GRCC seeks volunteers for Taste of Reston; Tips for securing a mortgage

Local Real Estate News

• U.S. home sales on pace for best year in a decade, says NAR (via World Property Journal)
• ‘Affordable’ housing remains out of reach for full-time working families — Nowhere in Baltimore can two full-time minimum-wage earners afford the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment, according to a new report. (via CityLab)
• Home Depot lifts outlook as shoppers spend more on their homes (via Forbes)

Home Improvement Tips: Backyard Fire Pits

Local Real Estate News

• The dearth of available affordable housing in urban areas has numerous causes, but subsidy programs have yet to really move the needle. The real solution? Substantially increase housing supply to lower prices. (via Greater Greater Washington)
• 3 factors to help decide whether to rent or purchase a home (via Forbes)
• Don’t blame student debt for the lack of Millennial home ownership (via Forbes)
• Of interest: D.C. taxis can now deliver lunch. The Taxicab Commission believes this new service will increase driver incomes by up to $10,000 per year. (via Greater Greater Washington)

Guest Post: Reston’s easy access to Dulles airport makes getting out of town a snap

Chad Wallace, Four Spheres Travel

By Chad Wallace, Owner and Travel Agent at Four Spheres Travel

Say this out loud: “I deserve a break!” Yes you do! I know you work your tail off day in and day out! Sooooooooo … why do we Americans leave 51 percent of our eligible paid vacation time sitting on the table?

Despite being stressed out of our minds, particularly in the hustle and bustle of the D.C. Metro area, we are working more hours and taking fewer vacation days. The reasons for this vary with some people saying they don’t want to deal with the mountain of work that awaits them upon returning from vacation. Others simply don’t think that anyone else can do their job while they are away. Unsurprisingly, some are intimidated by a cutthroat office culture where everyone is eerily silent about the fact that no one seems to take any vacation.

Therefore, the first question really is HOW to cash-in your paid time off. The answer: Be a long-weekend-warrior.

RCC launches online classes for personal, professional development

Local Real Estate News

• MOD Pizza and Brown Bag are scheduled to open this summer in the Plaza America shopping center (RestonNow)
• Why traffic studies make our cities worse for everyone — If the goal is that all development should never increase road congestion, car-centric, sprawled-out cities will never be able to change. (via co.exist)
• The overall U.S. housing market has recovered from the crisis that plunged the country into recession. But a new analysis by The Washington Post shows that the recovery has been deeply uneven, creating winners and losers along lines of race, income and geography.
• Even rich people may have low credit scores that hurt their chances of getting a jumbo loan (via WSJ)

Millennials now forgoing city centers for the ‘burbs

Local Real Estate News

• Homelessness ticks up in region, largely because of affordability crisis in D.C. (via WAMU)
• Realtor.com outlined 7 hidden costs of selling a home
• Thanks to the generation’s size and influence, Millennials are moving to new places made just for them, by them — revitalizing smaller cities or opting for hybridized urban-burb enclaves where quality of life is the driving force.
• From The Atlantic‘s City Lab: Choosing the Unwalkable Suburbs, or Settling for Them? Suburban governments across the U.S. may be making it difficult for young families who want something different to find it.

Market in a Minute: Leaving ‘Inside the Beltway’

Local Real Estate News

McEnearney Market in a Minute (April 2016): “We’ve seen something in the first quarter of the year that we’ll be keeping a close eye on. For the first time in a long time, new contract activity for areas of Northern Virginia inside the Beltway is down while those outside the Beltway are higher. We’re not convinced that three months of activity is enough to say there’s a trend, but it’s possible that the higher prices of close-in communities are causing some buyers to look elsewhere. Stay tuned.”

Click here to read the entire Market in a Minute report for Northern Virginia, here for Washington, D.C. 

More residential construction may be coming to Reston Golf Course area

Local Real Estate News

• 

  Image courtesy Curbed DC

  Brutalist Reston building may become future home of condos, townhomes (via Curbed DC)

• “The biggest investment the rich can make in their kids, though — one with equally profound consequences for the poor — has less to do with “enrichment” than real estate.” (via WashingtonPost)
• Moving to a new home can break old habits of car commuting — New research builds on an old lesson: To get people using transit, it’s all about timing. (via CityLab)

DIY v. Hiring a Professional: What’s the best option for different projects

Local Real Estate News

• 

  Renderings of Isaac Newton Square. Image courtesy RestonNow.

  Golf Course Overlook LLC seeks to convert a three-acre parcel, currently Golf Course Plaza, a 45-year old, three-story office building with surface parking, into a single high rise with 413 residential units and three levels of underground parking. Information and images courtesy RestonNow.

• It’s the question every handy homeowner getting ready to embark on a renovation asks themselves: How much can I actually do myself? Curbed spoke with experts including DIY home renovators, contractors and architects to determine the realistic DIY projects in your house and what is better left to the professionals.
• Across the country, the share of 24-34 year-olds living at home with their parents has steadily risen over the past decade. Today, one in five millennials lives with their parents — a proportion that also holds true in the D.C. area.
• And just for fun: Meet the Man Living Inside a Boeing 727

Renting, buying or selling a home with your canine in mind

MovingtoReston.com author and McEnearney agent Lauren Budik with her dog, Lily

I wonder if there are other areas where you can drop off your dry cleaning, stop by the pharmacy, buy a pair of jeans, visit your favorite artist’s studio and enjoy a leisurely lunch, all while walking with your dog. It never surprises me when visitors ask, “Are you allowed to bring your dog in here?” When I say “Absolutely!”, they wish they had brought their dog on vacation, too!

Yes, we are lucky to live in Northern Virginia, however, there are also some challenges to renting, buying, and selling your home when you own a dog.

UPDATED! Reston Summer Film Festivals, Community Cookouts + more weekly events

Balducci’s in Bethesda, Md.

Local Real Estate News

• Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market has signed a lease to open at The Signature, Boston Properties’ new building at Reston Town Center, according to RestonNow.
• Smart Markets @ Reston Station is open 3-7 p.m. Wednesdays, at the plaza outside of the Reston metro station.
• Reston Association will host its Community Yard Sale this Saturday, May 14 (rain date May 15) from 8:30 a.m. to noon at 12000 Sunrise Valley Drive. Vendor space is sold out. In case of rain in the forecast, call 703-435-6577 the morning of the event, for a recorded message.