "Blended" - appears at 2030 8th St. NW, a building due for demolition in October.  Albus Cavus artists painted the building's walls during an art performance party and fundraising event - organized by Albus Cavus and AIGA Washington - at the site in June.  The event raised money to support Albus Cavus's programming. JBG Companies donated the site for the event.  The building is also currently home to the pop-up gallery The Randall Scott Projects.

MuralsDC mural at Walter Pierce Park

The MuralsDC program also aims to engage youth in the neighborhoods where the murals are painted; one mural was painted by an artist who worked with neighborhood children, giving paint to passersby for contribution.

A public art mapping platform by the ArtAround project has created an open-source inventory of DC public art, including murals.  Users can search by type of art, funding source, and location.

"Every Day I See Something New," by Cita Sadeli, Champlain Street NW

"Let's Meet at the Corner", artist Alicia Cosnahan, 13th St. and Park Rd. NW

"My DC" - Corner of 14th and Randolph Streets NW

Morning Real Estate Review

Construction confidence wanes across the country (American Surveyor)  The Construction Confidence Index (CCI) combines three indexes for non-residential construction, all of which declined during the second quarter.

Near Southeast neighborhood revitalization came along before Nationals (GreaterGreater Washington) Development in near southeast DC was in bloom well before the Nationals Stadium came along, thanks to its proximity to Metro.

What happens to homeowners seeking help (New York Times)  Graph:  the likelihood of homeowners who request modification in getting permanent help.

FHA weighs in against eminent domain by municipalities (HousingWire)  The Obama administration comes out against proposals by some cities and counties to "seize" underwater mortgages and replace them with government-backed loans for troubled homeowners.

Your Next Place

This penthouse is everything a penthouse is supposed to be; huge, open, full of light, and expensive enough so that when you casually mention the price at a party, a hushed silence falls over everyone.  (If you don't have a multimillion-dollar penthouse, the same effect can be achieved by announcing the exact opposite:  "I made nine thousand dollars last year!"  If I'd known when I was young that poverty was such a social advantage, I never would have majored in English with a minor in Painting.  Oh wait, yes I would have.)

This luxury gem boasts interiors by Zaptaka Interiors, and it shows.  Everything, from the faucets to the windowframes, to the basins and cupboards, exhibits a sort of unifying aesthetic, which I would describe as "really nice."  (What, I'm not a designer, I don't know the lingo.)  The main area is wide open, loft-style, with separate dining and living areas, as well as a large, well-appointed kitchen.  There are three bedrooms, all of them large and boasting floor-to-ceiling windows.  The master bath is massive and has sweet twin basins facing a frosted glass window, and a futuristic walk-in closet that's literally bigger than some studio apartments.

The unit comes with two garage parking spaces, as well as multiple outdoor terraces with stunning views of the city.  You could use one just for pensive gazing at the horizon, and the other just for throwing pots of spoiled food down into the yard.  That's what I do with my outdoor deck.  (True, possibly related, story: the guy who lives below the aforementioned deck stepped out to have a cigarette the other night and was attacked by a opossum.  Oops.)

2818 Connecticut Avenue NW #PH4
3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths
$1,750,000

Washington D.C. real estate news

Morning Real Estate Review

Washington DC area attracts new retailers (Washington Post)  With the lowest shopping center vacancy rate in the area, 5.3% compared to 9.2% for the nation as a whole.

Obama's slow response to housing crisis haunts presidency (New York Times) Having taken a do-over approach with automakers and banks, Obama cautiously chose not to bail out many homeowners, leaving the economy still reeling and imperiling his shot at a second term.

Obama to push for wider refinance plan (HousingWire)  As House members advance varying bills to include refinancing options for a greater number of homeowners, the President vows to support changes to the law.

Slow housing starts offset boomtime construction (HousingWire) Housing starts have continued at less than half their normal pace for 4 years.  The bright side: this may mean an eventual uptick in housing starts.

Refinancing a vacation home not so easy (New York Times)  With such loans being intrinsically riskier, banks are more demanding of borrowers redoing their vacation home mortgage.

Petworth Safeway Announces September Start Date

Duball LLC and Safeway have announced a start date for their Safeway project at 3830 Georgia Avenue.  The project, announced several years ago, will develop a 62,000 s.f. Safeway with 220 apartment units above.  The development will replace the dated 21,000 Safeway building.  A groundbreaking ceremony will be held September 19th.

The "transit oriented state-of-the-are Safeway," sitting on 1.56 acres, is one block north of the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro and will include 86 below grade spaces for customers and 135 spaces for residents.  The development agreement, worked out between landowner Safeway and developer Duball, keeps Safeway as the owner of the land with Duball granted development rights for residential units and parking on top of the Safeway.

Marc Dubick, founder of Duball, was the principal developer of the CityVista Safeway in Mt. Vernon Triangle.  Duball previously developed Lionsgate in Bethesda and Rockville Town Center.

Washington D.C. real estate development news