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.

In the wake of some recent news stories describing the U.S. Economies’ recovery as both “weak” and “slow,” Bloomberg reported last week some uplifting figures as related to the housing sector.

According to figures released by the Commerce Department, housing starts in May increased more than forecasted climbing 3.5 percent from the month prior. The report projects an increase of new home starts to 560,000, up from the original median forecast of 545,000.

The positive housing news is tied to an increased issuance of building permits, which rose to 8.7 percent last month. The increased annual projection of 612,000 permits comes as a slight surprise as economists expected a drop of 1.1 percent last month. Instead, housing starts increased 3.7 percent in the single-family homes category.

Of course, our region remains an anomaly in that it has continued to outperform national averages and economic projections. As I have explained in previous posts, this is largely due to our relatively stable government-employed workforce. Still, positive housing news nationwide is a welcome sign of a broader housing recovery.

Photo Credit: BasicGov via Creative Commons

Foreclosure numbers nationwide seem to have peaked. In an article in USA Today, eight percent of U.S. home loans were 30 days past due in the month of April, significantly down 16 percent from a year ago.

In the Washington region where housing has remained more stable, foreclosure rates have returned to pre-recession levels. According to a Washington Post article that analyzed data from Realtytrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, “The number of homes in the region that entered foreclosure is down by 56 percent since the fall”.

I have written several times in the past about how our area has already bottomed out. In March I examined figures presented by Clear Capital, which pointed to home values reaching 16 percent above the market’s lowest point that is now being identified as sometime in mid-2009. I said then those increased home values were largely due to the drying up of the foreclosure market.

I won’t say that market has completely evaporated, but if you’re waiting for it to drain entirely before testing the new homes market you’ll find yourself disappointed. Home prices in Washington have already increased 13.2 percent from 2010 and I see no signs of slowing down. We have already raised home prices in several of our communities.

Don’t wait for prices to climb even higher. Stop by one of Mid-Atlantic Builders’ communities of new homes. Visit us at Beechtree in Upper Marlboro, Woodmore North in Mitchellville, The Villages of Savannah in Brandywine or our newest community Saddlebrook Estates in Bowie Maryland.

Credit: US Army

On behalf of the entire Mid-Atlantic Builders’ family, I would like to take a moment to remember the brave members of our armed forces who had their lives cut short in an effort to protect our country.

Many of us living in the Washington area have deep connections to the military. We all know a son or daughter, uncle or grandfather, cousin or friend that has honorably served our country overseas in uniform. Some of us have the unfortunate experience of having a loved one stolen from our lives. Personal connection or not, when one of our soldiers dies in the line of duty, we as a country mourn.

This Monday America pauses to remember the lives that were prematurely taken from her. As a country let’s take a moment to remember the ones we’ve lost for their brave heroic actions on our behalf.