Archive for category General Info
Home Values Increasing (Zillow)
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info, Real Estate Data on November 17, 2009
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Zillow.com lists and tracks millions of homes all across the U.S., and the site releases information on a quarterly basis about the use of the site. The graph at the left shows the percentage of homes in the U.S. that have increased in value during the past year. As you can see, after a dramatic fall in the percent of homes increasing in value, we are now headed back to levels that are traditionally more acceptable. Remember, it has been generally accepted that homes increase in value every year, year-over-year. So, we would expect this graph to climb rapidly back to 80%-90% range. The graph comes from an interactive tool on the zillow.com site that you can access by following this link. |
10 Ways To Increase Your Home Value
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info on November 11, 2009
From Yahoo! Real Estate we have an article that offers tips on increasing your home’s value during a “dour housing market.” Follow the link below to read the entire article, but they offer ten ideas from Remodeling Magazine as follows:
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Upscale Projects
Mid-Range Projects
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Follow this link to access the complete article at Yahoo! Real Estate.
Would you buy a haunted house?
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info, Home Buyers on October 30, 2009
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Just in time for Halloween, HGTV’s FrontDoor offers six “Surreal” properties — if you’re in the market for a haunted house. Locations vary, so take your pick:
Visit HGTV’s website to see the complete Surreal Estate: 6 Spooky Homes for Sale article. |
WSJ – Home re-modeling industry update
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info on October 29, 2009
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about the state of affairs in the re-modeling industry yesterday. Some of the interesting quotes include:
- “Depending on the region and the job, some homeowners are paying as much as 20% less for home-remodeling projects than they would have a few years ago.”
- “Remodeling prices are down an average 5% to 10% across the U.S. from their peak, firms say, largely due to bidding wars among contractors idled by the housing slump..”
- “In the year ended the first quarter of 2009, the most recent data available, $118.2 billion was spent on home-improvement projects, down from $146 billion in the year ended the third quarter of 2007—the national peak of remodeling activity”
You can read the entire article by clicking on the artilce title here: “Why homeowners are raising the roof”
The Staging Diva’s Top Staging Tips
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info, Home Sellers on October 21, 2009
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If you’re hoping to sell fast, these home staging tips from Debra Gould of StagingDiva.com will help buyers fall in love with your home:
You can see Debra’s entire article by visiting HGTV’s FrontDoor website. |
Sibcy Cline Open House Oct. 18th
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info on October 18, 2009
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Open HouseSunday, October 18, 2009 I will be hosting an Open House on Sunday in Madeira, Ohio. Please come and see this beautiful and unique home at these times:
For more information, click the address link above or mouse over the picture and ‘Click’. I hope to see you on Sunday! If you would like more options for Sunday, Sibcy Cline has a terrific listing of Open Houses each week. |
NAHB – National Green Building Program
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info on October 5, 2009
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The National Association of Home Builders has a well documented and interesting site for “Green Building.” The site covers a variety of topics including certification, education, re-modeling, construction and finding verifiable home builders. Click here to access to the NAHB National Green Building Program website. |
20 Home Design Challenges
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info, Home Sellers on September 23, 2009
“Pepto Bismol” pink tile, high gloss walls and dark painted trim top this list of “Biggest Losers: 20 Home Design Features That Send Buyers Running.”
The top five from the list:
- Dated and excessively bold or dark paint and tile colors, such as “Pepto Bismol” pink, avocado green, deep plum, or jet black.
- Lacquered or high-gloss painted walls that are expensive to repaint and show all defects.
- Painted trim that’s very dark-and costly to remove.
- Wallpaper, which is a lot of work (and potentially expensive) to remove.
- Kitchens that lack any dining space.
You can find the remaining list of 20 design challenges by following this link to Styled, Staged and Sold.
FHA Program Offers Purchase, Renovation Aid
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info, Home Buyers on August 17, 2009
The Federal Housing Administration is encouraging use of its little-known 203(k) loan program.
The 203(k) lets an owner-occupant borrow money for both the purchase and renovation in one loan, and put down only 3.5 percent.
For more information, visit the news item at www.realtor.org.
Alternatively, you can visit the FHA page that describes the 203(k) programs by clicking here.
America’s Strongest Housing Markets
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info, Real Estate Data on August 13, 2009
According to a recent article from BusinessWeek, the 10 strongest U.S. housing markets are:
- Boulder, Colo.
- Spartanburg, S.C.
- New Orleans
- Binghamton, N.Y.
- Fayetteville, N.C.
- Pittsburgh
- Little Rock, Ark.
- Gainesville, Ga.
- Burlington, N.C.
- Oklahoma City
Click here for the rest of the top 30 strongest U.S. housing markets. Columbus, Ohio is in the Top 30.
More good news for the Economy!
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info on July 31, 2009
The U.S. Commerce Department announced today that Real Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) only shrank by 1% for the second quarter of 2009. According to a prepared statement from the Commerce Department, “Real GDP declined 1.0 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter, better than the private-sector expected drop of 1.5 percent. This decline is noticeably less than the larger decreases of 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009.”
Coupled with the good news on housing prices, let’s hope that a longterm upswing in the economy is underway.
You can read more in this New York Times article. Or, take a look at the information on the Wall Street Journnal site.
Analysts Mixed on Housing Recovery
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info on June 16, 2009
Reproduced from: REALTOR Magazine.
Although several economic indicators suggest improving conditions, some analysts are looking at the housing market’s prospects skeptically.
“I’m not saying that home building is still headed straight down like it had been for months and months, but I’m hesitant to say that we’re bouncing off the bottom,” says Joe Snider, a vice president and senior credit officer with Moody’s Investors Service. “I think it’s more a case of we’re crawling along the bottom.”
Brad Hunter, chief economist and national director of consulting at Metrostudy, a housing market research firm, says housing starts are low and will stay that way until builder inventory is sold, credit is more freely available, and buyers jump back into the market.
John Burns, a real estate consultant who advises major home builders, expects that the median home price will fall another 5 percent to 6 percent before leveling off.
“It’s the better areas that are going to get hit over the next 12 months,” he predicts, because of rising foreclosures among prime buyers.
Renters, Burns concludes, aren’t feeling any need to become owners because they aren’t confident about their financial situation nor are they confident that prices won’t drop farther. “It’s going to take a couple years to work our way through this,” he says.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Dawn Wotapka (06/15/2009)
Nationally Ranked Public High Schools
Posted by Kathy Landstra in General Info on June 9, 2009
Newsweek has released their annual national ranking of the top 1,500 high schools. As has become routine, Cincinnati has several local schools represented. According to Newsweek, Cincinnati’s nationally ranked high schools are:
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National Rank |
High School |
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60 |
Walnut Hills |
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69 |
Wyoming |
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113 |
Indian Hill |
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443 |
Mariemont |
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666 |
Sycamore |
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1,306 |
Turpin |
You can find the complete list, ranking criteria, and other information by visiting the Newsweek site.
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What is a Home Warranty?
A home warranty is a service contract, normally for one year, which helps protect home owners against the cost of unexpected covered repairs or replacement on their major systems and appliances that break down due to normal wear and tear. Coverage is for systems and appliances in good working order at the start of the contract.
What is a Short Sale?
If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property—and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing—the sale is considered a short sale. A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller's lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure.
