Real Estate Directory

Foreclosure: Good, Bad, or just normal?

Foreclosures in some states are at all time highs however Moody's says don''t worry about it.

The Rich and Fabulous

The Consumer Research Center of the well-respected Conference Board surveyed almost 2,000 affluent consumers around the world and found that luxury is defined as time.

"Consumers have remarkably similar perspectives on how to define luxury," says Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "The largest share of luxury consumers (44%) and the largest share of consumers in each country most strongly agree that 'luxury is having enough time to do whatever you want and being able to afford it.' So, for luxury consumers worldwide, time is the ultimate luxury."

Pools And House Values

NAR reported in 2004 that property values jump about 8 pts because of in-ground pools and fall by roughly 2 pts because of above-ground pools. This after reviewing almost 30,000 home sales in Philadelphia from 1996 to 2003.

Does anyone know of a good guide for improvements as they relate to and influence house value?

Real Estate and Mortgages

Bubble Resistant

There is a strong correlation when home prices stay strong average rents have jumped as much as 3 percent.

These are the strongest rental increases:

1. San Francisco, $1,757, 3 percent
2. San Jose, Calif., $1,473, 2.4 percent
3. New York City, $2,657, 2.1 percent
4. Seattle, $973, 2 percent
5. Oakland-East Bay, Calif., $1,300, 1.8 percent
6. Orange County, Calif., $1,493, 1.7 percent
7. Washington, D.C., $1,301, 1.7 percent
8. Baltimore, $945, 1.7 percent
9. New Haven, Conn., $1,065, 1.6 percent
10. Philadelphia, $981, 1.6 percent

Top Places to Live

Money Magazines Top Ten Places to Live:

Middleton, Wis.
Hanover, N.H.
Louisville, Colo.
Lake Mary, Fla.
Claremont, Calif.
Papillion, Neb.
Milton, Mass.
Chaska, Minn.
Nether Providence, Pa.
Suwanee, Ga.

Not my dream destinations, but whatever floats their boat I guess.

The Magic Touch

What if you could literally think about investing in a market and prices would appreciate.

Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the number six U.S. homebuilder, rose sharply last week as rumors swirled that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. would buy an interest in the struggling homebuilder.

Corporate Relocation Services says theres no place like home

Where is the "Best Place to Move?" I guess it depends on your perspective. Nevertheless, Worldwide ERC®, the association for workforce mobility, and Primacy Relocation® announced that Fort Worth - Arlington, Texas; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Provo-Orem, Utah, are 2007's Best Cities for Relocating Families(TM) among large, medium and small U.S. metropolitan areas. 

The Golden Apple

Where is the most expensive place to buy or sell real estate? New York.

Not because of home prices although Manhattan is pricey . For the closing costs!

Bankrate, Inc. ran a survey that has New York State is the most expensive location in the country to close a mortgage transaction. The average closing cost in New York is $3,830, compared to Indiana (least expensive state) at $2,339. The survey looked at lender fees, title fees and settlement fees in 51 geographic locations.

Price up Demand down

OC Home Prices have hit an alltime high in June while voume still lags, The Median price topped out at $645,000. There were 2,641 Orange County homes sold in June. That’s down  32% below year-ago sales figures.