Morning Real Estate Fix

Rockville town square to be redeveloped, finally (Greater Greater Washington)  Years after the rest of Rockville saw development take hold, and after many failed attempts, the gaping hole in the center is finally about to see its own construction.

Foreclosures starts lowest since 2006 (Wall Street Journal)  Foreclosure starts in November were 13% below October, for the lowest monthly start in 6 years.

Mortgage rates up after Fed announcement (Mortgage News Daily) A slight shift in the way the FRB approaches monetary policy played out as jittery banks raised rates slightly.

Davis Brody Bond digs in at St. Elizabeths (Architects Newspaper)  The architectural firm, chosen to build the St. Elizabeths pavilion, has created a subtle design for the historic property.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

15-unit apartment in Petworth to become condo (Urban Turf)  4226 7th Street to become the latest condo conversion, by owner Goldstar Group.

What's in the zoning update?  Fewer parking minimums (Greater Greater Washington) Changes to the planned zoning update will remove some parking minimums for certain smaller projects and for downtown.

Bethesda residents balk at 7 story apartment project downtown (BethesdaNow.com)  The West Lane project has been criticized by neighbors as too tall for the area, despite being surrounded by taller projects.

70 I Street, SE, sells for $165m (JD Land) The building was one of three originally built by JPI as part of its Capitol Yards project.

National Housing Survey results (Fannie Mae) Things are improving in the housing market - at least as measured by consumer confidence.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Former Mayor Williams pushes for DC infrastructure partnership (Washington Post)  Taking a page out of Chicago's book, Anthony Williams calls for a public-private partnership to build DC infrastructure.

Examining DC's zoning update:  accessory dwellings (Greater Greater Washington)  A place for guests or nannies is a good idea in a market that once had plenty of such space, but now is lacking in non-traditional homes.

Revisiting DC's Height Act is a win-win (Washington Post)  The recent call by Congress to revisit DC's building heights, at least in areas that don't affect the downtown core, make sense.

Mortgage rates rise on heels of last month's employment report (Mortgage News Daily)  Though the rise in jobs was modest, mortgage rates seemed to rise on the heels of the higher-than-expected jobs numbers.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Political uncertainty affecting DC's real estate market (REIT.com)  As the fiscal cliff approaches, some landowners are seeing a lack of willingness to sign on for a new term.

Staff recommends approval of Bergman development (Arlnow) The Lee Highway project in Arlington would have 200 apartments and a small grocery store in a 10-story building.

Another restaurant announced at Yards Lumber Shed (JD Land)  Agua 301 is the next concept from the owner of Zest Bistro.  The new restaurant is destined for the newest retail building in the Yards, according to a press release by Forest City.

Apartment and condo market remains steady in the 3rd quarter (National Assn of Home Builders)  For the third straight quarter the index is in positive territory in its measure of builder sentiment about market conditions.

Why can't we build enough housing?  (Greater Greater Washington)  Supply is well below demand in the DC area.  One of the reasons is the process of getting housing past the locals.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

City sells Capitol Crossing Development site for $1.3b (Commercial Property Executive)  Developers Property Group Partners (formerly Louis Dreyfus) close on the purchase of air rights for the 2.2m square foot mixed use project that will rise over the I-395 freeway.

Jamestown trades Madison Hotel to Loews (Costar) Jamestown unloads the 356 room hotel downtown that it picked up for $120m in 2011, then renovated.

Short sales surge as tax breaks expire (Bloomberg) The sale of underwater property surges by 35% over last year, as uncertainty about taxes, and a likely tax hike, loom.

Mortgage demand rises to high (Realtor) Loan applications rose for the 4th consecutive week, marking a high point for 2012, according to Mortgage Bankers Association.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Zoning changes for corner stores (Greater Greater Washington)  Under proposed changes to zoning, corner stores could be headed to medium density neighborhoods.

Home prices up largest jump in 6 years (Mortgage News Daily)  Home sales over the last month jumped 6.3% since last October, the largest year over year increase yet seen since the crash.

GSA proposes trading Hoover Building for new FBI campus (Washington Post)  The GSA is seeking a developer to build a new FBI building, and would consider giving the current headquarters to the developer in trade.

1 million HARP refinances by end of year (HousingWire)  Projections suggest that the program will have been deemed "a success" by the end of January at this rate.

House of the day:  The Peebles House (Wall Street Journal) No, not the White House, R. Donahue Peebles house, a magnificent tudor on sale for $7 million.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Foreclosure crisis isn't over yet (Forbes)  Pundits are jumping on the bandwagon of an end to foreclosures, but there's a backlog of impending foreclosures in parts of the country where the inventory hasn't burnt off, and those are due to hit soon.

Equity and AvalonBay take big risks with Archstone purchase (National Real Estate Investor) While the two apartment building owners have gobbled up some top-ranked assets, they also assume a mountain of debt.

Pepco progresses in talks for soccer stadium in Southwest (Washington Post)  The stadium in the Buzzard Point section of Southwest DC would go onto land now owned by Akridge, but a Pepco substation stands in the way, though the utility provider is in talks with the District to allow construction.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Archstone sale leaves CityCenter DC in limbo (Washington Business Journal)  AvalonBay and Equity Residential picked up the pieces from Archstone, but neither has seemed to claim its share of the downtown DC project.

A look at the Trumps' new Old Post Office (Washington Post) New renderings of the DC landmark show a preservation-oriented approach to repurposing the building into a hotel.

New FHA rules may prompt more condos than apartments (New York Times) Recently enacted FHA rules allow government-backed mortgages for mixed-use projects, allowing developers to better sell condos in their multi-family buildings.

Housing construction pulls commercial builders back on track (Costar)  With new home construction strong in both multi-family and single-family, commercial construction is being pulled from its torpor.

Tanger and Peterson break ground at National Harbor (PR Newswire) DC's "premier waterfront resort destination" sees groundbreaking on factory outlets.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

JBG targets empty grocery for Rockville mixed-use project (Citybizlist) JBG intends to replace the empty Giant grocery store as a complement to Rockville Town Center next door.

Rents to keep rising (National Association of Realtors)  After posting gains of 4.1% this year, rents are expected to go up even more next near, with the NAR predicting 4.6%.

DC tries to lease upper Georgia Ave building, site of failed condo project (Washington Business Journal)  A decrepit building at 6428 Georgia is for lease by the District after it foiled a condo project in order to build a fire station, then left the building sitting vacant since 2006.

Pace of home sales flat in October (National Association of Home Builders)  With lending standards remaining tight, existing home sales showed no new energy last month.

Architects' billings are up for 3rd straight month (Architect Magazine)  The upward numbers show construction in housing remains strong.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Developers gobbling up Rhode Island Ave. (Washington Post)  With less developable land available downtown, some traditional developers are eyeing - and buying - land near the Rhode Island Avenue metro stop, and farther out.

6 questions for defenders of DC's height limits (Atlantic Cities) Limiting downtown construction has had the effect of making DC one of the most expensive places to live and rent office space in the country, so why does it persist?

A few reasons the commercial real estate market may not rise like NAR thinks (Globe Street)  The NAR's prediction that commercial real estate will improve, albeit modestly, fails to note the fiscal cliff and implications of Dodd-Frank.

DC home price gains are highest in the nation (Washington Business Journal) FHFA statistics show DC area home prices up 15% over this time last year, second only to Arizona.

Groundbreaking on new Reston apartment building (Multihousing News)  Renaissance Centro has broken ground on Parc Reston, a 360 unit apartment building.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Commercial real estate vacancies declining (Wall Street Journal)  With a low level of new inventory coming online, most markets are showing stronger tenancy rates.

Fannie Mae more bullish on housing market (DS News)  Seeing elements of a housing recovery, Fannie Mae revises its futures numbers upward to show a jump in housing starts and single family home sales.

Get ready for epic DC zoning fireworks (Greater Greater Washington) The Office of Planning has 8 meetings planned to discuss zoning changes; anti-development forces will undoubtedly open their arsenal to scare the public against a zoning update.

Lehman to sell Archstone to Equity and AvalonBay (NASDAQ) In a deal worth $6.5 billion, the rump investment firm that remains will sell its whole share of the apartment building giants.

Strong November points to housing recovery (HousingWire) Gaining strength in November, the housing market is likely to continue into 2013, with homebuilders showing more confidence in their product for the near future.

3rd quarter mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates decreasing (Mortgage Bankers Association)  3rd quarter 2012 figures for residential properties fell to 7.4% of all loans, a decrease of 59 basis points from a year ago.

DDOT to hold final meeting for Benning Rd. trolley plan (DDOT)  DC will hold the last public meeting for the Benning Rd. streetcar study today.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Dulles Airport, Virginia's development catalyst, turns 50 (Washington Post)  Airport, once "out in the middle of nowhere," gave an enormous boost to development in the area.

Mortgage rates dip again, to new record lows (Freddie Mac)  A 30 year fixed now averages 3.31%, for those that can get it, making suckers of everyone who refinanced at 4% last year.

Vornado plans to bring Whole Foods to Crystal City (ArlNow)  The developer's colossal Metropolitan Park development, now in the 3rd stage of construction, is looking to add the upscale grocer to its next project, though completion is years out.

Montgomery County Planning mulls its move to Wheaton (Gazette)  After having abandoned its more Grandiose plans for SilverPlace, the planning board its crafting details of its own needs as it gets ready to move north.

Will a rise in home ownership rates hurt multi-family? (National Real Estate Investor)  Uncertainty is keeping many from buying homes, but if the economy were to pick up, some expect multi-family rentals could be the victim.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Jumbo mortgage market making big gains (Daily Mortgage Reports)  Any way you look at it, home sales above $500k are showing strong gains, despite talks of limiting the interest deduction.

The urbanist case for DC's height restrictions (Atlantic Cities)  Sentimental (and some economic) reasons for keeping DC looking more like Paris than Vancouver.

Tight lending is choking nascent housing recovery (CNBC)  Modestly good numbers continue to be the narrative of the national housing market, but qualified buyers without cash continue to be shut out by banks.

Housing starts up 3.6% in October (National Association of Home Builders) The Commerce Department reports the highest level of new home construction since July of 2008.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

The real estate deal that could change everything (Atlantic Cities)  The crowd funding experiment of the Miller brothers' H Street restaurant project has the potential to radically change the way buildings are funded.  Could local funding, like eating local, become the new it thing?  This was once the way cities were built.

Douglas gets loan for Wonder Bread building (Globe St)  Douglas scores a $21.3 million loan for redevelopment of the beloved building.

Small units may get smaller.  Much.  (Atlantic Cities)  Municipal approaches to small units are getting much more favorable to smaller units, and people are buying them.

Washington D.C. comes in 2nd in commercial real estate gains (Boston Biz Journal)  Boston leads the nation in recovery in the commercial real estate market, while DC takes 2nd place, ahead of New York City.

October sales up, nationally (RealEstateRama)  Existing home sales picked up in October, as did prices, as inventory continues to fall.

What will become of DC's closed schools? (Washington Post)  Fenty's closure of 20 schools in the last round were sold off to developers - a process that is just starting to take root - while the Gray administration wants to hold on to the closed buildings.

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Commercial real estate growth accelerates (Costar) Commercial real estate pricing ended the third quarter with strong gains - the largest quarterly gain since the start of the recession, by some measures.

Fundrise closes first crowd-source equity fund (Washington Business Journal) After $325,000 in equity contributions, the firm that sells shares in commercial buildings has closed its first venture.

Americans more confident about buying homes (Realtor Mag)  A new survey says that the number of people waiting to buy a home because of fears about the economy has dropped by half since 2010.

Housing affordability up in 3rd quarter (National Association of Home Builders) Even though the price of housing edged up nationally, falling interest rates made buying a home slightly more affordable for the average buyer.

Bernanke:  Housing still in danger (Housing Wire)  The market is making the right steps, but small shocks could send it back in negative territory, given that 20% of home owners are still underwater, and lenders are still too tight with money.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Long Bridge Aquatic Center reveals images (Arlnow)  Images of the planned aquatic center, approved by Arlington voters, show details of the park north of Crystal City.

Public meeting tonight for Yards theater project (JDLand)  Forest City will hold a public hearing to discuss details of the theater on top of a parking garage that will replace the DC Water facilities near between the ballpark and O Street pumping station.

Recession good for green buildings (Architect Magazine)  A new report says that 50% of new buildings in the U.S. are now "green."

November 2012 housing outlook (Freddie Mac) The mortgage buyer issues its forecasts and analysis of the housing market for November.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

FCP sells Allegro apartments in Columbia Heights (press release)  Federal Capital Partners sold the 297-unit Columbia Heights apartment building to Prudential Real Estate Investors.

Builders warming to senior housing (National Association of Home Builders) Builder confidence in the 55+ community for single family homes was up sharply in the third quarter of 2012, improved from this time last year.

Commercial mortgages down, prices up (HousingWire) Down 17% from last quarter and 7% from this time last year, commercial mortgage originations are slipping, but prices are rising, even though they remain down significantly below their high.

Builders warn on housing (CNBC)  Loan delinquencies are down, and many housing indicators are up, but investors are playing an increasing role in the uptick, a warning to some home builders.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Mt. Rainier selects development team for liquor store site (Gazette)  After a long transition, the County Council has selected the Neighborhood Development Company as developer for the 33,000 s.f. parcel on Rhode Island Ave., one of a number of parcels the county hopes will transform the town.

Doing the math on the cost of DC's height limit (Slate)  As Congress asks questions about the federal law that limits building heights in DC, a quick math calculation suggests that the cost of the limits to the city is $1.4 billion, though that ignores other costs.

More cash sales changing buyer dynamics (RealEstateRama)  "A tremendous increase in cash buyers" has seen such transactions surge from 10% to 30%, an all time high.

Are walkable neighborhoods the future? (Washington Post)  Well, not for everybody, but they are certainly increasing quality of life for those taking advantage of them, and planners are taking note.

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Apartment dynamics look strong for next 2 years (Costar) Picking up for the 7th quarter in a row, as rents continue to rise and tenancy is still ascendant.

Congress requests study on building heights in DC (Washington Post)  Congressman Darrell Issa has requested review of the Districts's building heights law.  Over the next year, NCPC will study - just study - building heights.

Ribbon cutting for Penrose Park on Columbia Pike (Arlnow) The Arlington park, at 2503 Columbia Pike, held a ribbon cutting on Thursday.

Toll Brothers buy southeast DC lot from Cohen for development (JDland)  The lot, on the same block as Velocity condos, has been purchased by Toll Brothers for $14m, adding to their real estate holdings on that block.

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Morning Real Estate Fix

Election should have little impact on real estate market (Washington Post)  Tempting as it may be to assume a big push on real estate transaction due to a changing personnel, elections don't have that much impact on local real estate, especially with an incumbent.

16th Street Greek Orthodox Church sells  Saints Constantine and Helen church sells church building and school at 4115 16th Street, NW, to Iglesia Ni Christo for $9.2m.  Greek Orthodox community to move to Silver Spring.

Met Life mulls purchase of Constitution Center (Wall Street Journal) The insurance giant is close to purchasing the newly built building designed for federal government security in southwest DC.  The purchase price is reportedly $750m.  That would be a record for a single office building, though below initial expectations.

Washington D.C. shows no signs of an apartment construction slowdown (Property Management Insider)  DC is under its highest multi-family construction boom ever, and the highest rate in the country.  Despite delivery of recent projects, occupancy remains very high, though rent inflation seems to be slowing.

Fannie Mae expects first annual profit since 2006 (Fannie Mae)  The mortgage giant reports a $1.8 billion profit for 3Q 2012, and expects to report a net profit for the first time in 6 years.

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