13 Comments

1. robert winfield

   wow!! these maps are not very up to date!!
   they list the house that was torn down about 4-5 years ago next door to me, 542 Beall avenue with a picture of the old house with a feb 2010 listing

2. Cindy Cotte Griffiths

   Yes, when you click on the link it does say the lising has been deactivated for the house on Beall. The maps are aggregated from across the internet. As we know, info never really disappears from the net. I’m sure the service will improve over time but if they are not useful, we’ll have to evaluate whether to continue to post the maps.

   The link to the listing of homes which have gone on the market each week by Lisa Abrams should be much more helpful and accurate.

3. Lisa Abrams

   Unfortunately many sites that people turn to for information are not always the most accurate, such as Google maps, Zillow, Trulia etc. Always consult an expert for the most up to date information.

4. Theresa Defino

   i also would like mention an issue with the other data presented.

   i’m still waiting for the links to the source for the demographic data ms. abrams cited in the nov. 13 listings. now here is more data about times to work, with no source.

   most of us, i think expect income and other data to have source material cited with the data. i don’t believe ms. abrams personally collects this data. in contrast, i am sure ms. abrams is an expert on home sales information. it may be fine for her to repeat information in her mailings like this (i don’t know if she does), but when presented here or in similiar mediums, the standard would be to have cites and sources.

5. Helen Hillstrom

   Any real estate salesperson who is asociated with the MRIS can send Rockville Central this information at any time. However, YOU lose objectively when you publish the information in this manner. It amounts to free advertisement for one salesperson among many who are your readers. (I pay for my advertisement.)

   This is a salesperson’s dream come true.

   Over the years I have been in real estate I found that most entities do not give this advantage to one salesperson/one company over others.

   Every “advantage” we get we pay heavily for in our mailings, advertisement, $on and $on and $on.

   This is not at all to reflect on Lisa Abrmas. She just accepted what you offered her.

6. Cindy Cotte Griffiths

   As always with Rockville Central, we encourage and welcome submissions about all sorts of things. In the weekly Rockville Real Estate Listing and Foreclosure post I invite ALL Realtors to submit information about their new listings. I had hoped many Realtors would take me up on my offer and intended to include their contact information in exchange for making this weekly post useful and informative to our readers.

   After a few weeks, I was very grateful when Lisa Abrams contacted me and offered to provide a listing of all the new properties for sale in Rockville. She has been the only one and has quite professionally been meeting deadlines for publication. We have been working on tech issues to provide the information which is currently linked in the post. When she provided the other demographic information, we created the Neighborhood Facts. Realtors often provide these details about neighborhoods for homebuyers. As for including this service on our local community blog, this type of information is obviously interesting to our readers and to those who seek to live here in Rockville, so its inclusion is appropriate. As has been pointed out, this is the type of information a Realtor would share and Lisa Abrams is sharing it with everyone through a weekly post designed to provide a variety of real estate information from the entire community. I thank her for her contributions.

   Again, Rockville Central is a community-produced information source. We welcome submissions from everyone willing to take the time and make the effort.

7. Theresa Defino

   cindy said: ” When she provided the other demographic information, we created the Neighborhood Facts. Realtors often provide these details about neighborhoods for homebuyers. As for including this service on our local community blog, this type of information is obviously interesting to our readers and to those who seek to live here in Rockville, so its inclusion is appropriate.”

   agreed it is interesting, but it should be sourced. helen, does MRIS have demographic information like that presented here? if so, where does it come from originially?

8. Cindy Cotte Griffiths

   Yes Theresa, the MRIS does have such information and here’s where it comes from:

   Sources of Data (by category)

   Demographic
   Population
   Population density
   Population change
   White %
   Black %
   Asian %
   Native American %
   Other %
   Hispanic %
   Male %
   Female %
   Median age
   High school grad %
   2yr degree %
   4yr degree %
   Grad degree %
   Household size - persons
   Average income per cap
   Household median income
   Single %
   Married %
   Divorced/separated %
   HH with children %

   · Census Bureau estimates and projections of population characteristics at various levels of geographic detail, including the latest estimates of population at the county and city level
   · Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates and projections of employment by industry and occupation at the county level
   · Medicare eligible population counts at the ZIP code level, including population by sex and 5-year age cohorts, provided by the Health Care Financing Administration of Social Security. These counts provide a very accurate local count of the population aged 65 and higher.
   · Internal Revenue Service statistics on tax filers and year-to-year migration
   · The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, which provides detailed demographic breakdowns and enables a thorough longitudinal analysis of demographic trends
   · Economic Census data of NAICS and SIC groups by states, counties, cities, metros, and zip codes.
   · Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

   Education
   School profiles
   State and Regional Education Boards and Districts
   National Center for Education Statistics
   School test scores
   GreatSchools
   State departments of education

   Climate
   Annual predominantly sunny days
   Days with precip > .01 inch
   Rainfall - inches
   Snowfall - inches
   Relative humidity (afternoon mean for July)
   July mean high temp
   Jan mean low temp
   Average wind speed
   Days < 0 deg.
   Days < 32 deg.
   Days > 90 deg.
   National Weather Service, Regional Climate Centers
   Missouri Climate Center
   U.S. Geologic Service
   National Hurricane Center
   National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
   National Climatic Data Center
   Comfort index
   UV danger index
   Sperling’s BestPlaces

   Costs of Living
   Cost of Living Index
   Constructed indices uses data of the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (published and unpublished), with health costs from Medicare and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Consumer Expenditure Survey (BLS), Current Population Survey (BLS), Department of Energy, the Federal Travel Directory, National Association of Realtors, Home Price Index from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, median home sales prices from state Realtor associations and county deed records, Coldwell Banker’s Home Price Index, and our own research. ACCRA (Association of Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association), Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index
   Median home price
   Home price appreciation
   Property tax – effective rate
   Freddie Mac -Conventional Home Price Mortgage Index
   National Association of Realtors
   National Association of Home Builders
   Coldwell Banker - Home Price Index
   California Association of Realtors and other state Realtor associations
   Housing Affordability Index
   Sperling’s BestPlaces

   Economy & Jobs
   Unemployment
   Recent job growth (one-year)
   Bureau of Labor Statistics
   Future job growth (10 years in the future)
   Sperling’s BestPlaces analysis
   Household median income
   Household income growth (1990-current year)
   Average family income
   Technical/professional/sales % (white collar)
   Blue collar, clerical % (working class)
   Census Bureau
   Current year estimates – Sperling’s BestPlaces analysis
   Sales taxes
   Income taxes
   State and local taxing agencies

   Health and Health Care
   Air quality index
   Watershed quality index
   Environmental Protection Agency
   Analysis by Sperling’s BestPlaces
   Crime rates – per 100,000 capita
   FBI Uniform Crime Reports, state police agencies
   Physicians per capita
   Department of Health and Human Services
   Hospitals, hospital beds per capita
   Allergy and Pollen index
   Sperling’s BestPlaces analysis

   Transportation
   Commute by auto
   Commute by mass transit
   Work at home or telecommute
   Urban Mass Transportation Administration, DOT
   Bureau of Transportation Statistics
   Census Bureau
   Current year estimates – Sperling’s BestPlaces analysis

   Update periods
   All categories are updated at least once annually, though at different times during the year. Quarterly updates are released during the year.
   New data appearing each quarter include employment, cost of living indices, and home prices and appreciation.

9. Helen Hillstrom

   Sorry to dump on you Cindy. You, of course, can put anything you want on your blog. I do not know the dividing line between a blog and, say, a newspaper. I could call the Gazaette and make the same complaint and they would recognize the situation whether they changed or not. But a blog seems to be a more personal thing.

   I like Rockville Central and read it first thing at my computer each day. A good way to start the day. I am a neighborhood minded person and RC fits the mold.

   As to all the statistics, yes they are there. I have never had a buyer come here and ask about the humidity, the average wind speed, how many medicare recipients lived in an area. They never are interested in National Association of Realtors, California Realtors, Urban Mass Transit , or how many divorced/separated people line in neighborhoods.
   Their interests are more mundane: how much house they can afford, schools, transportation, crime, etc. If they ask me how many black, asians, hispanics live here, I send them away.

   Buyers are sellers and the general public seem to be interested in the same subjects, from different angles. So irt would be overkill for a newsletter to offer all the statistics mentioned above.

   We do offer some in our company’s periodic newsletter, but in small doses, and that information which is most local. If you want to receive the newsletter, just contact me at 301-294-3000 or email [email protected].

   Also, the advertisement we place with Rockville Central - just double click on it and you will get to the same information you are now receiving. You can receive a lot of Rockville information before being asked for your personal information. So far, only one RC reader has used this resourse so the ad needs to be changed to make it clear that it is a gateway to Rockville real estate information. In fact, when you publish the next real estate information, please refer to our ad as another source.

   And may I suggest that your site provide a way to review what one has written before submitting comments.

10. Peter Mork

    Helen, please don’t be so quick to dismiss people interested in the racial demographics. When we bought our house, we paid careful attention to those numbers. We wanted to live in a neighborhood with significant diversity. So, we rejected neighborhoods that were 90% white and neighborhoods that were 90% Hispanic. In the end, we were delighted to find our neighborhood with a blend of all races and a reasonable mix of incomes. I’d hate to lose a good realtor over a silly misunderstanding.

11. Helen Hillstrom

    Your are right Mork, it is a real joy to live in a diverse neighborhood. It is great that you and more people understand that.

    By law, real estate salespeople are not allowed to use racial, gender, etc. as a tool to find houses for buyers. But buyers can tell us what neighborhoods they wish to consider and which they do not want to see.

    Yes, you need racial statistics for your purpose. And I would not have sent you away!!! Just point you to the available information and then have you tell me where you wanted to search for a house.

    As for other purposes, most Realtors do not want to work with people who have prejudicial intentions.

12. Theresa Defino

    helen, you are 100% right-it’s against federal law. and peter, i am sure you can remember all the housing scandals related to red-lining. when some folks ask those questions, they don’t have your good intentions in mind.

    i’m still curious about those stats. again, MRIS is only collecting them. the census data is old. and drive times to work in rockville? where would that come from?

13. Temperance Blalock

    Some of that data could possibly be extracted from the American Community Survey, which is a supplemental questionnaire issued by the US Census Department. I was sent this questionnaire in 2008, and when I answered it I said that my commute time was one minute long (which is true). I may therefore have possibly skewed the average.

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