Real Estate

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Properties: 6 Grant Circle NW

Original List Price: $350,000.

List Price at Contract: $364,950.

List Date: 01/13/2010

Days on Market: 20

Settled Sales Price: $370,000.

Settlement Date: 02/22/2010

Seller Subsidy: $0.

Bank Owned?: No

Type Of Financing: Cash

Original GDoN Post is: here.

Recent Listing is: here.

I realize that this is the third Good Deal or Not Revisited (GDoN-R) that is a cash deal. This one was a request by a reader for a revisit, but the prevalence of cash deals in our current real estate market is definitely worth noting. There is a very active investor market in play at the moment. I had an agent tell me the other day that he had 100 showings within 6 days of putting a house on the market. (That property was in the north end of Columbia Heights.)

This property is somewhat different in that a) it was not a foreclosure, and b) it started off with a list price in the mid-$300,000’s. The original list price for the property was $350,000. A couple of days later (possibly because of the traffic they were seeing?) the list price was bumped up to $369,950. There was an initial contract during what sounds like (from comments on the original PoP post and from the listing comments) a multiple offer situation. It came back on the market, went under full contract on 02/13/2010, and settled a mere nine days later. A shortened transaction time is a huge benefit of cash deals for Sellers. With new lender requirements, both internally generated and new legislation affecting the lending process, I am telling my buyers who are utilizing financing to plan on a 45 day timeframe from contract to settlement. (We used to expect a 30 day turnaround.)

I have to say that Grant Circle is my second favorite circle in DC, so I am not surprised at the appeal of the location. Between the Beautiful Life tree and the proximity to Metro, I personally think it’s an awesome location. Additionally, both the house and the lot are quite large, even by Petworthian standards. In the comments to the original GDoN post, there was a bit of discussion regarding the costs to complete the renovation of the property. Unfortunately, I did not get into this property when it was available, so I am not able to comment on the extent of the work required, despite the pictures provided in the listing.

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Properties: 4824 7th St NW

Original List Price: $165,000.

List Price at Contract: $165,000.

List Date: 10/12/2009

Days on Market: 4

Settled Sales Price: $151,155.

Settlement Date: 12/01/2009

Seller Subsidy: $0.

Bank Owned?: Yes

Type Of Financing: Cash

Original GDoN Post is: here.

Recent Listing is: here.

To better understand this property, please indulge me for a moment while we take the time machine back to the DC real estate market circa 2005/2006. Up to approximately that point in time, property values had escalated for several consecutive years, at an unreal pace. Lenders were bending over themselves to lend money to pretty much anybody who could fog a mirror, including investors. Down payments were non-existent or very low. In cases where down payments were necessary, it was possible for investors to cross-collateralize off of equity in other properties. In this climate, the price to acquire shells (and otherwise crappy properties) went through the roof. (Note that the subject property was purchased in 2006 for $375,000.)

From about 2006, the investor market dropped back considerably. As prices began to fall on fully renovated properties, investors could not make the numbers work. For a while there, I expect that the majority of properties purchased with renovation in mind were bought by end users (owner occupants). Some folks at the time blamed speculators for both driving up the market prices, and for the bust after they all dropped out of sight. Continues after the jump. (more…)