Roundup: DC's Housing Market Wins Gold, DC's Worst Streets

• June 24th 2010

by UrbanTurf Staff

• Housing prices in the DC area rose 6.5 percent between April 2009 and 2010, the largest year-over-year increase in the entire country, according to Washington Examiner.

• Greater Greater Washington published a list of its 20 least favorite streets in the District based on pedestrian unfriendliness, ugliness, safety, and other factors. Red meat for smart growth proponents, the scathing list is published in two pieces: Part 1 and Part 2.

• George Mason economist and expert on local economic trends Stephen Fuller predicts that the DC area real estate market will return to the peak values of 2005 in 2015.

• Further evidence that suburban home builders are starting to get active again in the DC area, Ryland Homes has acquired 45 acres near Beltsville to construct 51 single-family homes and 354 town houses. Recall that Pulte held openings at two communities in Loudoun County a couple weeks ago. We also hear that NV Homes is hiring.

• And Now, Anacostia tweets that Verizon FiOS is officially taking orders in Anacostia, making that the first neighborhood in DC where the ultrafast internet service is available.

• UrbanTurf’s recent crystal-ball piece The Neighborhoods of 2015 almost included U Street. The logic was that as much development as the neighborhood has seen over the last ten years, there is still so much more to come that it will be an even more dense and different place five years from now. Need evidence? Check out all the retail and restaurants expected to open in just the next six months or so. U Street Girl has a great run-down here.

• HousingWatch reports that property in locations along the Gulf Coast affected by the oil spill have already lost 30 percent of their value, dramatically worsening the woes of an already-fragile real estate market. Owners are hoping for some compensation from BP to help offset the staggering losses.

• Most experts expected that the tax credit expiration would cause the national housing market to lose some of its springtime momentum — and that is exactly what happened. But many of the housing metrics published over the last couple weeks have been suprisingly weak, suggesting that the “post-tax credit hangover” may be worse than expected. The Wall Street Journal has more.

• Among those weak housing metrics is the tepid demand for new mortgages and refinancing, even as rates break records. Just this morning, Freddie Mac announced that last week’s average for a 30-year fixed was 4.69 percent. That’s the lowest rate ever recorded since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

Finally, here are UrbanTurf’s five most popular posts of the last week in case you missed them:

1. First Look: The Apple Store in Georgetown
2. Condo Conversions Return as DC Supply Tightens
3. Deal of the Week: The Lowest-Priced Two-Bedroom in Dupont
4. 16th Street Heights: DC’s Sleeper Neighborhood
5. Vamoose Introduces Gold Bus for Trips to NYC

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/roundup_dcs_housing_market_wins_gold_dcs_worst_streets/2200.