The letter came from out of the blue and simply said: “This is our formal notice of intent to vacate at the end of our current lease.”  

It would be hard for anyone living in or driving through Prince George’s County these days to miss all the new housing signs that have cropped up in recent months.

On my morning trek through the county to work, I see countless signs seeking to woo buyers to developments with such enchanting names as Cherry Tree Estates, Simmons Ridge and Timber Village.

This flurry of construction activity is surprising given the glut of existing houses in the county that either aren’t selling because the homeowners are underwater in their loans or are in the foreclosure process.

In the final installment of our Navigating the Market series, reporter Olga Khazan examines the counter trend to the sellers’ market that is playing out in District neighborhoods, including Capitol Hill and Adams Morgan, and close-in suburbs. High demand for a shrinking supply of properties is spurring multiple offers, shutting out numerous prospective buyers who are finding themselves priced out of the market.

But as Olga found out, construction of single-family homes, which stalled when the housing bubble burst a few years ago, is beginning to pick up across the region. The Washington area had the third highest number of construction permits issued in 2011, behind Houston and Dallas.

Developers are marketing to value-conscious buyers who don’t want to pay a mark-up on a property simply because it’s in a trendy neighborhood close to a Metro line. They are banking on buyers being drawn to the idea of getting a brand-new house with substantially more interior and outdoor space for a lot less money than they would pay in the city.

We bought our first new home in a development in a decidedly dicey part of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. When I first saw the property, it was nothing more than frames. What sold us was the magnificent backyard view of mountains and valleys. It was exciting watching the house progress week to week and getting to know our future neighbors, all of whom had been discouraged by the exorbitant housing prices in other parts of the city. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars less than we would have on comparable properties elsewhere, and watched our property values soar over the next few years as the community became more desirable.

Upon moving here, we decided to buy a new home in Southern Maryland for the same reasons. We were able to buy more house for the money and we weren’t inheriting someone else’s troubles.

Of course, the drawback is the one-hour commute to work in downtown Washington everyday. Such commutes can be maddening after a particularly long workday.

Share your experiences with us. Also tell us what you think of the series and your ideas for future coverage.

Builders woo buyers with new features, smaller floor plans

How to buy a house in D.C.’s sellers’ market

Even in D.C.’s hot market, sellers need to make houses stand out

House hunters find it’s a jungle

Contact Dion

Follow @postrealestate

Read full article >>

]]> http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=332606f4a7e58a2388650a4ea810f6be http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/post/editors-column-new-construction-offers-option-for-growing-number-of-dc-house-hunters/2012/05/25/gJQAt0w2pU_blog.html?wprss=rss_where-we-live http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/post/editors-column-new-construction-offers-option-for-growing-number-of-dc-house-hunters/2012/05/25/gJQAt0w2pU_blog.html?wprss=rss_where-we-live http://www.washingtonpost.com/Fragment/SysConfig/WebPortal/twpweb/rss/mobile/blog-entry.jpp?id=1001.4.1761674725 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/post/editors-column-new-construction-offers-option-for-growing-number-of-dc-house-hunters/2012/05/25/gJQAt0w2pU_blog.html?wprss=rss_where-we-live http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/post/editors-column-new-construction-offers-option-for-growing-number-of-dc-house-hunters/2012/05/25/gJQAt0w2pU_blog.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/post/editors-column-new-construction-offers-option-for-growing-number-of-dc-house-hunters/2012/05/25/gJQAt0w2pU_search.html 1001.4.1761674725 a14f23da-a67d-11e1-98a2-f0ff33a4cc4c Fri, 25 May 2012 12:23:54 EST Fri, 25 May 2012 12:28:57 EST 20120525172857 The Washington Post /WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/where-we-live/201205/editorscolumn5-25.xml /WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/where-we-live/201205/editorscolumn5-25.xml BlogStory BlogStory The Washington Post

First, a look at this week’s featured home by the numbers: It has 11 bedrooms, 265 windows, 49 closets, 18 toilets, six kitchens and two saunas.

Plus, there’s the ballroom, beauty salon, indoor heated pool and billards room.

The 30-year slid down from 3.79 percent last week to 3.78 percent, marking its fourth record low in as many weeks. This time last year, the average was much higher at 4.60 percent.

Total existing-home sales -- which include completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops -- increased 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in April from 4.47 million in March. That figure is 10 percent higher than the 4.20 million-unit level in April 2011.

While local markets vary significantly from neighborhood to neighborhood, almost all of the 22 jurisdictions in the Washington region have seen some price growth over the past year. The notable exception has been Prince George’s County. 

Since the first of this year, Arlington has a new requirement for home builders: Either A: Take measures to control runoff from roofs and pavement or B: Pay a fee. I don’t like paying fees and, besides, I am upset by the amount of debris and volume of water that erodes the stream beds on its torrential way to the Potomac after a big storm. So I’m going along with plan A.

The 30-year fixed rate average continued plummeting to 3.79 percent, down from what was an all-time low of 3.83 percent last week. The 30-year has remained below 4 percent all but one week this year and remain well off its pace from a year ago, when it averaged 4.61 percent.