Archives for November 2012
Home Builders Feeling Better About Market Conditions
November 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Home builder confidence for the new, single-family home market posted its seventh consecutive month gain, reaching its highest level since May of 2006, according to the November index by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.
"Builders are reporting increasing demand for new homes as inventories of foreclosed and distressed properties begin to shrink in markets across the country," says NAHB Chair Barry Rutenberg. "In view of the tightening supply and other improving conditions, many potential buyers who were on the fence are now motivated to move forward with a purchase in order to take advantage of today’s favorable prices and interest rates."
The monthly index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales, expectations for the next six months with sales, and buyer traffic.
"While our confidence gauge has yet to breach the 50 mark — at which point an equal number of builders view sales conditions as good versus poor — we have certainly made substantial progress since this time last year, when the HMI stood at 19," says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "At this point, difficult appraisals and tight lending conditions for builders and buyers remain limiting factors for the burgeoning housing recovery, along with shortages of buildable lots that have begun popping up in certain markets."
Is It Time to Buy A Rental Property?
November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday, we discussed rising rents and their impact on the long term housing expense of tenants. Today, we want to look at the opportunities that single-family rental units present for the small investor.
With house prices inching up and rents skyrocketing, this may be the perfect time to invest in single family residential real estate.
If you do, you won’t be alone. According to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR)2012 3rd Quarter Metro Area Report:
“Investors…accounted for 17 percent of all transactions in the third quarter.”
More than one out of every six houses sold are purchased by an investor. In the most recent MarketPulse Report by CoreLogic, their Principal Economist, Sam Khater, wrote on the subject in a story titled Roll Tide, or The Rise of the Single Family Rental Market. The major takeaways from the article are:
- The single-family rental market remained very active in the late summer of 2012 with increases in demand, tightening inventory and rising rents.
- Nationally, rental leasing volumes were up every month for two years. In August, they were up 7% over last year.
- Supply was down 11% over the same period.
- This tightness in supply has caused rents to increase.
- Rent growth is expected to increase at a ‘strong clip’ late in 2012 and in 2013.
If a private investor is looking for a great hands-on opportunity, perhaps purchasing a single-family house to rent out makes sense. Check with your local real estate advisor to uncover the opportunities in your region.
source: KCM
Why Waiting Until Spring to Sell May NOT Make Sense
November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We have been happy to report that house prices have increased over the last several months. However, we have also warned that month-over-month prices since 2009 have softened in the fall and winter. We are beginning to see that situation repeat itself in 2012.
CoreLogic, in their latest House Price Index revealed that prices increased by 5% over last year. Yet, prices actually dropped .3% month-over-month (m-o-m). Analytics firm FNC, in their latest Residential Price Index, reported that prices increased 2.3% over the last year but prices remained unchanged m-o-m.
What Does This Mean for Sellers?
Sellers should be excited about the headlines showing price appreciation across the country for the first time in a long time. However, if you want to sell your home in the next 6-8 months realize that there is a better chance that prices will soften than appreciate during that time span. Waiting until the spring for a better price probably makes little sense.
source: KCM
Home Appraisals: What You Should Know
November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Understanding how appraisals work will help you achieve a quick and profitable refinance or sale of your home.
When you refinance or sell your home, the lender will insist that you get an appraisal, an opinion of the value of your home based on what similar homes in your area have sold for in recent months.
Here are five issues regarding the appraised value of your home, you should know.
1. An Appraisal Isn’t An Exact Science
When appraisers evaluate a home’s value, they’re giving their best opinion based on how the home’s features stack up against those of similar homes recently sold nearby. One appraiser may factor in a recent sale, but another may consider that sale too long ago, or the home too different, or too far away to be a fair comparison. The result can be differences in the values two separate appraisers set for your home.
2. Appraisals Have Different Purposes
If the appraisal is being used by a lender giving a loan on the home, the appraised value might be the lower of market value (what it would sell for on the open market today) and the price you paid for the house if you recently bought it.
An appraisal being used to figure out how much to insure your home for or to determine your property taxes may rely on other factors and arrive at different values. For example, though an appraisal for a home loan evaluates today’s market value, an appraisal for insurance purposes calculates what it would cost to rebuild your home at today’s building material and labor rates, which can result in two different numbers.
Appraisals are also different from competitive market analyses (CMA). In a CMA, a real estate agent relies on market expertise to estimate how much your home will sell for in a specific time period. The price your home will sell for in 30 days may be different than the price your home will sell for in 120 days. Because real estate agents don’t follow the rules appraisers do, there can be variations between CMAs and appraisals on the same home.
3. An Appraisal Is A Snapshot
Home prices shift, and appraised values will shift with those market changes. Your home may be appraised at $150,000 today, but in two months when you refinance or list it for sale, the appraised value could be lower or higher depending on how your market has performed.
4. Appraisals Don’t Factor In Your Personal Issues
You may have a reason you must sell immediately, such as a job loss or transfer, which can affect the amount of money you’ll accept to complete the transaction in your time frame. An appraisal doesn’t consider those personal factors.
5. You Can Ask For A Second Opinion
If your home appraisal comes back at a value you believe is too low, you can request that a second appraisal be performed by a different appraiser. You, or potential buyers, if they’ve requested the appraisal, will have to pay for the second appraisal. But it may be worth it to keep the sale from collapsing from a faulty appraisal. On the other hand, the appraisal may be accurate, and it may be a sign that you need to adjust your pricing or the size of the loan you’re refinancing.
A Celebration of Retro Media: Vinyl, Cassettes, VHS, and Polaroid Too
November 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In going digital, we’ve gained some convenience. That’s undeniable. But we’ve lost much when it comes to aesthetics and quality too. (Neil Young makes that point again and again.) Increasingly, we’re realizing what we’ve left behind, and there’s a movement afoot to recover old school media — things you can see, touch and feel and marvel over. Vinyl records. Tape cassettes. VHS tapes. 8mm Film. Polaroid Photos. All of that good stuff gets revisited in the latest short film produced in the PBS Off Book series.
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Modern Shiny Bathroom Interior is Tall, Dark + Mysterious
November 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This modern bathroom set from Stemik Living features clean lines, contemporary black components, and an elegant aesthetic that would make any bathroom feel kind of like a designer showroom. The Onyx suite of bathroom furniture is covered in glossy black glass or laminate fronts, all offset with sleek aluminum frames. Features like pull-out drawers under the sink and several different types of mirrors make it possible to assemble a completely custom bathroom.
Turning away from the traditional ceramic and wood aesthetic, the Onyx suite is streamlined and minimalist but still manages to feel rather luxurious.
While parents of small children may cringe at the thought of keeping shiny black surfaces clean (particularly in a bathroom), the modern bathroom interior is an exercise in artistic room design.