Dutko Ragen News

Looking for some family fun? The 3rd annual Taste of Annandale will be taking place next Saturday, October 14th, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM along Tom Davis Drive between Columbia Pike and John Marr Drive in Annandale. The event is “aimed at encouraging community engagement, celebrating Annandale’s diversity, and shining a spotlight on local restaurants and businesses”. Local restaurants and food trucks will fill your belly while you enjoy live entertainment! The event will kick off after the annual 5k race (runners, start lacing your shoes!). There is no cost to attend the festival. There will be tons of... Read More

Our most recent renovation, 8708 Camden Street, is located on historic land. The home is located in the Stratford Landing neighborhood, a part of what was once River Farm. In the mid 1650’s, English Captain Giles Brent acquired 1800 acres of land for his son, Giles Jr. The Captains wife was a member of the Piscataway tribe of Native Americans, and the huge parcel of land was named Piscataway Neck. Years later in 1679, Giles Jr returned to England after conflicting with the local Douge tribe and separating from his wife (the first separation in the state of Virginia). He... Read More

Dutko | Ragen Homes and Investment’s most recent renovation project, 2110 Popkins Lane, is located in the innovative and contemporary neighborhood of Hollin Hills: a collection of 458 houses nestled into 225 acres of wooded, hilly terrain in Southeastern Fairfax County. Nebraska born builder Robert Davenport acquired the land at a courthouse auction and began construction on the first home in the neighborhood in 1949. Davenport was inspired by the contemporary designs of notable DC architect Charles Goodman, who forged his own path away from the colonial revival look so common in Virginia. Besides working closely with Davenport in the... Read More

The Volcker Rule, named after former Fed-Chairman Paul Volcker, is Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Act. Dodd-Frank was a response to the financial crisis of 2007-2008. The role of Dodd-Frank was “to build a financial system that helps the real economy while also preventing future crises.” The Volcker Rule specifically attempted to restore “part of the firewall between commercial and investment banking,” which was lost in the repeal of Glass-Steagall. The Volcker Rule was implemented to prevent banks from making “large speculative bets” and to refocus the bank’s attention to serving customers. The Volcker Rule... Read More

The minimalistic trend popular in the U.S. right now might not be for everyone. Shows like HGTV’s “Little House Big Living” promote small homes as providing a fresh lifestyle change, financial freedom, and a more limited impact on the environment. The homes featured on the show are extremely small. For example, Jenny and Nathans home, nestled in the Hawaiian cliffs amounts to a mere 314 square feet and Mark and Jens 224 square foot surf house featured in Season 2 is perfect for their outdoor lifestyle. Above: Dutko | Ragen Homes & Investment's Craftsman style project at 7214 Arthur Dr... Read More

If you've driven through Ballston recently, you probably noticed lots of construction going on around the landmark Ballston Mall. Developer Forest City Washington, with help from Arlington County, are redeveloping the site into an "open, mixed-use" project which will be called Ballston Quarter. Scheduled to open late next year, Ballston Quarter will feature a dynamic mix of commercial and residential spaces, and breath new life into the city. This dramatic investment in DC area real estate development will change the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, making it a great place to live, work, and play. Coming Soon to Ballston -589,000 square feet of... Read More

In January of 2015, Illinois-based real estate investment trust, Retail Properties of America(RPAI), purchased the Merrifield Town Center for $56.5 million. Then, about a year ago in January 2016, RPAI made another massive purchase: $45. 7 million for Merrifield II, an 8.2-acre property on Gallows Road, which is currently home for a Gold’s Gym, Great Wall Supermarket, Cubesmart self-storage, and Unique Thrift Store. The current plan is for Merrifield II to be redeveloped into an extension of the neighboring Mosaic District development, a mixed-use project consisting of both residential and retail, as well as commercial real estate. The Mosaic District... Read More

According to Northern Virginia Magazine, "minimalism with simple, clean lines and a lot of uniqueness" are the foundations of today's bathroom design. At Dutko I Ragen Homes & Investments, we pride ourselves on paying particular attention to the design and functionality of bathrooms in our projects. In our renovations, we incorporate popular bathroom elements like double vanities, marble & ceramic tile surrounds, as well as exotic and unique marble and quartzite tops. Take a look at some of our recent projects: A luxurious setting in the master bath at our listing on Recard Drive in Alexandria. Double vanities with marble tops... Read More

Today, December 14, 2016, was an important day. Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, announced that the Federal Reserve unanimously voted to increase the target for the Federal Funds Rate by 0.25% to about 0.5-0.75%. The Federal Open Market Committee meeting was not a surprise for the market. Besides dodging questions about President-elect Donald Trump, Yellen’s press conference cited many reasons for the rate increase. Low unemployment rates (the 4.6% in November unemployment rate is lowest since 2007), household spending increases, and core inflation near the targeted rate of 2%, all point to a healthy economy. But unemployment is down because people have... Read More