INSIDE MWAA Board Under Fire ...Page 4 M AY 2011 VOLUME 8 NO.6
Forum: New Approach Required To Meet County's Housing Needs By Erika Jacobson Moore, Staff Writer Creating the communities that will draw employees for existing Loudoun businesses, and developments attractive to companies looking for a new location, will take foresight and planning. That was the message sent from Housing Virginia’s Leesburg forum surrounding the White Paper, “Jobs, Transportation, and Affordable Housing: Connecting Work and Home.” “I don’t think anyone has completely gotten it right,” Trip Pollard, of the Southern Environmental Law Center and who wrote the White Paper, said. “There are some elements of people’s policies that are good and there are good projects. But I think everyone is still in the learning process. But that’s a good thing.” At the April 29 forum at Rust Library, Pollard was joined by a panel of people
on the frontline of the workforce housing issue: Brian Chavis, CEO of ARGroup and chairman of the Industrial Development Authority; Paul DesJardin, director of the Department of Community Planning and Services for Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; James Duszynski of Greenfield Partners; and John McGranahan, a partner with the law firm Hunton & Williams. Duszynski put forward the application for the recently approved Dulles World development and McGranahan represented the developers of Kincora Village—both of those projects are part of the revamped plans for Rt. 28. While Loudoun might be a couple of decades behind places like Fairfax County and Arlington when it comes to creating environments for the county’s future workforce, that also creates opportunities for See Fourm, Page 14
“I don’t think anyone has completely gotten it right. ... There are some elements of people’s policies that are good and there are good projects. But I think everyone is still in the learning process. —Trip Pollard, Southern Environmental Law Center
Realtors See Slow Price Recovery, Tougher Times For Renters By Kara Clark, Staff Writer
Loudoun Realtors are hoping for a productive 2011, following a year defined by the frenzy surrounding the federal FirstTime Homebuyer’s Tax Credit. A panel of residential Realtors and mortgage loan professionals joined Loudoun Business for a recent roundtable to share their thoughts on what 2011 may bring. Residential real estate professionals
will tell you the tax credit saw a surge of activity in the market, after years of lagging sales and mounting distressed properties. “The tax credit created a tremendous amount of activity,” Beckwith Bolle, of Carter Braxton, said. Those surveyed for this article said they have seen the number of distressed properties on the market dip substantially, although there is still a glut remaining yet to be sold. Areas of Sterling and Leesburg still show higher volumes of distressed PRSRT STD
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properties coming on to the market. Activity in Loudoun in the higherpriced housing market is still slow. According to Bolle, many homeowners who purchased these higher-end homes are underwater on their loans and now will be waiting a few years to sell their homes into a more competitive market. On the other hand, properties on the lower-end of the market are a hot commodity. Many Realtors report that properties listed under $500,000 will likely have mul-
tiple bidders upon days of coming onto the market and many are snapped up quickly. “There are a lot of buyers out there with nothing to buy,” Mary Krueger, with SunTrust Mortgage, said. Many of those in the market are not families looking to move into the community or upgrade. Investors continue to buy up properties in the county, with many now purchasing multifamily and townhouse units. This, Realtors say, has resulted in See Roundtable, Page 14
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