“Just CondoDomain it” – So what the heck does that mean?

Yes it could mean – just choose CondoDomain to help you buy or sell your house….but in this case its just a silly blog title.

“Just CondoDomain it” means that you can actually leverage the worlds fastest search engine to surf our site in just milliseconds. Because we built our platform for the web, our website reacts very well with search engines like Google.

Google spiders our website at least twice daily so anything that is on our website (basically everything condo) is on Google. So for you ‘long-tail’ web surfers or people who know exactly what building or what address or what MLS# – just throw it right up in Google combine it with the word “CondoDomain” and find all of the information you are looking for!

Example #1 – Searching for a particular address of a building in New York City like 165 Charles Street:

Just CondoDomain it: Go to Google.com and search CondoDomain 165 Charles Street

Example #2 – Searching for the hot new building in Chicago called FP3:

Just CondoDomain it: Go to Google.com and search CondoDomain Fullerton Lofts

Example #3 – Just visited the new FP3 Lofts development in Boston and have the MLS #?

Just CondoDomain it: Go to Google.com and search CondoDomain MLS # 70740515

We pride ourselves on having more real estate listing information than anyone else and constantly strive to find better ways for you to use our website. Our team internally loves using Google to help navigate our website. Its fast, reliable and accurate.

Remember, when you can find exactly what you need, we still may be able to help – don’t be shy and call us at 877-852-6636

CondoDomain is now operating in Boston, DC, Baltimore, Chicago & New York as a broker – so c’mon – Just CondoDomain it!

Located in the heart of  the action, Eight 50 Aliceanna is a brand new condominium building that you’ll never want to leave – were it not for its incredible location. Eight 50 offers immediate access to the best of the social goodies that Harbor East has to offer, from shopping and dining to stores like Whole Foods and a state-of-the-art exercise facility.

The building itself is dazzling. Large windows open the condos up to gorgeous light, morning or evening. They also provide a great view of Harbor East, delivering a sense of energy to the living comunity.

And the windows aren’t the only thing which open up the space – ceilings stand at a height of nine and a half feet. The units at 850 Aliceanna also feature hard wood floors and stainless steel appliances, and the bathrooms are adorned with glass enclosed showers and porcelain tile baths. Washer and dryers as well as garage parking is included at  Eight 50 Aliceanna.

Check out listings for Eight 50 Aliceanna on CondoDomain, and be a part of this exciting living community.

In 1986, H&S Properties Development Corp purchased the tract in 1986.  Assistant development manager Christopher H. Janian says that “First and foremost, Harbor East was intended to be a self-sufficient neighborhood for native Baltimoreans, a multiuse development modeled after New York City-style streetscapes.”

New York in Baltimore? You heard right. Harbor East is small: the limits are Fleet to Lancaster streets and the harbor to Caroline Street, 70 acres in total which extend the Inner Harbor Promenade. However, the size only serves to intensify the access to the urban park: commerce, shopping, dining, art, tourism, entertainment, and living. Developers are questing to recapture the time when all existed symbiotically in one setting. It’s an absolutely ideal spot for young professionals to blend home, work, and fun.

Harbor East is most well-known for its nightlife – head here to check out amazing stores like Kashmir Imports or Urban Chic, grab a bite to eat at the fantastic Pazo Cinco, and settle down for a drink at the James Joyce or Kosmos Lounge. Or, check out the 7-screen art house theatre at Landmark Theatres, which features gourmet food and bar. Sweet.

Harbor East also features several new  residences, located right in the heart of this pulsing urban hotspot – some of the neatest are the condominiums 850 Aliceanna (great view, big windows, on same street as everything else!) and The Vue (a gorgeous tower residence, also an Aliceanna), and apartments at Spinnaker Bay.

If this peaks your interest, definitely check out listings in Harbor East on CondoDomain.

Jay Hancock recently wrote a neat article in the Baltimore Sun that I thought deserved a post.

Google recently announced a project on its blog, which outlines a plan to build “ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States.” Installing optical figer carrying a gigabit of data per second to the doorsteps of at least 50,000 homes and businesses, Google would move data nearly a hundred times faster than that broadband normally allows. Sounds awesome? It gets better. Google would pay for it all, in order to usher in a new age of Internet and increase its standing as a cutting-edge company.

According to Hancock, Baltimore is a city that should and could win a bid for Google’s project.

“Getting a piece of the project would be a publicity coup for Baltimore, a jobs generator and a jolt for local Internet development,” Hancock writes. He then goes on to detail the reasons for Baltimore’s need and merit: proximity to DC, Baltimore’s many medical institutions (Google mentions “three-dimensional medical imaging over the Web” as the first benefit), Verizon’s absence in the city, and huge potential economic improvement for the city.

Social networks are exploding with the possibility, and representatives’ inboxes are filling up with requests for the bandwith. Just think: more jobs! economic interest! better schools! better hospitals! incredible internet! Yes please. Well, you guys are Baltimore city residents. So get started! Harass your representatives to your heart’s content, and let’s make it happen!

(While you’re at it, check out some condo listings on CondoDomain. If Baltimore gets the bid, your economic standings may be improving very soon. Hello, Inner Harbor.)

Media sources were buzzing yesterday with the news that the Goldseker Foundation has granted $435,000 to a select group of Baltimore city schools. However, the grants came with some interesting stipulations: the money must be used in partnership with their surrounding neighborhoods. These joint grants serve to improve not only schools, but the community as a whole.

The Goldseker Foundation intends to build healthy neighborhoods from the inside out by improving educational standards and serving the children of the neighborhoods. Better educational standards raises property values, and the grants are expected to make the neighborhoods more desirable places to live through better upkeep of properties and stronger ties to the community.

School grants were offered between $20,000 and $50,000 for the improvement of academics in order to attract residents. Neighborhoods that received grants had already received “Healthy Neighborhoods” program grants from Goldseker, and could win $20,000 to $30,000 to support community organizing and incorporate the schools into Healthy Neighborhoods marketing.

As reported by the Daily Record, the eight Baltimore city schools which have received grants are:

• Cross Country Elementary/Middle School, which received $50,000 for technology integration (in partnership with Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc., who receive $25,000)
• Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary received $50,000 for the WeatherBug Science curriculum (its partner Garwin Oaks Northwest Housing Resource Center got $25,000)
• Gwynns Falls Elementary received $50,000 (in partnership with Greater Mondawmin Coordinating Council, which received $25,000)
• The Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville Inc. won a total of $40,000, for partnerships with City Neighbors Charter School, ($25,000), and Hamilton Elementary/Middle School and St. Francis of Assisi School (both $20,000).
• $35,000 each was granted to the Greater Homewood Community Corp. with Barclay Elementary/Middle School and Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School.

My personal favorite is the Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary grant for its WeatherBug Science curriculum. Students claim that if they had used the curriculum in the first place, they would have been better prepared to inform their community about the impending blizzards. Cutest.

Although the grants will be immensely useful, only schools which bested the city average test scores were awarded the money, which seems only to further the gap between academically successful schools and many others that are struggling. Furthermore, the pattern of rewarding high test scores often leads to devaluation of a whole education in favor of drills and practice tests.

Timothy Armbruster, the president of Goldseker, claimed in a press release that strengthening connections between schools and neighborhoods “is one more step in making the city more reponsive and attractive to a wide range of families, including Baltimore’s growing middle class.”

Check out listings in these up-and-coming neighborhoods (see Lauraville or Homewood) on CondoDomain.

The culture of the coffee house has lost many of its adherents to the fast-paced, corporate cut-and-dry chains of Starbucks and Caribou. But in the Baltimore area, indy coffee shops are striking back. All the Fells Point folks are probably looking a little smug right now, but indy shops are not just for the ‘artsy’ kind. These community-centered cloisters of warm drinks and beautiful art offer a more economically-friendly option for café lovers – and usually, much better coffee.

However, finding these neat spots can sometimes be a hassle compared to the Starbucks on every corner. So for those of you interested in discovering fresh places to spend your coffee dollars – or, even better, new places to spend time reading, writing, or talking – I offer you a survey of the top independent coffee shops in Baltimore:

(in alphabetical order)

Café Latte’da 1704 Aliceanna St - A friendly Fells Point institution, this local hang-out offers an intimate space to share good coffee and fresh pastries made from scratch! With free wi-fi and a homey atmosphere, Café Latte’da is a great place to spend an afternoon. As a bonus, they even offer 2 complimentary computer stations.

Carma’s Café 3120 Saint Paul Street - A Charles Village gathering most famous for its Icelandic yogurt, this warm spot near 32nd street is worth skipping the chains. Coffee is wonderful, and breakfast is also delicious – check out specials on their daily blog. They even offer lots of yummy vegetarian options!

Chocolatea 3811 Canterbury Road – The name alone should set your mouth watering. This incredibly delicious shop isn’t exactly coffee, but its coco-lattes (chocolate drinks infused with milk, spices, and fruit) are absolutely to-die-for. They have a fantastic selection of teas, which upon request will pair with Swiss truffles. Simply amazing.

A Common Ground 819 W. 36th St - This funky café is possessed of perhaps the coolest location: a renovated Hampden row house. Offering all kinds of cozy nooks to curl up in, the coffee is locally roasted and very reasonably priced. A Common Ground may also be the best spot in the area to grab an outstanding bagel - theirs are a definite cut above the rest.

Koffee Therapy 6 E. Franklin St - Voted best coffee shop by CityPaper in 2008, their mission statement states “A great cup of coffee inspires great ideas, creativity, an entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of community, and a time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the good life.” The owners of Koffee Therapy have made it their goal to provide such a space in the culture center of Mt. Vernon. Great coffee, great atmosphere, and awesome quiches.

Red Canoe 4337 Harford Road - If you’re into fuzzy warm feelings and family-friendly spots, Red Canoe is the place for you. Doubling as a delicious coffee shop and a children’s bookstore (featuring daily storytimes!), the neighborhood of Lauraville is lucky to have such a community-focused location. Red Canoe serves Zeke’s Coffee and a large selection of incredible eats, including the best muffins in town.

Van Gough Café 300 S. Ann Street - Nope, that’s not a misspelling. Cute and still somewhat undiscovered, the new kids on the block in trendy Fells Point are on the corner of Ann and Gough in a renovated three-story brick building (the café is located on the first floor). In my opinion, Van Gough wins points for continually supplying some of the coolest artwork. But art isn’t the only thing they’re known for: Van Gough serves up a killer combination of specialty coffees, smoothies, sandwiches, salads, and Goldberg’s bagels. 

BONUS: Local coffee shop Zeke’s Coffee actually supplies the coffee for many shops in the Baltimore area. Offering a huge and unique selection of blends, Zeke’s puts West Coast roasteries to shame with their great organic options. They regularly participate in the Baltimore Farmer’s market, and are located at 3003 Montobello Terrace in Lauraville.
Check out listings for the neighborhoods of Fells Point, Charles Village, Hampden, Mt. Vernon, Lauraville, and more on CondoDomain!

Today, as a reward for reading this blog, CondoDomain is offering you the awesome deal of $25 for $50 worth of sips and savories at the (awesome) restaurant Ryleigh’s Oyster.

Sound like a scam? Actually, it’s the work of the super-saver website Groupon, one of my all-time favorite city secrets.

Group discounts have been a fixture at most commercial events for some time, but the website Groupon has updated this concept of “collective buying power.” Groupon offers a “daily deal” of 50%-90% off restaurants, classes, events, and other fun stuff for over thirty cities in the United States, including Baltimore.

Here’s how it works: you sign up for free on Groupon’s website, under Baltimore. Then, every day, you receive a Groupon email detailing a too-good-to-be-true-but-it-is deal on something going on in Baltimore. If enough people sign up for the deal, it’s all yours. Furthermore, invitations to friends go a long way in bringing this to fruition – plus the invites will earn you $10 in Groupon bucks! It doesn’t get any better than that. Whoever said a great night out had to be expensive?

Okay, so in truth, CondoDomain can’t really reward you for reading this blog. But we can save you thousands on your next real estate transaction, so check out our own money-saving model here.

Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna

Brand new Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake addressed the city yesterday in her first state of the city address since her election, as reported by The Daily Record last night. Her mainly economic speech focused on the budget woes of Baltimore (the city has accumulated a $120 million budget deficit). Most notably, she stated that the deficit is in fact equal to a 36-cent raise in the property tax – however, she pledged to avoid raising the property tax in Baltimore, telling City Council that “if we work together, we can pledge we will not raise property taxes to fix this budget gap.”

The property tax issue is certainly one of the first things on the minds of real estate developers and investors. Fear of raising the already steep tax is palpable as leery investors stand back and assess the health of the real estate market, the development of which would certainly be harmed by a property tax increase. Currently, Baltimore taxes real property at twice the rate of anywhere in Maryland: $2.268 per $100 of assessed value.

Whether Rawlings-Blake will be able to accomplish this goal remains to be seen. Nearly 60 percent of the city’s funds come from property taxes.

“The Great Recession has created the most difficult budget environment in memory. By making everything a priority, nothing is a priority. Our limited resources have been spread too thin, in too many areas. As a result, we now inherit a devastating $120 million deficit,” she is quoted by Daily Report.

Rawlings-Blake has been supported by fellow councilmen in this decision, one of whom claims it to be a simple “yes-no” decision.

Check out Baltimore properties on CondoDomain now, and take advantage of the low prices in today’s market!

Next time you and your neighbors are ranting about the snow (which we all know will be going on for at least the next month), you’ll have a new number to toss out: $830 million.

Yes, that mountainous amount is what the state Department of Business and Economic Development has roughly estimated the cost of the snowstorms to be for the Maryland economy. Ouch.

You may ask, as I did: How is that possible? Well, as reported by the Baltimore Sun, there are multiple factors to be considered. And while calculating the exact cost of a drastic halt in economic activity is difficult, here’s a quick run-down of what’s contributing to that number.

First, there’s the obvious price to plow the roads, which economists are currently estimating to exceed $5o million for the usually mild state (Meanwhile, Chicagoans and New Yorkers are chuckling at our plight. They regularly receive at least 70 inches of snow a year, and rarely suffer a transportation halt so drastic. So for all the government officials out there: contrary to your irritated claims, residents are not unmerited in requesting road clearance, since the much of the country deals with this kind of snowfall regularly and well. But I’ll get off my slightly irrelevant soapbox.)

Second, there’s the hit caused by the halt in transportation: retails sales went down, while business expenses went up. Furthermore, individuals prevented from traveling to their jobs took cuts to their hourly incomes. Commerce was slowed by the inability to transport goods.

As if that isn’t enough, the healthcare market was drastically harmed. In an area where medical services contribue largely to the economy, the financial hit to hospitals that weren’t expecting the large additional costs is painful.

Somehow, it all feels like a twisted problem you might have received in that econ class in college.

Feel free to vent your frustration on the City of Baltimore by browsing recent listings in the surrounding area on CondoDomain!

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan is outlining some budgetary plans which could potentially stimulate the national economy and neighborhoods in the Baltimore area.  The budget has already been backed by President Obama when it was announced in May 2009. Relevant to the Baltimore area is the recent launch of HUD’s new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC).

(For those who are unaware of this U.S. Department, HUD is the nation’s housing agency responsible for sustaining homeownership, promoting economic and community development, enforcing fair housing law, and creating and sustaining housing opportunities for disadvantaged Americans.)

As reported by Pillar Property Group yesterday, this budget aims to streamline HUD’s housing and community development programs, and to increase accountability and efficiency. Amongst HUD’s many goals through this new budget is the creation and retention of  112,000 jobs through the Department’s housing and economic development investments in communities across the country, including Baltimore.

According to a HUD press release,“The budget promotes innovative and comprehensive approaches to the nation’s ongoing affordable housing crisis by making targeted investments to help the economy grow, stimulate jobs, and keep people in their homes.”

Of particular interest to the Baltimore area is the creation of the OSHC. The implementation of OSHC seeks to revitalize distressed neighborhoods and increase their economic vitality. Implementation of these policies will hopefully stabilize real estate prices and increase consumer interest.

According to HUD’s press release a few weeks ago, “OSHC will be the center-point for all of HUD’s sustainability efforts. The average household spends more than half of its budget on housing and transportation, which have become American families’ two single biggest expenses. With OSHC as lead, HUD will work to improve access to affordable housing and transportation options, saving money for American families while allowing them more time to spend at home and less time traveling.”

Good news, everybody! For more information on what’s available in Baltimore right now, check out CondoDomain’s listings.

If you’re looking to buy in the super-luxury market in Baltimore, you’re in luck – the Ritz-Carlton has avoided its debt crisis.

RXR Realty, the developer for the beautiful new Ritz-Carlton on the Inner Harbor, recently announced that it has secured a $176 million loan to refinance the project, as reported by the Baltimore Sun just yesterday. This step will allot RXR a three-year extension to market the many unsold units. In fact, only 23 of the 190 units have been sold since its opening (most famously to novelist Tom Clancy).

The Ritz-Carlton is set in arguably the most beautiful spot in Baltimore, on Key Highway over looking the Inner Harbor. Its stunning views of the skyline and convenient location compliment unparalleled style and luxury and the Ritz-Carlton five-star service.

Floor-plans include one, two, and three bedroom units, all of which have exquisite finishes and the finest accoutrements, from rich hardwood flooring to distinctive moldings. Ritz Carlton Baltimore provides residents ultimate luxury right in downtown Baltimore. The combination is simply incredible. Condos for sale range from the upper $600,000s to more than $5 million.

RXR’s refinancing holds several important implications for the city of Baltimore. The marketing of these units will attract higher-income taxpayers to alleviate the city’s financial burdens and the strain on the middle class. Furthermore, the fate of the Ritz is sure to inform development decisions concerning future luxury condominiums, adding weight to the outcome of the property.

Check out CondoDomain’s listings for the Ritz-Carlton Residences on the Inner-Harbor, and schedule a tour with us!

Although the numbers have looked good regarding the current condition of the Baltimore real estate market, the blizzard may end up reigning in the advances made since December. With more wintry weather predicted for Monday and Tuesday (please, don’t shoot the messenger), and piles of snow still looming in backyards and parking lots, a serious appraisal of the snow’s effect on the Baltimore real estate market is under way.

First of all, as the Business Journal reported earlier today, progress on new construction and renovation projects has been significantly slowed, driving up costs that builders will be forced to absorb. Numerous contractors who began construction shortly before the Snowcapalypse found their projects buried in snow – those who had yet to begin breaking ground are forced to shuffle employees and deal with the debilitating effects of late starts.

Besides the effects on largescale projects, effects on homeowners are strenuous and taxing. If you’re a homeowner now, don’t forget to clear out your gutters (they risk breaking under all this weight), and if you haven’t already, raking off your roof.

Keep in mind amidst the mess is that these are extreme conditions. Buyers should take note that these conditions are abnormal in the Baltimore area – homes that are usually well-maintained may be experiencing issues which are specific to the unusual weather circumstances. Current conditions are not a true representation of how a home may usually handle rough weather.

As the area gears up for another potential couple inches, patience is necessary. Check out listings on CondoDomain and contact us for a tour this weekend to beat the snow.