Here Goes The Neighborhood
The Prince George’s County Realtors’ Association Has A New Crib On Corporate Drive
PHOTO: COURTESY PGCAR
By Peter Greenbaum
When most people think of real estate, the words location, location, location run through their minds. So who better to follow this cardinal rule than an association dedicated to the profession?
Recently, the Prince George’s County Association of REALTORS celebrated the grand opening of its new headquarters located at 8300 Corporate Drive, #100, in Landover.
PGCAR represents more than 3,000 realtors and industry-related professionals in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and throughout the Washington DC area. The association works to ensure public policy that encourages home ownership in the region. PGCAR also provides education, networking opportunities, news and other services for realtors.
PGCAR wanted to take advantage of post-recession, affordable pricing and favorable interest rates and do what most families and businesses want to do.
"We espouse the motto, better to own, than rent” says Michael Graziano, Executive Vice President, Prince George's County Association of REALTORS, Inc. “We decided that long-term investment in real property was beneficial to the membership.”
Located at the heart of the New Carrollton Metro Center, the new space is centrally located for its members. With 19,515 feet of office space, the new headquarters provides plenty of room to accommodate staff, training rooms and a store. The new headquarters also allows the association to lease out space – realizing another cardinal objective of real estate: Earning a return-on-investment (ROI).
“This is an income-producing property,” says Graziano. “We have approximately 10,000 square feet of tenant space.”
Without disclosing the purchase price, Graziano says that the association obtained the property below market value and that it already shows above average appreciation.
PGCAR has seen steady growth in membership over the last few years and with more and more realtors coming into the area the association will need the large space. Currently, there are more than 3,200 members who service the Prince George’s County’s burgeoning residential property market.
Average "sold" prices have seen a modest but steady improvement of 4% to 7% monthly for March, April and May of 2018. The average “sold” price in May 2018 for residential single-family homes was up 6.57% over May 2017.
While accurately predicting the future is difficult, Graziano is optimistic.
“I believe we are going to see increased sales volume and modest increases in property values during the summer and into fall,” he says. “Inventory is low which gives sellers a slight advantage. I would say if you are looking to sell, now is a good time to get into the market. If you are looking to buy, interest rates are still reasonably low which improves your buying power.”
