Lise Howe, Assoc. Broker and Attorney Licensed in DC, MD, VA,Coldwell Banker

Dear Buyers,

Welcome to the DC Metro Area housing market. It is exciting and more than a little nerve wracking. You have read all the newspaper reports, so you know that prices are soft, there is lots of inventory, and interest rates are fabulous. The affordability index is about as good as it has ever been. That may have been what brought you out into the market. You have been promised a deal by the Washington Post, and so a deal you must have, in order to feel confident that you are making the right decision. Then the economic news doesn't help either! Even though you know that in the long run buying a house will pay off, with so many layoffs and closures, those of you with relatively secure jobs feel that time is on your side until things turn around.

I have to say in all honesty that I understand your feelings and the fact of the matter is that we do no have crystal balls and we have never been down this road before (even those of us who have been in the business over 20 years).

However, deals in the DC metro area, particularly in DC itself, are not so easy to come by. The DC condo market actually increased over 2007 although all other sectors of the market in DC, MD, and VA declined.

Here are some stories of buyers. One finally decided in November that he was going to wait to buy because he is onvinced the prices are going to fall further and so far, he has certainly been right. Another buyer made an offer on a property in November and the seller countered but not low enough. The seller decided to wait and about 10 days ago guess what, the listing was lowered to the price we had offered. (Not even what they countered) However, since then the buyer has seen a home she likes better and is now waiting for the price to come down to what she wants to pay. (Since that is what happened with the last one)

Itis hard to insist that the prices are not going to come down further when it keeps happening, but these buyers still don't have a place to call home yet. Some buyers are okay with that and others start to get a little frustrated.

Another buyer client who refused to disclose their financial position UNTIL the seller made it a requirement - they also insisted on offering 10% under the asking price (High $700's); then, in the midst of the negotiations the seller told the listing agent to drop the price $25,000 (which is where the initial counter had come back) - the buyer was none-to-pleased about that! Well, after 5 days of back-and-forth the buyer decided to "wait through the weekend" - and was basically holding their ground. A second offer came in on Monday (clean with strong financials) and the buyer lost the property - the buyer cried.

In this very topsy turvy market, one of the most important services your agent can provide is education and patience. This is all about you - your education and your comfort level. You must know that your agent has your best interests at heart. If you don't believe that then you have the wrong agent. You need to redefine the relationship you have with that agent! Your agent should be prepared to advocate aggressively on your behalf.

Your agent should be prepared to bring you the facts, and share his or her knowledge with truthfulness, because in the long run, you are the one who has to decide when to buy and what to buy

You should have the following discussion with your agent:

What are your motivations in buying a home at the present time. Is it to provide an appropriate home for the family for years to come? Is it to shelter taxable income? Is it to get into housing for the first time? Is it to get into that perfect dream home of a lifetime? Can your agent tell you why this is the perfect time to meet those goals.

How is the DC market different than other markets? Ask your agent to share with you any press articles that distinguish the DC market as better than most.

When you identify a property, discuss with your agent why this property meets your goals.

Brainstorm with your agnet why this is exactly the kind of property you should be pursuing in this soft market.

Remember that downtimes don't last a lifetime and you don't want to miss that perfect housebuyer.

"It is a rare moment when an opportunity like this becomes available; it is even a rarer moment that you will be able to afford it!"

If you are a buyer in the DC area market = please give me a call so we can have this discussion face to face! I love working with buyers.

If you have been in business longer than maybe a year, you know the lesson in this blog already, but if you are a newbie to real estate - take heart, and persevere.

On Monday I got a phone call from a new client who was coming from Florida to DC to look at property on behalf of his boss for the boss's son to live in while the son is in college in DC. And oh, by the way, the boss will probably use it while he is in town meeting with politicians on Capitol Hill. And oh, it probably would be good if the property were bigger than 2 bedrooms in case some other staff wanted to stay there on these trips to DC, and it should have meeting space too. Sure, no problem. Intrigued by how I ended up with this phone call, I asked the obvious question - how did you find me?

The answer surprised me a little. It was not from the internet. Instead, it was from a listing that I had sold last spring in a high rise condo building in DC by our sports arena. To get a key to the condo, you had to retrieve the lockbox from the concierge/front desk. In the process of going in and out, I talked with the gentlemen and ladies working at the desk. Several months after I sold the condo I got a phone call from another owner in the building asking about property values and the best time to put his condo on the market. When I asked him how he received my name, he answered that the front desk told him I was the best realtor that had worked in the building. This gentleman is not ready to sell his condo yet, but I have stayed in touch with automatic updates on listings and sales in his building and at least one phone call to get an update on his plans.

That gentleman was the source of the referral to the new client from Florida -a referral from someone I have never met in person who got my name from the front desk at the building in which I had one listing.

As great as the Internet is (and all of my business comes from open houses, Internet, or referrals), it still can't make personal contact obsolete as a lead generation source. I think we all need to get out there and shake hands, give out our business cards, meet people and let them know we are in the business of listing and selling homes. In this market, we have to do more than last year! We also have to believe that the farming that we are doing now will provide a harvest at some point in time - it is just hard to predict when.

Now I have a new listing in a different condo building, but complete with front desk and concierge. I dropped off a box of brownies today for the front desk. Maybe they will give my name to someone too! You never know!

Welcome to Washington, which is not just home to Presidents and other politicians, but regular people too. Even if you aren't planning a trip to DC any time soon, I would like to share a little of my hometown. Maybe you will come to Washington some time - and I hope you look me up! It's a great city and I love to tell people a little of its history and some of its quirks. It's like any hometown, but more famous!

You probably saw the concert on Sunday afternoon of the Inaugural weekend in front of the Lincoln memorial. Did you know that there have been other famous concerts and performances there? Here is a little history of the Lincoln Memorial, and maybe some things you don't know.

Of course, the Lincoln memorial is a monument honoring the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Construction was begun in 1914, and its design by the New York architect Henry Bacon is based on a Greek temple with 36 doric columns. Each column represents one state of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. Inside the 99ft tall marble temple is a large sculpture of Abraham Lincoln seated in a chair. The northern wall contains an inscription of Lincoln's second inaugural speech, the southern wall has the Gettysburg address inscribed. Above the inscription is a mural depicting the angel of truth freeing a slave.

The memorial has been used many times as a gathering place for protests and political rallies. The most famous was the March of Washington in 1963, when Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech 'I have a dream' A marked tile on the memorial's steps shows where Dr. King stood. On August 28, 1983, crowds gathered again to mark the 20th Anniversary Mobilization for Jobs, Peace and Freedom, to reflect on progress in gaining civil rights for African Americans and to commit to correcting continuing injustices.

In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow the African-American Marian Anderson to perform before an integrated audience at the organization's Constitution Hall. At the suggestion of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Roosevelt, Harold L.Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior, arranged for a performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday of that year, to a live audience of 70,000, and a nationwide radio audience.

As a girl growing up in DC in the '60s I remember that on summer evenings the National Symphony used to perform on a barge on the Potomac in front of the Lincoln Memorial and crowds would sit on the steps leading down to the river from the traffic circle around the Memorial. Eventually the city could no longer tolerate having one of its major commuter roads, Rock Creek Park, closed to traffic several nights a week, and the concerts stopped.

The memorial is located at the west end of the National Mall. From the top of the stairs in front of the temple, you have a great view of the Washington Monument and the US Capitol. You might remember the view of all the people in the reflecting pool during one of the protest scenes in the movie, "Forest Gump."

There are some great legends about the Lincoln Memorial, but they aren't true!

For instance, people claim that Robert E. Lee's face is carved onto the back of Lincoln's statue, looking back across the Potomac at the Custis Lee Mansion in Arlington Cemetary.

Another popular legend is that Lincoln is shown using sign language to represent his initials, with his left hand shaped to form an "A" and his right hand to form an "L". The National Park Service denies both stories, calling them urban legends.

But, there really are stalactites growing under the Memorial in the "basement." 20 years ago I took a n evening tour of the Lincoln memorial and its stalactites. The tour was fun, but they have cancelled it for secuirty reasons!

So the next time you see a picture of Washington, I hope you will put the city on your to do list, and plan a trip with your family. I would love to show you around!

I subscribe to the Foreclosure News Report, and I was fascinated to see the differences between Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, which many of us in the DC metro area tend to think of as one big market. (Obviously I am mistaken!)

DC had 207 properties with foreclosure filings in October 2008 or .80 actions per 1,000 households. This was an 8.61 percent increase over Sept. 2008 and a 176.83% increase over October 2007 (possibly because of expanded data coverage).

Maryland had 2,973 properties with foreclosure filings in October 2008 or 1.29 actions per 1,000 households. This was an 32.31 percent increase over Sept. 2008 and a 15.71% decrease over October 2007.

Virginia had 6,555 properties with foreclosure filings in October 2008 or 2.03 actions per 1,000 households. This was an 2.47 percent increase over Sept. 2008 and a 160.33% increase over October 2007.

How are things in your neighborhoods?