Electro-pop Pioneer Gary Numan Sells U.K. Country House and Decamps to Santa Monica (CA)

SELLER: Gary NumanLOCATION: Waldron, Heathfield, East Sussex, UKPIRCE: £995,000SIZE: 3,789 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathroomsYOUR MAMAS NOTES: There are scads of a-listers and pop stars currently making waves amongst all the celebrity real estate gossip columns. Take for example Katy Perry's (alleged) recent sale of the New York City duplex love nest she briefly shared with soon-to-be ex-husband...

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Increase In Pending Home Sales

Pending home sales see a 4.1% increase from February to March 2012. These figures have increased 12.8% since last year at this time, which is also the highest it has been since April 2010. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says, “The housing market has clearly turned the corner. Rising sales are bringing down inventory and creating much more balanced conditions…...

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Loan #21 Paid Off

HML #21 was paid off last week so those funds are now looking for a new home. My other three loans are paying on time.Still haven't received the March financials for the Houston apartment complex. They seem to be coming later and later these days. I know the management company reduced staff to help with the cashflow and I'm wondering if this is a result of th...

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How To Clean Your Outdoor Gas Grill In Less Than 30 Minutes

Regardless of your hometown's climate, outdoor gas grill cooking can be a four-season endeavor. Just remembe to keep your grill clean. According to Weber's annual GrillWatch Survey, less than 40% of grill owners clean their equipment with any bit of frequency, and 6 percent admit they've never cleaned their grill at all. There are three main reasons to keep a clean grill. The first is that a clean,...

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New Wheaton Site for Mixed-Use Residential

The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is offering another parcel for development in Wheaton, this one zoned for a potentially large residential and retail development.The closed-bid offering posted last week for a 3.83-acre vacant lot at 11507 Georgia Avenue in the Wheaton Central Business District. The new space is in addition to two other parcels previously offered up for development.Map...

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Morning Real Estate Review

CoStar: Sustainability a factor in government leasing (Washington Post) In the wake of Earth Day, examining the impact that two different but related factors — cost and sustainability — are expected to play in attracting and retaining federal office tenants here in Washington.Stunned Home Buyers Find the Bidding Wars are Back (Wall Street Journal) A new development is catching home buyers off guard as the spring sales season gets under way: Bidding wars are back.More singles living alone and...

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Your Next Place

Who doesn't love a huge two-level three bedroom that's also reasonably priced?  No one, that's who.  It has universal appeal and is perfect for pretty much any situation.  A lot like an Ed Hardy trucker cap, except, you know, the complete opposite.Located in the Leah, on Capitol Hill, this huuuuuge three bedroom is all class.  Though it's new construction, the brickwork and architecture...

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Shoe Tycoon Sells Villa Stella to Former Ambassabor (And A Few Other Related Things)

listing photos: Coldwell Banker Previews International SELLER: Lisa and Donald J. PlinerBUYER: Trudy and Paul CejasLOCATION: Miami Beach, FLPRICE: $14,325,000SIZE: 10,160 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms. YOUR MAMAS NOTES: We really can't say what their future real estate plans may be but it appears to Your Mama that shoe and accessories tycoon Donald J. Pliner and his co-executive creative...

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Work Begins on Founders Square Residential Building

Excavation has begun for the 17-story, mixed-use residential and retail building at Founders Square called The Place.Crews are digging at 4000 Wilson Blvd. in Ballston to prepare the lot for construction, said Kevin Shooshan, leasing and marketing director at the Shooshan Company. Preparation work for the proposed LEED Silver building includes cleansing the soil at the former brownfield site.Construction...

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Pending Home Sales Index Crosses The 100 Barrier

After a series of worse-than-expected data last month, the housing market appears to be back on track. The Pending Home Sales Index posted 101.4 in March, a four percent gain from the month prior and the index's highest reading since April 2010 -- the last month of that year's federal home buyer tax credit. A "pending home" is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed. The Pending Home Sales...

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Morning Real Estate Review

A Healthier Real Estate Market, But For Whom? (Forbes) Congress is looking at relaxing the 102-year-old law that caps the heights of buildings in Washington, D.C., and that seems like a pretty good thing to me.Federal Realty to Start on Phase One of $250M Mid-Pike Plaza  (Globe St.) Federal Realty Investment Trust expects to break ground within 90 days on its long-anticipated redevelopment of Mid-Pike Plaza here, CEO Don Wood tells GlobeSt.com.Carr Breaks Ground on CBD Office; Preps for Bethesda...

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HPRB Hears Hine Project Changes

Changes to the Hine Project, such as reducing the height of a penthouse, improving transitions and adjusting facades, helped resolve some issues for the Historic Preservation Review Board, which voted today to approve a staff report recommendation that concludes "the revisions improve the compatibility of the conceptual plan and (are) consistent with the purposes of the preservation act." The Board...

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Former Mattel CEO Jill Barad (Re-)Lists Barbie-free Sunset Boulevard Mansion

SELLER: Jill and Thomas BaradLOCATION: Los Angeles, CA (Brentwood)PRICE: $11,250,000SIZE: 9,393 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 10 bathroomsYOUR MAMAS NOTES: This may be the mansion Barbie built but there is, as far as Your Mama's boozy peepers can see, nary a narrow-waisted Barbie doll to be seen anywhere on the premises. We do spy a cigar store Indian and a profusion of other dolls, statuettes, portraits...

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Today in Pictures - CityCenter

Work on CityCenterDC continues.  The project's plans for nearly 700 units of housing, 185,000 s.f. of retail, and 520,000 s.f. of office space are now rising well above ground.  Below are recent pictures of the site.&nb...

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Morning Real Estate Review

5 surprising facts about Washington home values (Washington Post) Home values in the Washington DC metro area decreased just slightly, by 0.1 percent, in March from February, according to real estate database Zillow, now back to April 2004 levels. The median home value in Washington is now $301,900.Brookfield Plans Rebirth of 'Monarch' Office Asset (Globe St.) Brookfield Property Group, a unit of Brookfield Asset Management, has acquired a largely vacant office building for an undisclosed price....

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Art and Design Writer Sue Hostetler Lists High In Alphabet City

SELLER: Sue Hostetler and Jon DiamondLOCATION: New York City, NY (East Village)PRICE: $8,500,000SIZE: 6,500 (or so) square feet, 3-4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathroomsYOUR MAMAS NOTES: As we have uncountable times in the five years since we began our little online endeavor, today Your Mama brings y'all a discussion about a New York City residence first brought to our attention by dear, sweet Hot Chocolate, one...

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Affordable Housing Complex Delayed

A proposed 59-unit affordable housing project in Alexandria, at the corner of East Reed Avenue and Route 1/Jefferson Davis Highway, has been delayed a year after developers at AHC, Inc. missed a mid-March deadline for their affordable housing tax credit application.  Developers are now aiming for a March 2013 application.Though the project has been in the works for almost two years, a number...

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