The Turner Development Group’s website has a nice overview of their projects with some interesting models and interior pics. Check out the Westport plans, and Federal Hill Lofts pics.

Projects Gallery

In case you noticed the new section on the right side of this blog - the black Related Blogs section.  This is a new tool from BlogRush that allows me to display links to similar posts on related blogs.  Again, they are blog links not ads.  I thought I would mention it here in case any of you want to use this tool to promote your own blog - as I know some of you have blogs.  The product just launched early this morning, so I don’t yet know how effective it will be, but they have been overwhelmed by the initial usage, and expect it to really explode.  Get BlogRush - Blog Syndication Network.

Walk Score is an interesting site that lets you enter an address and then calculates a “walkable” score for the property based on the amount of “things” in the area.  Essentially it is trying to calculate how easy it is for someone to walk vs. drive.  Our house scored a 66 out of 100.  Of course the scoring is dependent upon how many businesses in the area are actually listed - so it’s far from an exact science.  For example only about a quarter of the bars within half mile of our house are listed.

For comparison, I used my old DC address and got a score of 68.  I would describe the DC address as much more walkable, partly because it sat a couple hundred feet from a Metro stop.  But the scoring doesn’t account for public transportation.

From the site:

What is Walk Score?
We help home buyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods. Walk Score shows you a map of what’s nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment.

This is pretty funny - only problem is the guy is driving in circles.

 I came across the site MyNewPlace.com today. They have a cool mapping feature that shows you the physical location of buildings with units for rent.  For some reason the little building icons just come across as a nicer way to present the locations.  Owners of condos or houses can also pay a monthly fee ($199 for up to 10 listings) to show up on the map.  At this point it’s mostly large apartment complexes that are listed though.  Wish Craigslist had a nice mapping feature like this.

According to Realtor.com - The three most expensive homes for sale in Baltimore are: Read the rest of this entry »

Website: http://www.zachsowers.com

What happened to Zach could happen to any one of us. But we live and work here because we love our neighborhoods— Canton, Patterson Park, Fells Point, Locust Point, Federal Hill, Inner Harbor— and we have the right to feel safe. Neighbors’ Night Out is a bold statement against crime. On Sunday, August 5, 2007 from 2 - 8 p.m., in honor of Zach, neighbors across Baltimore will meet at select bars and restaurants to drink, dine and send the message that we stand together against violence.

Today’s Baltimore Sun reports that Baltimore-area home prices rose 5.5 percent led by Baltimore city where the average price hit $200,000 for the first time.  But it’s the high-end homes that are driving the price up, and not reflective of the larger market.

That’s because it’s the pricier homes that are selling, both in the city and suburbs, said economist Anirban Basu, chief executive officer of Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group Inc.

“At the higher end, there continues to be a race for superior properties as [buyers] compete against each other,” he said. “The homes that are selling are disproportionately higher-end homes.”

Those looking for an end to the housing slump will have to wait longer, Basu said

These seems to make sense given all the new high-end development in the city.  

In all, 3,365 home sales settled compared with 3,909 in June 2006, a drop of nearly 14 percent as homes took longer to sell — an average of 82 days compared with 51 days in June 2006.

Every jurisdiction posted fewer sales. Carroll had the sharpest drop, nearly 18 percent, while Howard County’s decline was the smallest at 7.29 percent.

Baltimore City has been struggling with the reputation of being a crime infested city for decades.  It seems the city has done a good job the last few years of marketing the city and continuing to increase tourism.  People who a few years ago might not have considered living here - have moved to the city.  All around the Harbor new development is everywhere and out-of-towners can visit without being exposed to the harsh realities of most of the city.  We even recently landed on a couple national media lists as one of the top places to visit and live.

However, this year crime has taken a dramatic jump and there’s no hiding from the coverage in the papers.  Baltimore City is on track to have 300+ murders for the first time since the 90’s and non-fatal shootings are up 35%

Baltimore Sun Google Map of 2007 Baltimore City Murders

Despite all the new development and new housing in the city, the population continues to shrink.  Baltimore ranked 241 in the list of fastest growing cities (-0.8 %).  Nestled right between #240 Providence city and #242 Fayetteville city - you know… those places.

Census Stats:

#241 Baltimore City 
2005 Population: 636,377 
2006 Population: 631,366   
Change: -5,011    -0.8%