What does this year’s unusual weather mean for the Washington, DC homeowner?
We’ve all been shaking our heads about the weather this winter in the Washington, DC area. We braced ourselves for our usual two and a half months of unpleasant cold, windy, and wet . . . that never came. Instead, we found ourselves sneezing with allergies in late February and snapping photos of the Cherry Blossoms around March 20th.
The upside is – well – four months of Spring. Complaining about the current cold spell is half-hearted at best; being well past the equinox, we know the cold weather can’t really last. We’re out of the danger zone: Washington, DC has officially cheated winter this year.
The downside is that our local ecology (and arguably, our psychology as well) is adjusted to expect a period of downtime. Without winter to make us rest, the flora and fauna of Washington, DC are apt to go a little bit overboard. The allergy season, for example, came earlier this year, will last longer, and is unusually virulent. Trees can afford to put energy into generating more pollen that they would usually have to expend weathering the winter. The bug season has already started, and by early July we are probably going to be shunning our backyards due to the unusually high insect populations we can expect with an extended breeding season. And finally, the data coming in from our financial markets is skewed. The local economy usually takes a little dip in the winter, which never came this year. Which is good for business at the moment – but may mean that we see an alarming slump during summer months when we’re usually booming, and that our selling seasons come at unexpected times.
What does this mean for the homeowner in 2012?
1. The hot home selling season will probably start early. After over five years of a major slump, there is some tentative evidence that the nationwide real estate market might be starting on an upswing. Each neighborhood in the DC area is different, but with interest rates low and home prices attractive, there is some reason to hope that 2012 might be a good year to try and get your home sold. Usually homeowners have March and April to get their remodeling and staging done, and then hit the market with open houses in late May and June. This year the earlybirds may have already started out of the gate with their groundwork, and be ready to start their open houses in late April. It isn’t too late to catch up, though; with the blooming season set a few weeks early it could be time to invest in a good landscaper, do a thorough exterior pressure-washing, get your home cleaned and decluttered, throw a fresh coat of paint up on your interior and exterior, and hit the market!
2. You may want to pay extra attention to your indoor air quality. First of all, allergies are greatly worsened if you inhale the allergens while sleeping. In addition to making sure you shower and wash your hair before going to bed at night, you may want to take extra precautions like tightening up your windows, pressure-washing the pollen off of the siding and hardscaping on your property, and removing your shoes when you enter your home so you don’t track pollen indoors. Of course, with the windows closed, it is a good idea to inspect your home for indoor air contaminants like mold or chemical VOCs. When air conditioning hits this summer, you want to make sure that all interior mold has been mitigated and any remodeling projects have taken advantage of products with low VOCs so that the air you breathe at night is clean. When flu system hits in the fall, you want to greet it with a healthy and well-rested respiratory system.
3. The battle against the bugs will be long and fierce. If you have been considering screening your porch, this might be just the right moment. If the screens on your windows and doors need repair, now is the time. And if you want extra protection against pests like ants, termites, and cockroaches, you may want to fortify your exterior with added caulking and coatings that contain natural insecticides as additives. You will probably have to bring out the big guns (read: pesticides) by the end of the summer, but the more effort you put into prevention, the less you will have to resort to chemicals that are expensive, unhealthy, and bad for the environment.
So enjoy the weather, make hay when the sun shines, and don’t forget to give your home a little TLC!