Homeowners Getting Greener
November 13, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News, Boston Real Estate | Leave a Comment
As homeowners become more knowledgeable about environmentally friendly practices, they are more willing to invest in their homes to make them more energy efficient. According to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate “Living Green” Consumer Survey, nearly half (48 percent) of homeowners said they would be willing to spend $2,500 or more to make green improvements to appeal to potential buyers, and one in three homeowners said they’d be willing to spend $5,000 or more on improvements.
Most important for agents, more than half of those surveyed (51 percent) believe it’s important to work with a green certified real estate agent — someone who can help them identify and market eco-friendly properties. This would include knowledge of housing materials and construction, energy-efficient appliances and HVAC systems and the impact of landscaping on a home’s environmental footprint.
The survey also finds that cost is the greatest deterrent to going green, cited by 36 percent of respondents. Other factors that prevented homeowners from being greener included:
– Convenience – 22 percent
– Lack of knowledge about implementation – 18 percent
– Lack of time – 17 percent
However, many homeowners reported that they engaged in some eco-friendly activities in the past six months, including:
– Recycling – 73 percent
– Replacing incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) – 69 percent
– Conserving water – 57 percent
– Adjusting the thermostat – 51 percent
– Purchasing energy-efficient appliances – 30 percent
We saw this trend a long time ago in the Boston Real Estate market, green buildings like The MacAllen Building were built in the past 3 years.
Sales To First-Time Homebuyers Rise
November 13, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News, Real Estate Trends and Statistics, Boston Real Estate | Leave a Comment
First-time homebuyers are making up a larger share of the buying market due to low home prices, abundant supply and affordable interest rates, according to new research by NAR. The 2008 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers finds that the number of first-time home buyers rose to 41 percent this year, up from 39 percent in 2007, and 36 percent in 2006.
“Although modest, this is a meaningful gain for the 12-month period ending at the close of June, and more recent independent data show a stronger uptrend in first-time buyers who are helping to reduce excess inventory,” says NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
The study shows the median age of first-time buyers was 30, down from 31 in 2007, and the median income was $60,600. The typical first-time home buyer purchased a home for $165,000 and plans to stay in it for 10 years, up from seven years in 2007.
The median age of home sellers was 47, and the median income was $91,000. Three-fourths were married couples who had lived in their homes for six years and were moving a median distance of 19 miles. Their home was on the market an average of eight weeks.
Eighty-one percent of home buyers and sellers used a real estate agent. Nine out of 10 would definitely or probably reuse their agent or recommend them to others. These results are consistent with 2007 findings.
In Boston, we saw more first time home buyers this year; most of the young home buyers focused on the Boston Lofts market.
Pending Home Sales Falter in September
November 10, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News | Leave a Comment
NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed, fell 4.6 percent in September after posting a gain in August, but is 1.6 percent higher than September 2007.
Regionally, the PHSI rose 3.7 percent in the West in September and is 39.5 percent above a year ago, but it fell in the other three sections of the country. It slipped 0.7 percent in the Midwest for the month and is 3.1 percent below September 2007. The index fell 7.9 percent in the South and is 11.3 percent below a year ago. In the Northeast, it dropped 16.8 percent for the month and is 9.4 percent below September 2007.
In its monthly forecast, NAR reported existing-home sales are expected to total 5.02 million in 2008, rising to 5.32 million next year and 5.62 million in 2010. New-home sales are projected to reach 487,000 units this year and 413,000 in 2009 before increasing to 520,000 in 2010.
By year end, housing prices will have fallen by more than 20 percent in Las Vegas, Phoenix and many California and Florida markets, while many markets in middle America will remain unchanged.
HarborView offers luxury rentals
November 10, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News, Boston Lifestyle, Boston Condos, Boston Luxury Developments | Leave a Comment
Taking Boston waterfront living to a whole new level, the HarborView at the Charlestown Navy Yard offers dazzling city views and luxurious interiors. Opening less than four months ago, the HarborView homes feature clean and classic spaces with all the modern amenities you need.
From Studios to spacious Penthouse duplex homes, this project has it all. Amenities include garage parking, common rooftop terrace, concierge services, club room, stop-and-go dock and ground floor retail. Chosen units feature walls of windows, private terraces and walk-in closets. No detail was overlooked. The HarborView is also close to the T and the water taxi. Please contact us for more detailed information.
Studios from $1,700
1 Beds from $1,950
1+Study from $2,100
2 Beds from $2,900
New England Real Estate Companies Violated Federal Lead Law
November 7, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News, Boston Real Estate | Leave a Comment
Coldwell Banker offices in Lincoln and Somerville are among a handful of the brokerage’s New England offices accused of more than 100 violations of lead paint disclosure laws.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage offices in Lincoln and Somerville; North Haven and Fairfield, Conn.; Dover and Manchester, N.H.; and East Providence, R.I., together committed 102 violations of the Lead Disclosure Rule during 34 real estate transactions between 2005 and 2007. The corporations that own and operate the offices face penalties of up to $11,000 for each violation cited in the complaint.
Federal law requires that landlords and property owners or their agents notify prospective tenants or purchasers about the potential for lead paint hazards in residential properties, the EPA said in a statement.
The two real estate corporations that own the aforementioned offices are NRT New England LLC and Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services LLC, according to the EPA. Both do business as Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
Blogs Influence Consumer Purchase Decisions
November 5, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News | Leave a Comment
Those of you who read blogs regularly might be interested to learn that blogs, such as the Boston Real Estate Blog, have become influential sources of information for consumers. A study by BuzzLogic, a social media analysis company, finds that monthly readership of blogs has skyrocketed 300 percent since 2004, and about half of blog readers find the sites useful for product information. In fact, blogs have swayed more purchase decisions among their readers than social networks. For those who found blog content to be useful for product decisions, more than half (56 percent) said blogs with a niche focus and topical expertise were key sources.
Nearly one-third of readers (31 percent) said blogs were useful for researching technology products, followed by media and entertainment (15 percent), games, toys and sporting goods (14 percent), travel (12 percent), automotive (11 percent) and health (10 percent).
Ads that appear on real estate blogs are just as influential as the blog content. One-fourth (25 percent) of the readers surveyed said they trust the ads on the blogs they read while only 19 percent said they trusted ads on social networking sites. Forty percent of blog readers have taken some action as a result of viewing an ad on a blog. Those activities include reading product reviews online (17 percent), seeking more information about a product or service (16 percent) and visiting a manufacturer or retailer Web site (16 percent).
Mortgage Market Update by Brian M. Cavanaugh
November 4, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News, Mortgage and Finance | Leave a Comment
Fixed Rates End Higher Following a “Scary” Trading Week
Boston - Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Treasury prices rose Friday, pushing yields slightly lower as economic data showed the largest drop in consumer spending in four years. The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond price was up about 4/32, with the yield falling 1 bp to 3.96%; much higher than this time last week. The Labor Department reported that the 3rd Quarter Employment Cost Index (ECI), which tracks employer costs for salaries and benefits, rose 0.7% last quarter. This was right in line with economists’ forecasts. September’s Personal Income and Outlays report revealed a 0.2% rise in income and a 0.3% decline in spending. The income reading was slightly higher than expected, meaning that consumers had a little more income to spend, but he drop in spending was somewhat larger than anticipated, meaning consumers were less willing to spend that “extra” income.
Because of the mixed results, this report failed to push the markets either way. University of Michigan’s revision to their Index of Consumer Sentiment for OCT showed a reading of 57.6, which nearly matched forecasts of “no change” to the 57.5 preliminary reading. As published in the Wall Street Journal today, on October 31, 2008, the Prime Rate has changed to 4.00%.Earlier this week: The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) fell this month to its lowest reading ever. The reading of 38.0 was significantly lower than the 52.0 that was forecast and indicates that consumers are too concerned about their own financial situations to make large purchases in the near future. The Commerce Department reported this morning that Durable Goods Orders for September rose 0.8% when they were expected to fall 1.0%. This means that manufacturing activity was stronger than expected, which is considered to be bad news for bonds and mortgage rates. The Fed (FOMC) meeting adjourned on Wednesday and the committee decided once again to cut their key rate by .50% to 1.00. This will have an immediate impact on the Prime Lending Rate (see above).
The 3rd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP), considered to be the benchmark measurement of economic growth as a sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S., revealed a decline of 0.3%, its worst reading in seven years. It also was only the fifth time in 17 years that the quarterly GDP has fallen. However, analysts were expecting to see a 0.5% decline, therefore, the numbers still were better than forecast.
The Labor Department posted weekly Unemployment Claims this morning, reporting that 479,000 new claims were filed last week. This was nearly unchanged from the previous week, but was slightly higher than forecasts.
Looking ahead: Next week is fairly active in terms of economic releases for the markets to digest. Monday brings us the first with the release of the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Manufacturing Index, which is expected to show that manufacturer sentiment slipped further in October. The rest of the week brings us some important data including Factory Orders, Chain Store Sales, Productivity and Costs, weekly Unemployment Claims, October’s monthly Employment figures, Pending Home Sales, Wholesale Trade and Consumer Sentiment. Friday will be the “busiest” day and could bring some additional market volatility.
Worth Noting: In yet another move designed to strengthen the banking industry, the IRS snuck in a new ruling that will encourage bank acquisitions. Under the new ruling, acquiring financial institutions will have no limit on the amount of acquired losses they may write off against their own earnings. Many say this ruling encouraged Wells’ acquisition of Wachovia.
Just for Laughs (new, because we all need a little humour right now):Former Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan was in Washington last week, and he called the current financial crisis a “once-in-a-century occurrence”, to which John McCain wryly replied, “He’s right… and I’ve been through three of them.”
Summary: Fed comments like, “a strong likelihood of further market deterioration” have done nothing to help bolster investors’ faith in any of the major markets, but it seems that mortgage bonds and securities may be seeing a better share of buyers going into next week. I am shortening my LOCK recommendation to include immediate closings only. But keep a sharp eye on the markets as the week progresses. If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would… LOCK if my closing was taking place within 7 days… FLOAT if my closing was taking place between 15 - 30 days… FLOAT if my closing was taking place between 31 - 60 days… FLOAT if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now.
This is my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of any/all other borrowers.
Homeowners Remain Optimistic Despite Market Trends
October 30, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News | Leave a Comment
Nearly half (49 percent) of U.S. homeowners believe their home has increased in value or stayed the same during the past 12 months despite data to the contrary, according to Zillow’s Q3 Homeowner Confidence Survey. Nearly three-fourths of all homes (74 percent) have lost value in the past 12 months, Zillow reports.
Homeowners are slightly less optimistic about the future than they were last quarter, but believe the housing market will be more stable in the next six months than it was during the last 12 months. While more than half (51 percent) of homeowners believe their home’s value decreased over the past year, only 40 percent think it will decrease in the next six months. Only 21 percent think their home’s value will increase in the next six months compared with 32 percent who predicted an increase during the second quarter.
“We are seeing some movement toward more accurate perceptions of home value declines, but there’s still a significant gap between reality and perception,” says Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow’s vice president of data and analytics. “We’re seeing a fascinating distinction in consumer psychology — on the one hand, homeowners appear to understand the reality of today’s economy and are curbing their household spending, but on the other hand, they still aren’t ready to admit that these woes might extend to their own homes. There’s clearly still some denial,” he says.
S&P Home Price Index Posts New Record Declines
October 29, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News, Boston Real Estate | Leave a Comment
Prices of existing single-family homes continued to decline in the second half of 2008, falling by a record amount in August, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released yesterday. The study’s 10-city composite posted an annual decline of 17.7 percent from August of 2007, while the broader 20-city composite fell by 16.6 percent, both of which are record drops.
August marked the fifth straight month that all 20 metro areas tracked by the index posted negative annual returns, with six markets reporting declines of more than 20 percent. The markets posting the steepest annual home-price declines were Phoenix, Ariz., down 30.7 percent; Las Vegas, down 30.6 percent; and Miami, down 28.1 percent. Charlotte, N.C. was the best performing market with a decline of only 2.8 percent for the year.
Boston and Cleveland managed to post modest month-over-month gains in August, while Chicago and Denver remained steady. San Francisco and Phoenix reported the worst monthly declines, falling 3.5 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
After Steep Rise, Mortgage Rates Fall
October 27, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News, Mortgage and Finance, Boston Real Estate | Leave a Comment
Only one week after their largest jump in 21 years, mortgage rates took a dive. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate fell 42 basis points this week to 6.32 percent according to Bankrate.com. The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 47 basis points to 5.93 percent according to the same site. If you are considering purchasing a Boston home in the near future, make sure that you lock a rate quickly, but have the option for at least one “float” down lock.
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