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Schizlor
2011 Sep 28, 6:34am
The Heights of Buildings act of 1910 is what limits the heights of the city's buildings. It's a common misconception that there are laws stating no building can be higher than the Capitol or the Washington Monument, though by the letter of the law, it would automatically be illegal to build a building higher than the Washington Monument. This is because the height of a building is limited to the length of the street it sits on, plus an additional 20 feet. As there are no streets long enough to exceed the height of the monument, it would not be possible to build such a building in the city by default.
I for one like the effect this has had on the cityscape. Housing woes notwithstanding, anyone who's driven East from Arlington down the GW parkway towards Reagan National and beyond can appreciate the effect this has on the landscape. Its kind of nice to be able to see more than 100 feet into the city in any one direction, and that you can be across the river in Arlington and see scenes like this:
Done!
2011 Sep 28, 7:07am
Why? Because Jumbo loans helped keep prices high.
But not after October 1
Market Current limit Limit After October 1 Reduction in Limit
San Diego $697,500 $546,250 $151,250
Fairfield, CT $708,750 $575,000 $133,750
Los Angeles $729,750 $625,500 $104,250
Washington, DC (most counties) $729,750 $625,500 $104,250
Orange County, CA $729,750 $625,500 $104,250
Riverside-San Bernadino, CA $500,000 $417,000 $83,000
Baltimore (most counties) $560,000 $494,500 $65,500
Boston (most counties) $523,750 $465,750 $58,000
Schizlor
2011 Sep 28, 7:10am
Can't take credit for that one actually, though from the looks of it it had to be right off the GWP
I'd hate to nitpick this...but..
Has any developer thought of building down instead of up?
I know they have underground centers in Montreal due to the cold. Naturally there would not be a view but if it is cheap enough it might be worth it.
Besides the fact that u usually dont build below 2-3 stories underground becasue no one wants to be down there, from my understanding DC has a high water table due to the type of land its built on. So any major underground buildings run the risk of flooding.
Yes, the Potomac being right there makes a difference too. This is why certain Metro configurations that require tunneling (e.g. Metro to Georgetown) are slightly more complicated as well.
Why? Because Jumbo loans helped keep prices high.
But not after October 1
I for one am happy to see superconforming loan limits go down. They should go back down to $417K or lower, so this is just a good start.
B.A.C.A.H.
2011 Sep 29, 2:23pm
Jumbo loans lead to jumbo mortgage interest deductions. Working families' subsidy for the rich, it is.
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From a patrick.net reader:
My take is that the lobbyists' take is HUGE and growing throughout Republican and Democratic administrations alike, and this is driving up housing prices in the DC area as the lobbyists gorge on their cut of bribes to Congressmen:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2010/04/check_it_out_big_salaries_for.html
Until we have publicly funded campaigns the country will continue to be run by corporations and billionaires for their own benefit.
Unfortunately, we took a huge step backwards recently when the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people and therefore entitled to First Amendment protection so they can spend as much as they want on political campaigns. Bullshit!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission
#housing