Apr 7, 2011
The dream of many would-be buyers is a new home, but it makes less and less financial sense in many places.
A wave of foreclosures has driven down the cost of previously occupied homes and made them even more of a comparative bargain. By contrast, new homes have become more expensive.
The median price of a new home in the United States is 48 percent higher than that of a home being resold, more than three times the gap in a healthy housing market. Such a disparity can be a drag on the economy.
New homes represent a small fraction of sales, but they cause economic ripples, bringing business to construction and other industries. Sluggish new-home sales deprive the economy of strength. The gap is widening because prices of previously occupied homes are falling fast, pulled down by waves of foreclosures and short sales.
The median price of a new home has risen almost 6 percent in the past year to $230,600, even though last year was the worst for sales in nearly a half-century. Slowed by those higher prices, new-home sales have plummeted over the past year to the lowest level since records began being kept in 1963. By contrast, sales of previously occupied homes have fallen almost 3 percent in the past year. Prices have dropped more than 5 percent. In February, the median price for a resale was $156,100, according to the National Association of Realtors. That adds up to a price difference of $74,500, or 48 percent, the highest markup in at least a decade. In healthier markets, a new home typically runs about 15 percent more, according to government data.
In some areas, older homes were more expensive before the housing market bust. That was especially true in urban neighborhoods with little or no room left to build on. But now, buyers get their pick even in some of the trendiest places.
Homebuilders have taken notice. Residential construction has all but come to a halt. Builders broke ground in February on the fewest homes in nearly two years. Building permits, a gauge of future construction, sank to their lowest in more than 50 years. Many builders are waiting for new home sales to pick up and for the glut of foreclosures and other distressed properties to be reduced, but with 3 million foreclosures forecast this year nationwide, some analysts do not expect a turnaround for at least three years.
Mar 23, 2011
Remember that housing recovery that was supposed to happen this spring? Well, according to the numbers released by the National Association of Realtors, it is not going to happen very soon.
The numbers reported for February, 2011 were rough to say the least. Experts were predicting a drop of 4 percent however we saw the number plummet 9.6 percent. This is the lowest number of homes sold in 9 years. The inventory of homes for sale jumped to 8.6 months.
Overall, the numbers are even rougher to the experts than they appear. The reason why, interest rates. The Federal government is doing everything it can to keep interest rates low including having the Federal Reserve buying up the debt they accumulate. This can only go on so long and then we will see a big bump of interest rates. When that bump hits housing costs will skyrocket removing even more people from the marketplace.
This was the window the economists and the government was expecting housing to improve and help pick up the economy. It looks that that is not going to happen in the near future.
The National Association of Realtors said Monday sales fell 9.6 percent month over month to an annual rate of 4.88 million units, snapping three straight months of gains.
The percentage decline was the largest since July.
The median home price dropped 5.2 percent in February from a year earlier to $156,100, the lowest since April 2002.
“If the price declines persist, even with the job market recovery, that could hamper recovery in the housing market,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
Compared with February last year, sales were down 2.8 percent.
Oversupply of homes and a relentless wave of foreclosures are pressuring prices, holding back recovery in the sector, whose collapse helped to tip the U.S. economy into its worst recession since the 1930s. Foreclosures and short sales, which typically occur below market value, accounted for 39 percent of transactions in February, up from 37 percent the prior month. All-cash purchases made up a record 33 percent of transactions in February.
Feb 21, 2011
It’s never too late to start recycling and reducing waste at home. Now is the perfect time to learn how to protect the environment as you care for your home. CertainTeed Corporation, a provider of earth-friendly building solutions offers the following tips to help homeowners cut back on waste in their homes while also helping to protect our planet.
- Let your fingers do the recycling: Phone books are distributed in most communities two times per year. You don’t want to throw them in the trash, but you don’t want them piling up in your closet. To find location near you to drop-off phone books (and most other materials) visit http://ww.Earth911.com. Recycled phone books are used in roofing materials, insulation materials. grocery bags and paper towels.
- Find out what trash your community accepts: Call your local recycling center to determine what types of materials they accept, if they do curbside pick-up, and if they provide recycling bins. This is important for everyday recycling, but can also be useful when undertaking home improvement projects involving materials you don’t regularly use.
- Hazardous products require special care: Paint cans and aerosol cans are recyclable but are considered hazardous waste and need to be separated from other metals. Leave labels on all cans so recyclers know what was in them and can determine how to properly dispose of them. Try to return lid along with empty paint cans. Visit http://www.Earth911.com to find out the rules for proper recycling of these materials in your area.
- Don’t throw away your batteries: Recycle worn-out rechargeable batteries like those used in cell phone, computers, or power tools. Go to www.rbrc.org to find a drop-off location near you.
- Almost anything can be recycled: Many people think they can only recycle cans, bottles or newspapers, but you can actually recycle most anything. This includes carpets, towels, rubber, building materials, cardboard boxes, plastic food containers and more. Before you toss something into the trash, think carefully about whether it could be recycled.
- Wall materials can contain recycled materials: What’s in your walls can also make an environmental impact. Today’s drywall, or gypsum, that makes up your actual walls can contain recycled materials. Find out what your contractor is putting in your home.
- Insulation keeps you warm and the earth green: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates a home owner can save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs by sealing and insulating around the home. Installing insulation in your attic is an easy, safe and effective way to make sure your home doesn’t lose heat in the winter, or cool air in the summer. Don’t forget to insulate exposed pipes and faucets in the outer walls, crawl spaces and garage.
- Make your siding work for you: Look for fiber cement siding that is made from recycled materials. Look for a content of 50 percent recycled materials.
- From roof to road: If you need to get a new roof, make sure that your contractor is properly disposing of the old shingles. Ask your contractor about programs to make sure your old materials won’t be sitting in a landfill.
Feb 11, 2011
Make this your year to get organized! These expert tips will help you shed all that unwanted stuff- as quickly and painlessly as possible-and find the right spots for everything else.
- Every three months or so, reserve one Saturday morning for a family clean-out. Se a timer for 30 minutes and have each person find things in his or her own space to donate or throw away. Box up the donations and drop them off right away, then reward yourselves with lunch out.
- Avoid zigzag organizing. Scattering your efforts over multiple rooms prevents you from seeing progress. For visible, dramatic results, work one room at a time, one section at a time, completing each area before you move on to the next.
- When you-re trying to decide whether to keep something, ask yourself three questions: Do I love it? Do I use it? Could someone else use it?
- A system that’s a natural extension of your habits is easier to stick with than one that forces dramatic change. So set up solutions right where clutter collects, such as a labeled pail for each family member’s shoes and other equipment and store in a bookshelf right by the front door.
- Give frequently accessed papers (take-out menus, sports schedules, phone directories) a dedicated spot, rather than in a pile on the counter or stuck to the fridge. Three-hole punch all that paper, and store it in a pretty binder with labeled tabs.
- Create a repair center for clothes that need mending, toys that need batteries, things that need gluing. That way, unusable items aren’t in general circulation, and you know where to look when you have time to tackle a project.
- Relegating a sentimental item you no longer have use for to a box in the closet, basement, or attic does nothing to honor it. Instead, take a photo of the item and put it in a scrapbook or load it on your digital picture frame. Then donate the item. It’s both spaces-saving an respectful.
- Each spring and fall, do CPR on your closet: Categorize, Purge, and Rearrange. Carefully consider each item. If it doesn’t make you feel wonderful or look fabulous, its a no. Put it in the “to donate” box, and put that box in your car right away.
- A tighter focus for your to-do list clears mental clutter. Include only your three most important tasks, and don’t let less important busywork distract you. If you complete everything on your list, great. If not, at least you’ll know you spent time on the highest-priority tasks.
- I spend a few minutes every night before bed restoring order to my purse. I remove all trash, return floating change to my wallet, and replenish tissues and business cards. It makes me feel ready to start the day.
- Tackle your junk drawer first. Remove anything you don’t use at least monthly, then sort what’s left into the compartments of a drawer organizer that completely fills the drawer. You won’t have room to stash things that don’t belong there.
- Every time you arrive home, clear the car of anything that doesn’t permanently belong in it. Keep a tote or basket in the car for this purpose, and draft your passengers to help-nobody leaves the car empty-handed! Stay vigilant, and it’ll become second nature.
- Make clutter-busting a family game. Write tasks on Ping-Pong balls. Each person chooses a ball, completes the task, then chooses another one. After 30 minutes, whoever has the most balls gets a prize – like a no-chores day or control of the remote.
- Get creative with storage containers. Try a ceramic egg tray for paper clips and rubber band; a tackle box for craft supplies; a napkin holder for incoming mail; and a garden tote for kids’ art supplies.
- Make two coffee dates with a god friend. On the first one, go through her kitchen cabinets to identify and get rid of clutter (lidless plastic containers, mismatched glasses, petrified spatulas, etc…). On the second date do the same in your kitchen.
- If you’re having trouble letting go of clutter, whether it’s too many things in your house or too many commitments eating up your time, think about what it requires you to sacrifice. Less stuff means less to organize and less money spent. Fewer activities means less running around and more family time.
- “Go clean your room,” can mean lots of things. Give your kid a list of exactly what you expect, and let them check off the tasks as they are done.
- Fit a cardboard banker’s box with 13 pocket folders. At the end of the school year,go through your child’s artwork and school papers together to select only as many favorites as will fit in one folder. Memories from an entire school career will fit neatly on a shelf.
- Keep a folder labeled “Tax Documents” where you sort your mail. As statements come in, slip them into the folder. When tax time comes, everything you need is in one spot.
- Perform daily triage on incoming papers and mail. Set up a desktop file box or wall-mounted file holder, right, with three folders: To Read, To Do, and To File. Sort the keepers into one of the categories, then recycle the rest. Schedule a weekly time to deal with contents of each folder.
- Is your linen closet overflowing? Pare down your stock to three towels and washcloths per person, two sets of sheets per bed, plus a set of each for guests. Voila’ a roomier linen closet.
- Procrastination breeds clutter. Institute a do-it now policy for a few highly visible everyday tasks – like loading the dishwasher or folding and putting away a load of laundry before starting another.
- Designate a separate, labeled bag for each regularly scheduled activity, lesson, or sport on your family calendar. Pack the bags with the necessary gear, and hang them on hooks in a handy spot.
- If toys are overrunning your house, quietly tuck a few of them away in a box. If kids ask for a specific item, retrieve it. After a month, donate what’s left in the box.
- Attics, basements, and garages tend to harbor lots of items you haven’t seen or used in a while, which also makes them prime candidates for purging. Clear them first so when you tackle your living areas, you’ll have storage space waiting.
Better Homes and Gardens-January 2011 Issue
Jan 20, 2011
A Month by Month Guide to help get those Simple Household Projects Done!
January
- A fresh start for the New Year. Make a project list that you want to complete by the end of the year and post it where you will see it everyday.
- Take down all those holiday decorations, pack & label each box to make it easier to locate them, buy a few light reels to keep those Christmas lights organized, and clean out any broken or unwanted items.
February
- Check your entire house for leaks; sinks, toilets, shower heads, pipes, etc…
- To check your toilet for leaks, add a few drops of food coloring to the tank at bedtime. If the water in the bowl is discolored then your flapper is leaking. Just replace the mechanism inside. Its an easy and inexpensive fix.
- Replace any old faucets, shower heads, or faulty pipes. You can save a lot of money and water throughout the year.
March
- Spring is in the air! Time to get the outside of your home ready for the warm weather.
- Repair sagging fences, fix window screens, and check your deck for any rotten wood or damage and make repairs as needed.
- Pressure wash the deck, siding, driveway and your house.
- Check to see if your mailbox is still in good shape. Replace or repair or just spruce it up.
April
- Spring cleaning time!
- Pressure wash the outside of your home if you haven’t already. Check for cracks or damage to the siding or brick and make repairs. It will prevent further damage down the road.
- While your cleaning, don’t forget the windows-inside & out-, wipe down your ceiling fans, blinds, and HVAC vents too.
- Schedule a maintenance checkup on your HVAC system.
May
- Memorial Day, Backyard Bar-b-Que’s and Warm Weather!
- Before that first Bar-b-Que, give that grill a good cleaning. Remove any rust and grease with a stiff brush.
- Check out the foundation of your home, look for cracks and signs of termite damage.
- Check your driveway for any cracks or damage that may have appeared or worsened over the winter.
- Keep the ants out by sealing cracks and putting out bait traps. Take caution when using traps around children and pets.
- If you have a pool-it’s time to open it up. Check the pool and pool deck for damage and make sure the pool equipment is running properly.
June
- It’s half way through the year and where are you on your project list that you made back in January? Do you need to reprioritize some of the items on the list, maybe move the more important ones to the top or add a few new items.
July
- It’s time to get out the cleaning supplies and get those once a year jobs done.
- Clean behind the refrigerator & vacuum the coils, clean under the washer & dryer, check the washer hoses for leaks, check your sinks & dishwasher for leaks and clean under the stove.
- Test all your circuit breakers and label them if they are not already. This will help you know which switch controls what part of the house.
August
- It’s vacation time. Make sure your home is secure while you are away. Check all windows and doors for secure locks, if you have a security system check to make sure it is working properly and ask a trusted neighbor to look after things and give them your contact information in case of an emergency.
- Don’t forget to stop newspaper and mail deliveries.
- If you are going to stay home for your vacation. You can organize your garage and gardening tools. Sell or donate items you no longer use or throw out the ones that are broken. You can also work on the list of projects you created earlier in the year.
September
- Cooler weather is just around the corner. Check all windows and doors for proper caulking, weather stripping and sweeps. Make sure your attic and crawl spaces are insulated correctly and that loose insulation isn’t blocking vents.
- Check out your landscaping. Is it overgrown from the summer? Are trees hanging over power lines or your roof? Call a professional to trim trees if necessary.
- Are plants growing too close to your foundation? This could encourage insect damage, weaken the foundation or create a fire hazard.
October
- Its time to start getting the house ready for the winter. Clean gutters and downspouts.
- If your hot water heater is in an unheated garage or utility room you may want to invest in a insulating blanket.
- Bring in any outside cushions, furniture, and plants.
- Switch your ceiling fans to reverse to help circulate the warm air.
November
- Unexpected company may visit this month, but not the kind you will welcome in. Mice and rats will be looking for a warm place to make a nest like your garage or house. Seal holes around pipes & wires with steel wool. Make sure doors close properly and look for any gaps they may try to sneak in.
- Test all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and replace batteries.
- Have your fireplace and chimney inspected and cleaned.
December
- It’s Christmas time! Time to bring out the Christmas decorations and lights and get to work.
- The first rule of thumb when hanging Christmas lights is to “stay off the roof”. It is dangerous and you could cause damage to the shingles which could cause leaks.
- Never hammer nails into the roof to secure decorations. There are plenty of other options to secure decorations without causing damage.
- If you invested in the Christmas light reels that where suggested in January, it will be much easier to work with them. Still check for damaged or broken lights and consider replacing them with LED lights that are more energy efficient.
- Last but not least, check your project list that you created in January and see if you completed all the items. If not you still have a little time, but you can always put them on next years list.
Jan 20, 2011
The kitchen is the heart of a home and one of the most important parts of a kitchen is the flooring. There are more types of flooring than ever to chose from. Here are a few examples:
Tile
- Tile is one of the easiest surfaces to clean. It is also resistant to stains and bacteria. There are also a wide variety of styles, sizes, and materials to choose from.
- The hardness of tile is also one of its weakness. If you have joint problems you are not going to want to stand on it for hours cooking.
Wood
- Hardwood is great if you want to flow your kitchen floor into a dining room or great room. It gives you a more cohesive look. There is also the choice of prefinished wood. The finish on prefinished wood tends to hold up better than hardwood.
- Wood can warp around sinks, dishwashers, and freezers where leaks are possible.
- If hardwood gets flooded, you will most likely will have to replace all of it. That is a big expense.
Cork
- Cork is one of the greenest floors to put down. It is design-oriented, functional, easy to care for, comfortable, and comes in a variety of finishes. It is also easy to install, hypoallergenic, and soft, so its easy on the joints.
Vinyl and Laminate
- Vinyl today is very different from the 1960’s. Today’s vinyl is made to look like rock, slate, hardwood and tile. They use techniques to make it look more expensive and feel like it too. It is durable, easy to install, inexpensive, easy to maintain, and gentler on the joints.
- Laminate is also very different than in the past. Laminate is much more durable than hardwood, it does not absorb stains quite as fast, and it offers many design options. This might be your best choice if you have mess kids or animals.
