February 12th, 2008 categories: Finances, For Fun, Home Ownership
With rents in many cities skyrocketing, men and women marrying later and a divorce rate for first-time marriages that hovers at about 45%, it’s no wonder more American couples are deciding to shack up.
There were an estimated 6.02 million unmarried-partner households in the U.S. in 2006, according to the Census Bureau’s latest research. This number includes 779,867 same-sex households. When the census began measuring unmarried partners in 1996, there were only 2.86 million opposite-sex couples.
Though you likely know at least one cohabiting pair, unlike their married and single peers, unmarried couples are not an easy group to quantify. They cannot check the single or married box truthfully, and there is little but a shared address to signify their official commitment.
But couples who live together have needs, too. In the Forbes.com roundup of the best cities for couples, they’ve identified what this growing demographic requires to maintain a stable relationship while on the path to marriage or something less traditional. They selected the country’s 40 largest metropolitan areas and collected data on marriage and divorce rates for the 20- to 34-year-olds who live there, the affordability of a starter home, the area’s income disparity and the availability of family counseling.
Dallas, the city made famous on television for its scheming lovers and dysfunctional relationships, topped the list. Four other Texas cities are in the top 10: Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Cities at the bottom of our list, with low marriage rates, high income disparity or poor housing affordability, included Cleveland, Providence, R.I., and Miami.
Top 5 cities for couples
You can see Forbes’ full slide show of best cities for couples here. Full Story
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February 11th, 2008 categories: Finances, Home Ownership, Investments
With reports that foreclosures are up 51% from 2006 and that home ownership took a record plunge in 2007, RISMedia says it’s clear that 2008 will be a year of economic uncertainty, and at worst, a year of continuing downturn. As consumers continue to feel the squeeze, the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) reminds homeowners and those eager to sell to look to ASHI Certified Inspectors when considering options for buying, selling or maintaining their home in a down market.
“ASHI has taken steps to arm its members with the resources and support to provide a diverse range of services for homeowners,” said Brion Grant, 2008 ASHI president. “We know that one-size doesn’t fit all in this market. From energy audits to maintenance inspections, phased-inspections and more, we’re arming members with tools to diversify their services so that they can meet the needs of the public.”
New Services for Homeowners
Energy audits are among the core services that ASHI is encouraging its members to fine-tune so consumers have the benefit of potential cost savings. In December, members of ASHI’s Blue Ridge Chapter (Virginia) participated in group training with a nationally certified energy auditing company to secure certification to perform energy audits in their region. “With the cost of fuel skyrocketing, energy audits can uncover inefficiencies and point to savings,” added Grant. “ASHI is working in conjunction with a certifying organization to provide opportunities for training and certification so that its members can offer this ancillary service nationally.”
Another service homeowners may not think about is maintenance inspections.
“Maintenance should be at the top of every seller’s list this year, said Grant. “In this market, home buyers have more properties to choose from, and will look closely at how well a home has been kept up.”
Homeowners who are serious about selling their home in 2008 should consider hiring an inspector to conduct a maintenance inspection, which includes checking everything from the foundation, roof and gutters, to a home’s exterior and interior walls, electrical wiring and plumbing. ASHI also offers a maintenance checklist, a list of items in the home that should be maintained annually or by season. Those interested in obtaining a copy of ASHI’s home maintenance checklist should contact a local ASHI Certified Inspector via ASHI’s Website www.ASHI.org.
Services for Buying or Building a Home
With a record 2.18 million homes sitting vacant and sellers chomping at the bit to unload their home, buyers are at risk too. Before purchasing a home, ASHI encourages buyers to hire an inspector to conduct a pre-sale inspection to determine its quality, efficiency and safety. “There are a lot of people who are willing to do whatever it takes to sell their homes,” said Grant. “In a market like this, people are quick to jump in because of the rock-bottom price rather than the quality and safety of the home.” And, with many bank-owned properties being sold “as is,” meaning the seller will not be performing any repairs, pre-sale inspections can provide vital information about costly defects.
Phased inspections are also a good way to protect the interests of people who are building a home from scratch. By engaging a home inspector early on, even in the site selection, homeowners can benefit from having an inspector assess the quality of construction at every step. From pouring the foundation, to closing the walls, home inspectors can provide an unbiased assessment of a home that will save homeowners time and money.
“I wish forecasting the future was as easy as picking up a Magic 8-Ball,” said Grant. “‘Outlook good’ would be a welcomed relief from what we’ve seen over the last year. But Americans are resilient, and ASHI is committed to helping homeowners weather this storm.” Full Story
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February 7th, 2008 categories: Finances, Home Ownership, Home Selling, Trends
Despite repeated highly publicized reports of a home sales slump and pricing slides, there’s a surprising amount of positive consumer sentiment, says RISMedia — and perhaps a good measure of homeowner denial as well: Even in a negative home pricing environment, 77% of homeowners from around the country believe the value of their home has increased or remained the same in 2007, according to a recent Zillow.com survey conducted by Harris Interactive(R).What’s more, sizable fractions of all homeowners — not just those who believe their homes appreciated in 2007 — say they are planning to do things in 2008 — even before the Fed’s latest interest rate cuts - that you might not expect during the housing, construction and credit slumps:
- 82% will spend the same or more on minor home improvements (install new garbage disposal, repaint or wallpaper a room).
- 67% say they will spend the same or more on major home improvements (replace the roof, remodel the kitchen) this year.
- About a third say they are more likely or equally as likely to:
- Take out a home equity loan (35%)
- Refinance their mortgage or take out a second mortgage (36%)
- Sell their homes (34%)
How Bad It Is in the Reality-based World
The Zillow(R) Q3 Home Value Report says U.S. home values dropped 5.7% nationwide year over year (2007 to 2006). Zillow plans to release its Q4 report Feb. 12 and preliminary results indicate home values in most U.S. markets have continued their descent. In a recent report, Merrill Lynch predicted “housing prices will remain in free fall,” declining 15% in 2008 and 10% in 2009, “with more depreciation likely beyond the forecast period,” even if the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates.
How Homeowners Perceive the Situation
About a third of homeowners (36%) in the Zillow.com Home Value Survey said their homes had actually increased in value during 2007. Zillow’s Zindex(R) data proves the contrary, showing median value declines across regions as of October 2007.
What’s Driving Homeowner Perception?
“This survey reveals that despite the data to the contrary, people either aren’t paying attention to their housing market or are in denial about their own home’s value,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow.com vice president of data & analytics. “This likely reflects the fact that most Americans have not realized home-related losses because they’re staying in their homes. Even in declining markets where a greater percentage of new homeowners are underwater on their mortgage, it’s important to remember most people are not really affected by declining values unless they absolutely must sell or need to immediately refinance or withdraw equity. This has contributed to the healthy investment intent, particularly in home upgrades, despite the downward trending markets.”
How to Stay on Top of a Home’s Value?
Zillow recently increased its database of homes with Zestimate valuations to 67 million, which equates to about three out of four U.S. homes. People can easily check a home’s value by visiting Zillow.com and typing in an address. Full Story
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February 7th, 2008 categories: Finances, For Fun, Home Ownership, Trends
Though by no means ubiquitous, household energy monitors have been around
for some time. A few new entries into the space, however, add a splash of colour and style to make understanding energy consumption more intuitive according to this little round up from the folks at Springwise.
Wattson, first of all, is a sleek, aesthetically pleasing device that shows homeowners through both numbers and colours how much energy they are using in their home. Consumers begin by attaching to their electricity meter or fuse box a transmitter device, which can measure both single and 3-phase systems. That, in turn, beams information directly to the freestanding wattson device elsewhere in the house, where it instantly displays current usage. Wattson’s LED display can represent energy use in euros, dollars, yen or pounds, while its pulsing, coloured light also reflects the amount of electricity being used, ranging from cool blue for small amounts to red for high energy consumption. The wireless wattson display is portable, and when appliances are switched on or off, it indicates how much energy they use. Homeowners can store up to 4 weeks of energy-use history on the device and download it for analysis on software that comes included; a forthcoming community feature will let wattson owners compare their usage. Wattson was listed in Stuff Magazine’s “Cool List” of the top 10 gadgets of 2007. It is priced at GBP 149.50 from UK-based DIY KYOTO.
The Home Joule, meanwhile, resembles a nightlight and plugs into any outlet in a home. The device displays not just energy usage, broadcast wirelessly by the consumer’s energy meter, but also the real-time cost of energy, which comes wirelessly from the energy company. The color of light emitted by the device represents the costs of the moment, with yellow and red light indicating expensive energy costs, while green means energy is cheaper. The idea is that consumers can then modify their consumption accordingly, switching off discretionary appliances at peak times of the day. The Home Joule is from Ambient Devices and is currently available only to customers of Consumer Powerline’s demand-response program.
Finally, though not truly an energy monitor, Ambient’s beautiful Energy Orb also emits different colors of light to represent pricing information. This time, however, the device emitting the light is an egg-shaped orb that plugs into an outlet. The Energy Orb has been adopted by Pacific Gas & Electric and other US energy companies, and is priced at $149.99.
With energy prices heading nowhere but up, so, too, will demand for devices like these.
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