 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Do You Know All MoCo High School Mascots?
February 5th, 2013 Categories: Schools
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Epic Year-End Real Estate Review
January 28th, 2013 Categories: Market Updates
Some areas were up, some were down, and some just stood still. This month’s market review looks back for the entire year to give you a clear understanding of how exactly what’s going on in our market.
School Cluster Pricing Guide
January 22nd, 2013 Categories: Schools
Can you afford to live in a home with the school assignment of your choice? To answer that question, we’ve analyzed all 2012 sales and created a guide that summarizes the price range and types of homes available for each cluster. See the guide now.
Look Out Xbox – You Have Competition
January 18th, 2013 Categories: Schools
‘Exel Beyond the Bell’ is a public-private partnership that gives students high-quality after-school activities. There’s a range of classes offered from dance to robotics. It’s voluntary and it’s fun. And it keeps kids off of the Xbox and in school an extra hour and forty-five minutes providing a hot meal and transportation home.
This program is currently offered in a handful of schools. Hopefully we’ll see this roll-out to a lot more. MCPS did a great job producing this video that describes the program in detail.
December Real Estate Market Update
December 20th, 2012 Categories: Market Updates
Contract Activity is Slowing
But that’s normal for this time of year. Compared to this time last year, contract activity was up about 17% — just like last month’s report. By price range, activity for entry level homes continues to be Read the rest of this entry »
November Real Estate Market Update
November 16th, 2012 Categories: Market Updates
Contract Activity is Still Improving
Sales activity was up every month for the last three months; and is up over 20% compared to last year. Knowing some the current contracts will fall through, I estimate that we’re actually up about 17% — still, this is a robust improvement. By price range, activity for entry level homes continues to be Read the rest of this entry »
Are the Big Home Search Sites the Best?
November 14th, 2012 Categories: Buying
Not Necessarily
Homes are all over the internet on countless sites, so it’s easy to believe that the slickest websites also have the best data. In fact, this isn’t the case. Some are really good, some are breathlessly horrible, and a lot are somewhere in between. Read the rest of this entry »
Potomac River after Sandy
November 3rd, 2012 Categories: Parks, Potomac
Montgomery County missed a direct hit from super-storm Sandy, but we did get a ton of rain. The force of water in the Potomac River was spectacular, so we created a short video. Luckily for us, the river stayed in it’s bank (this time).
See more parks in Montgomery County.
Sunset at Black Hill Park
October 31st, 2012 Categories: Germantown, Parks
This was a quick timelapse taken overlooking the lake at Black Hill Park in Boyds. This was taken on the Saturday before ‘Super-Storm’ Sandy hit, so the light and clouds were really interesting. I only wish that I could have started about 30 minutes sooner.
See more parks in Montgomery County.
Real Estate Market for October
October 29th, 2012 Categories: Market Updates
How’s the Market?
This month’s market update includes great fall scenes from the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. Normally see lower month-to-month activity in the fall but September was an exception with a robust increase compared to August. Compared to last year, September was on fire up 37% percent. This helped push the last three months’ activity to a 20% increase compared to 2011.
Taking a look at activity by price range, the biggest advance is in homes priced $300,000 to $500,000. Activity for entry level homes continues to be constrained by very low availability. Activity is flat for our most expensive homes.
The main story for our market continues to be very low inventory. Inventory is a comparison of the number of available homes to contract activity and is the best single metric describing our market. Since the summer, inventory has stayed very low at 2.5 months for all price ranges.
By price range, there’s a scant 1.2 months’ available inventory for entry level homes. Inventory for $1M plus homes continues to trend upwards. Inventory for lower price ranges continues to trend flat to lower.
Call anytime if you are planning to buy or sell, or have questions about the Montgomery County real estate market.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Rockville
October 21st, 2012 Categories: Churches, Rockville
This church has so many historical and interesting dimensions. The first thing that grabs your attention is the main cathedral. From several approaches, it appears as a giant spaceship from the Jetson’s era. I think it’s a great looking building, but I imagine that some aren’t as enamored with this architecture. It may be impossible not to love the interior, however, which is breath-taking. It’s a vast open space that’s filled with light, and is warm and welcoming.
See more pics >>
Sandy Spring Museum
October 18th, 2012 Categories: Arts, Olney
Sandy Spring is one of the Montgomery County’s earliest communities settled in the early 1700s by Quakers. A visit to the Sandy Spring Museum is a great introduction of this area’s rich and unique history. The museum was founded by local citizens in 1981 to preserve artifacts from the past, but also strengthen the fabric of today’s community.
The Quakers were very innovative farmers, but they were also very progressive who placed a high value on education, abolished slavery long before the civil war, and were very early champions of women’s rights. Their dedication to education and history is embodied in the museum’s library. Volunteers continue to improve the breadth and depth of a collection that provides a detailed chronicle of the community’s past.
More than a keeper of history, the museum is committed to enriching today’s community. The museum has a resident quilter and blacksmith with regular classes. And there’s large meeting spaces for private events, concerts, classes and meetings.
Getting to know the Sandy Spring Museum is a great way to get in touch with our past and strengthen your connection to the community. Check out more of the arts in Montgomery County.
