Aug 17, 2011
Green homes are one of the hottest trends in real estate right now. Even a little bit of
eco-friendly renovation can make a big difference in your home’s appeal on the market.
Below are four ways to update your bathroom into an eco-minded retreat that sellers will love:
If you are remodeling or updating your bathroom to sell, you may want to think beyond the look of your bathroom. In short, you may want to also consider the advantages of turning your bathroom into a “green” bathroom. A green bathroom may mean using recycled or repurposed materials, or it may mean installing water-saving fixtures. Either way, a green bathroom is sure to be appreciated by your buyers. Buyers of today are interested in environmentally sensitive building materials and home supplies, so it will always impress your buyers if you not only update your bathroom, but update it in an environmentally friendly manner. Here’s how:
• Low-flow shower heads – The best thing about today’s shower heads is that you don’t need to sacrifice style for water-saving features. In fact, most of today’s best shower heads are the “low-flow” variety, thereby allowing you to install a great new shower head that uses much less water than shower heads of years’ past. Impress your buyers with a shower head that provides a waterfall effect, or multiple massage speeds
• Low-flow faucets – The same water-saving capabilities are afforded to faucets of today, as well. Replace your old faucets with an attractive new faucet that not only looks better, but saves a considerable amount of wasted water as well. Keep in mind, also, that faucets are quite economical, thereby allowing you to install a beautiful faucet that often provides a great facelift for your bathroom.
• Efficient toilets – Many of today’s toilets are of the low-flow variety, yet they also offer a number of flush options to suit your varying needs. For example, some of today’s toilets offer low-flush for liquids and more powerful flushes for solids.
• Recycled tile – If you want to add beauty to your bathroom floor or tub surround, consider some of the many recycled tiles available today. Not only are they environmentally friendly, but they are quite beautiful, as well. Consider recycled glass or recycled ceramic tile, just to name a few.
Realtor.com
Apr 14, 2011
For those of you, who are suffering this year, feel for the kind folks in Knoxville, Tennessee right now. They are the countries leader as the worst city for allergies.
Top 10 Worst Cities For Springtime Allergies
1. Knoxville, Tennessee
2. Louisville, Kentucky
3. Charlotte, North Carolina
4. Jackson, Mississippi
5. Chattanooga, Tennessee
6. Birmingham, Alabama
7. Dayton, Ohio
8. Richmond, Virginia
9. McAllen, Texas
10. Madison, Wisconsin
via ABC News
Apr 11, 2011
Vacancies, empty homes, zombie subdivisions, foreclosures, and REO. This is the real estate story of 2011 and as usual some cities are fairing better than others. The city of Orlando takes the crown as the emptiest American city with an amazing 23 percent of their apartments empty and 4.3 percent of their homes unoccupied.
The recession is just magnifying the problem in these cities, as their is not enough demand for housing and the relocation market is restricted. Add in an overabundance of inventory and you have these cities sitting empty.
America’s Top 10 Most Empty Cities in 2011
- Orlando – Home Vacancy – 4.3% Apartment Vacancy – 23.6%
- Las Vegas– Home Vacancy – 5.5% Apartment Vacancy – 13.5%
- Memphis – Home Vacancy – 4.7% Apartment Vacancy – 16.1%
- San Bernardino – Home Vacancy – 6.4% Apartment Vacancy – 10.4%
- Dayton – Home Vacancy – 3.3% Apartment Vacancy – 26.4%
- Phoenix – Home Vacancy – 3.4% Apartment Vacancy – 15.5%
- Houston – Home Vacancy – 2.6% Apartment Vacancy – 14.5%
- Jacksonville – Home Vacancy – 3.1% Apartment Vacancy – 10.4%
- Tampa St. Petersburg – Home Vacancy – 3.7% Apartment Vacancy – 9.4%\
- Detroit – Home Vacancy – 2.9% Apartment Vacancy – 15.6%
via Forbes
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.
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