The percentage of U.S. households that owned their homes remained at 66.9 percent in the third quarter, unchanged from the second quarter, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.
The homeownership rate held steady for decades at 64 percent, but climbed to 69 percent in 2004. Since the housing bubble burst in 2006, it has declined steadily.
Because of rising foreclosures and tightening lending standards, homeownership is likely to decline to 66.7 percent, the rate in 1999, predicted IHS Global Insight economist Patrick Newport.
Source: The Associated Press, Alan Zibel (11/02/2010)
Home Prices In Arlington Continue To Hike
The housing market in Arlington County is getting more and more expensive as potential buyers continue to have fewer homes and condos to choose from.
Inlet Cove is alongside Route 1 This neighborhood of townhouses is near grocers and eateries Inlet Cove is close to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, and Potomac Mills shops, in the city of Woodbridge Interior to these properties are multilevel Inlet Cove is serene
Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1…
Some of the best housing deals are on high-end homes, many over $1 million. Some of them need TLC or they aren’t in the most-coveted locations. But there are plenty of desirable properties and lots of sellers who are getting impatient. Buyers with cash have the best opportunities. Buyers who need a mortgage should move…
The National Association of Realtors recently did a study about the characteristics of home buyers. Some of the findings might surprise you. Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a home with one or more parents and grandparents together with adult children. There were several reasons given for purchasing a multi-generational home. Cost savings; Children over the…
Spending on construction rose 0.5 percent in September with home building and government projects leading the way, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday.
Spending on home building rose 1.8 percent, but the increase was offset by spending on commercial construction, which dropped 1.6 percent. Overall, non-residential construction was at the lowest level since January 2005.
Housing starts rose 0.3 percent in September, the Commerce Department said, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units – still low, but improving.
Source: Bloomberg, Courtney Schlisserman (11/01/2010)
Home Prices In Arlington Continue To Hike
The housing market in Arlington County is getting more and more expensive as potential buyers continue to have fewer homes and condos to choose from.
Inlet Cove is alongside Route 1 This neighborhood of townhouses is near grocers and eateries Inlet Cove is close to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, and Potomac Mills shops, in the city of Woodbridge Interior to these properties are multilevel Inlet Cove is serene
Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1…
Some of the best housing deals are on high-end homes, many over $1 million. Some of them need TLC or they aren’t in the most-coveted locations. But there are plenty of desirable properties and lots of sellers who are getting impatient. Buyers with cash have the best opportunities. Buyers who need a mortgage should move…
The National Association of Realtors recently did a study about the characteristics of home buyers. Some of the findings might surprise you. Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a home with one or more parents and grandparents together with adult children. There were several reasons given for purchasing a multi-generational home. Cost savings; Children over the…
Are you looking for a home in a particular ZIP code?
Mr. Zip is still making his rounds
A ZIP Code is a category for grouping mailing addresses and thus ZIP codes are not exact geographic regions. That means that ZIP Codes are only loosely tied to cities. In some cases, ZIP Codes can overlap, be subsets of each other, or be artificial constructs with no geographic area. Sometimes the center of a ZIP Code may be in one County and the associated city/town in another. However, ZIP codes are sometimes useful for finding homes for sale in a particular area. For a list of ZIP codes check out
A survey by American Lives, a consumer research firm in California, conducted a study for the trade magazine Builder to answer that question. Here are their conclusions:
They are young. Most are under 45. Half said they had annual household incomes of $75,000 or less. Two-thirds are married.
They are frugal. They consistently told surveyors they were eager to live a simple lifestyle.
They are concerned about their financial future. About 70 percent said the economy is “not so good” with 27 percent saying it was getting worse and 27 percent saying it was getting better, and two-thirds saying it would get better in a year. Some 55 percent said they were concerned that they might lose their jobs.
They see themselves as energy efficient but not necessarily “green.” About 32 percent said they’d pay extra for energy-efficient features but only 16 percent said they’d pay extra for recycled or renewable construction materials.
Neighborhood is important. Ninety-five percent said they thought the community was as important as the home itself. Seventy-nine percent wanted the most square footage they could afford, but 69 percent said they’d consider a smaller home in the right neighborhood.
Two housing experts called for public policies that emphasize urban living at the expense of suburban and exurban housing in an extensive proposal in the current issue of Washington Monthly.
Patrick C. Doherty, director of the Smart Strategy Initiative at the New America Foundation, and Christopher B. Leinberger, a professor at the University of Michigan, argued that neither Baby Boomers nor their children — together comprising half the population — want to live in suburbia.
“Demand for standard-issue suburban housing is going down, not up, a trend that was apparent even before the crash. In 2006, Arthur C. Nelson, now at the University of Utah, estimated in the Journal of the American Planning Association that there would be 22 million unwanted large-lot suburban homes by 2025,” the authors wrote.
Instead, the authors urge federal support for development of urban, walkable, and transit-friendly neighborhoods. “All this rebuilding could spur millions of new construction jobs,” they write.
Source: Washington Monthly, Patrick C. Doherty and Christopher B. Leinberger (11/01/2010)Nesbitt Realty serves the real estate needs of Northern VA
Here are five steps to developing a great relationship with a remodeling contractor.
1. Let the contractor know if you are ready to remodel or just kicking the tires. Gary Palmer, a Charlotte, N.C.-based general contractor, says seeking multiple bids is fine, but don’t waste his or her time by letting the bidding process drag on for weeks.
2. Do your homework. Before seeking bids, develop two files. One should include information, including photos, of what you like. The other should include a list of what you don’t like.
3. Listen to the experts. A good contractor can tell you whether the project is feasible and what the pay off will be.
4. Communicate your budget. Let the contractor know up front how much money you intend to spend.
5. Be realistic and patient. Every remodeling project is messy and all of them are going to be frustrating somewhere along the way.
Source: Charlotte Observer, Barbara S. Russell (10/23/2010)
Real estate brokers marketing the use of a preferred lender, title company, or other settlement service provider should take care to avoid RESPA violations that can be incurred when marketing fees exceed the reasonable value of the services performed.
These services include signs inside or outside the sales office and homes up for sale; e-mail or direct mail campaigns; banner ads and preferred partner links on the broker's and agents' Web sites; and the use of the broker's name and logo in preferred partner marketing materials.
Brokers should request that the preferred partner use an independent marketing expert or system to value the marketing fee and ensure that service and activity levels are reviewed regularly.
Source: RISMedia, Mark L. Meyer (10/18/2010)
It’s important to pay attention to all the information you have available to you because it will help you avoid unpleasant surprises down the road.
Be sure to ask questions about the property before buying. Some questions you might want to ask the current owner and/or yourself include:
What kind of development plans are in the works for this neighborhood?
Is there a chance that a highway will be built in the home’s backyard five years from now?
Is this street likely to become a major street or a popular rush-hour shortcut?
