There was an interesting nugget of news that caught my eye recently which I’ve been wondering about ever since. In mid-July, the Washington Post reported on the Prince George’s County Council’s approval of a resolution to place a moratorium on building homes in the Brandywine area. The measure passed (in an 8-1 vote) and will have an immediate effect, perhaps unintended, by the resolution.

For those living there and moreover, for those hoping to live there, this is bigger news than you might think. Councilmember Mel Franklin claims the move is to “prevent further overburdening of the roads in the Brandywine area.” I suspect otherwise.

This looks like an effort to increase property values.

It’s very simple. Cut off supply and demand will rise. As demand increases, so too do housing prices. This is good news for current homeowners in the Brandywine area. For those trying to move in, well, they’re on the other side of the coin.

Brandywine may not be ‘overburdened’ with more drivers, but the interest to live just outside the Capital Beltway is unavoidable. The greater the demand to live in the area, the more expensive it will be to buy a home, any home, period.

For interested homebuyers there is a silver lining to this news. One of the few communities grandfathered with this moratorium is The Villages of Savannah. This means if you want to buy a home in the Brandywine area, you’ll have a chance to buy a Mid-Atlantic Builders home.

Come in to our model at The Villages of Savannah in Brandywine to see why now is the best time to buy your new Mid-Atlantic Builders home.

Not all news is good news. That was the message earlier this week when I appeared on CNBC with Diana Olick. As I explained on Tuesday, news of escalating gas prices, economic turmoil internationally, and concerns over the debt ceiling is returning consumer confidence to a more fragile state.

With all that bad news floating about, we are still witnessing a strong interest in people wanting to purchase a new home. Prices are right, interest rates are at historical lows, and if a sandstorm of bad news hadn’t blown nationwide, I don’t believe we would be having this discussion.

Olick also shared what I’ve noted as a shift in home buying patterns. At Mid-Atlantic, we are building more multi-generational homes that include either a guest or in-law suite. This additional family member offers extra help around the house and is often a source of supplemental income to help cover the cost of buying a new home.

Once again, embedded in glossed over negative national housing news, Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller’s most recent housing index showed home prices climbed 1.4 percent this June from the previous year. The Commerce Department concurrently reported the value of new home sales rose nationally, up to 1.6 percent, as compared with the corresponding period a year ago. Furthermore, over the past year, new home prices have climbed 7 percent.

The Washington D.C. housing market continues to lead the country in sales and price appreciation so worrisome headlines needn’t apply here for some time. With that in mind, the Washington Post’s headline Housing market remains weak, data show might be enough to make you blink twice. Look no further than Bloomberg’s report for a more balanced story: Washington Homes Buck National Housing Price Decline.

The bottom line is, and this should come as no surprise to frequent readers of my blog, housing in Washington is bouncing back with relative quickness and strength, something not seen in most places across the country.

At Mid-Atlantic Builders we are experiencing increased traffic, higher demand and an uptick in sales, which means getting into one of our premier communities is growing tougher. If you’re looking to buy, wait no longer.