CNNMoney.com named the top 25 cities for highest income per single households, and Towson, MD was #14 in their list.

This is due to the median family income of $102,302, and the 35.4% rate of singles versus married households. Many Towson professors at the nearby Towson University and Goucher College live close to the schools.

Towson Feet on the Street is noted as a big plus for singles living in Towson, as well as the restaurants and bars along Allegheny Avenue.

If you are considering living in Towson, contact me today!

HVCC was enacted in 2009, and has been a big issue in the appraisal battle many home sales have been experiencing.

In June last year, Tasha Linton and I wrote about how HVCC Could Negatively Affect Towson Home Values , because the appraisers assigned are the lowest cost one available, not necessarily from the area. Real estate is very local — for example, Towson neighborhoods are very unique — sometimes even street-by-street! An appraiser from outside of Washington, DC will not understand the neighborhood nuances, and this could tremendously effect an appraisal value.

The HVCC going away is a huge relief to many in the real estate community, and homeowners should be very pleased as well.

HVCC will be phased out over the next 90 days, with the end of October closing this sad chapter in real estate housing history.

It will be a big adjustment for those coming north on Charles St from the West Towson area, because it is around a curve where many people drive quickly.

The reason for the light is the new West Towson Elementary School, which is located at that intersection. This will make it easier for crossing guards helping children cross the very busy Charles Street, and for parents dropping off and picking their children up at the brand new school.

It should really help slow the flow of traffic through this point, and hopefully help with the delays seen now around the time of dismissal from the multitude of schools in the area.

The West Towson Elementary School will open for the 2010 school year at the end of August.

Students from Rodgers Forge Elementary and Riderwood Elementary schools have been redistricted to the new school on Charles Street.

Contact me for more information on West Towson real estate and how these marked changes are welcome to the West Towson neighborhoods!

Only 6% of all high schools (about 1,600) make the list.

Baltimore County Public Schools had 12 schools on there!

The Baltimore Sun reported on the list, stating the Baltimore County Schools that made it and their ranking:

Dulaney, 253; Towson, 334; Carver Center for Arts, 470; Eastern Tech, 564; Pikesville, 590; Hereford, 632; Catonsville, 951; Western, 1,179; Owings Mills, 1,240; Loch Raven, 1,302; Franklin, 1,457; Perry Hall, 1,525.

Towson High School was ranked at # 334, and Dulaney High at 253. Many Towson homes are in the Towson High School district, and many Cockeysville and Hunt Valley homes are in the Dulaney High school district.

To be certain of a particular Baltimore County home’s school district, www.bcps.org has a link to discover what schools a particular home is set to attend. One thing to be aware of, though, is that homes can be redistricted at any time.

If you are considering buying homes based on Baltimore County school districts, these scores are a great beginning to discover what may be a good fit for you.

Contact me today for Baltimore County real estate.

I enjoyed the preparation, and sharing my insights on social media, including twitter, facebook, and blogging.

Even as I shared my expertise, I always learn when in class. I am looking forward to implementing more to make my Towson real estate business even more informative and useful to my clients!

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that interest rates were quoted at 4.86% on Friday. According to the Journal:

Falling mortgage rates can give a powerful lift to the housing market. A general rule of thumb holds that every one percentage point decline in mortgage rates effectively lowers home prices for buyers by roughly 10%. So, if the current rates hold, say economists, that could help stabilize prices and allow current homeowners to sell existing homes without substantial price cuts.

This is great news for the Towson real estate market because lower interest rates usually mean more houses selling.

There was concern that interest rates would rise above 6% as the Federal Reserve’s mortgage securities program is coming to an end. Add onto that the end of the Homebuyer Tax Credit, and the real estate market looked bleak for the summer.

Now, with the interest rates being so low, it can make homes much more affordable for many buyers.

It makes this truly a fantastic time to buy with interest rates at historic lows and housing prices so low as well. Contact me to take advantage of these low interest rates and get into your new Baltimore home!

This is wonderful news, as I have recently begun to use Docusign electronic signatures for the convenience of my clients.

I also wanted to use this to prevent the use of paper as much as possible, since contracts can be anywhere from 35-50 pages, and often times many copies are made, wasting so much.

Here is a copy of the mortgagee letter from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In speaking with T Jeremy Loomis, my mortgage partner, he stated that Wells Fargo’s policy is that the settlement papers must be done “wet” — actually signed in person with ink.

This is very exciting that FHA is trying to help make the contract process easier and more environmentally friendly.

Since implementing electronic signatures through Docusign for my Towson real estate clients, it has made things so much more efficient and “green”, and my clients have enjoyed the ease of contract completions!

April 30, 2010 marked the end of the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Though there was an small uptick in sales from qualified homebuyers, this does not truly mean the end of the spring market for sellers who are currently on the market or getting ready to go on the market.

Three tips are given in the video for homesellers to make their house ready for sale and more marketability.

1) Price it right. Be ahead of the curve and price more aggressively than the ones recently sold in your neighborhood.
2) Get a pre-sale home inspection. Then you can fix things up front and have your house ready for buyers without worrying about what may pop up during an inspection and cause re-negotiations.
3) Consider all offers. Notice they say “consider”. Sometimes a lower offer than you wanted or expected may have better terms and conditions than one later on. Keep in mind that an offer with a lot of contingencies or conditions has a more likelihood of something not going correctly than one that has less.
Finally, contact a local real estate professional.

For Towson real estate professional advice, contact me today.

Scheduled to open later this year, this will be the only grocery store besides Superfresh in Dulaney Plaza in the Downtown Towson area.

The space is just under 60,000 square feet according to the Costar Group.

This is exciting news for Towson residents who have not had much in the way of choices for groceries in the Towson center. In Ruxton there is Graul’s and further east in Towson Place there is a Superfresh.

The new Towson Safeway will be in the Radcliffe Shopping Center, which currently hosts a CVS, Wachovia, & M&T Bank.

The new Safeway Supermarket in Towson is scheduled to open in Fall 2010.

A great additional reason to live in Towson!

21204 houses that settled had prices up $24,000. Under contract, however, was down around $106,500 (23%). I attribute much of that drop in February due to the two blizzards. Half as many new listings as last year came on the market (not surprising since they were buried under about 4 1/2 feet of snow), which the National Association of REALTORS® has found across the areas hit by these storms.

21204 Home Sale Statistics February 2009-February 2010

21204 home sales have remained strong, though, this year over last year, and have continued to be consistent over time. Though the amounts may rise some months, the graphs show a consistent level of sales and prices.

Here is the full report on median price on market dynamics for the Towson 21204 zip code.