Real Estate Blog 
The Stimulus Bill And Fairfax Homes
Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 9:40am. 106 Views, 0 Comments.
The stimulus bill and you
Everyone and his mother has an analysis of H.R. 1, the aforementioned American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. You can find lots of them with a quick Google search, but we wanted to stick to the Realtor® angle and some of the bigger housing-related components in the bill:
- An $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which does not have to be repaid
- The reinstatement of 2008 loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. (Here comes the math: The limits are equal to the greater of 125 percent of the 2008 local area median home price or $271,050 for FHA and $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie, with an overall maximum cap of $729,750.)
- $2 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization funding to help states and localities to purchase,…
Week through 2/13/09 Arlington, Va homes for sale
Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 9:59am. 100 Views, 0 Comments.
Feb 11 – The trade deficit narrowed to a six-year low in December as the global market for U.S. made goods shrank at a record pace while Americans also decreased their appetite for imports.
Feb 12 – Retail sales rang up their largest increase in sales in more than a year during January, rebounding strongly after a six-month string of sharp declines. However, some economists believe that the improvement may have been largely the result of problems seasonally adjusting the data after a horrid holiday sales season.
Feb 13 – Congress approve the massive $787 billion stimulus package, which includes an $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers.
Feb 13 - Oil closed the week at $37.51 a barrel down from $40.17 last Friday.
This information directly affects homes…
Gosh, Should I Buy Now or...
Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 10:38am. 114 Views, 0 Comments.
It’s the classic question we’ve encountered in recent years, but mostly these past several months. It’s the human nature aspect of group mentality…a paradox that will forever exist and which causes many real estate agents to become psychologists for their clients rather than home buying and home selling experts.
What do I mean by paradox? Well, consider the stock market in 2000 when stock prices were sky-rocketing and the values were not justified by the technicals. It was clearly a situation where the bubble was bound to pop any day. But rather than sell, or, better yet, not buy at these inflated prices, folks continued to buy as to not ‘miss out on the upside.’ It was the classic goal of trying to time the top. It was even difficult to convince…
Home Ownership Unlocks America's Economy
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 10:41am. 108 Views, 0 Comments.
To unlock America's economy, it is imperative that Congress take action and restore consumer confidence in homeownership. We are calling on Congress to stabilize housing by making affordable mortgages available and stemming foreclosures. Specifically, Congressional legislation must include: * The $15,000 homebuyer tax credit that was proposed by Senators Isakson (R-GA), Lieberman (I-CT) and Dodd (D-CT). * Permanent FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits that match the levels enacted in 2008. * Increased resources for foreclosure mitigation efforts to stem the flood of foreclosures. Housing has always lifted our economy out of past downturns. Revitalizing the housing market is the solution once again. The Fairfax and Arlington, Va region must lead that effort.
Week's Data affecting Home Ownership in the Fairfax area
Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 9:34am. 115 Views, 0 Comments.
Feb 3 – The number of new sales contracts on existing homes JUMPED in December as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates and falling home prices. Pending home sales went up 2.1% compared to a year earlier. The increase points to a healthy gain in existing-home sales in January ad February.
Feb 4 – The service sector of the economy continued to contract in January, but at a slower pace. The service index reached a low in November but rose in December and January.
Feb 5 – Car buying came to almost a halt in January as sales, annualized at 9.5 million, was the lowest pace since 1982.
Feb 6 – As expected, payrolls plunged by 598,000, the most since 1974. This is on the heels of a revised loss of 577,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate hit…
Help Safeguard Northern Virginia's Transportation Future
Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 11:04am. 117 Views, 0 Comments.
Support HB 2019 By Sending an Email Now!
On Tuesday, February 3, the House Transportation Committee will consider HB 2019 that requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to identify and incorporate corridors of regional or statewide significance in Virginia's Statewide Transportation Plan. Sponsored by Delegate Tom Rust (R-Herndon), HB 2019 is an important step forward in protecting future transportation corridors that are critically important to the future mobility of the Fairfax vicinity.
The New Website is Launched February 1, 2009
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 2:18pm. 108 Views, 0 Comments.
Welcome to Kolasch Real Estate. I designed this site with the purpose of minimizing the hundreds of menus and hyperlinks that can be confusing at best. This site is about searching for a home to buy in Arlington or Fairfax, Leesburg or Gainesville, Va. It's about privately educating yourself on homes in the Fairfax area, and in your own time responding to my questions of how I can best help you.
So please bookmark us and stay a while. We look forward to working with many of you; those relocating to Northern Virginia and those selling a home and buying a home within the Metropolitan D.C. area.
Warm Regards,
Todd