FRIDAY - HALCYON DAZE
- Walkability Is Good for You
- Home-Builder Results Provide Muddled, Sober Outlook For 2015
- Why millennials aren't rushing to buy homes
- Applications for new home purchases plunge
- The Gift of Home: Crowdfunding the Best Present Of All
- 8 Popular Cabinet Door Styles for Kitchens of All Kinds
Enjoy!
Walkability Is Good for You - Recent studies provide increasingly compelling evidence of the positive effects of walkable neighborhoods on everything from housing values to crime and health, to creativity and more democratic cities. One study found that walkability is statistically significant in predicting neighborhood housing values, and that it is significantly and negatively correlated with neighborhood foreclosures. Another study found that walking is associated with higher levels of arts organizations, creativity, and civic engagement.
Home-Builder Results Provide Muddled, Sober Outlook For 2015 - Across the U.S., sales of newly built homes are up by only 1 percent in the first 10 months of this year from the same period last year, and analysts, economists and builders are at a loss to explain exactly why buyers have created minimal optimism for the new-home market going into 2015. Several builders have turned to incentives to a greater extent to boost sales in recent months. Based on sales figures, major builders like Toll Brothers have characterized the housing recovery as “extended and uneven.”
Why millennials aren't rushing to buy homes - As the economy continues to recover, the millennial generation is still feeling the longer-term effects of the recession due to underemployment and low salaries combined with high student debt and uncertainty about the future. These factors have affected the housing market, and the renter status of this generation was examined in a new survey by LendingTree.
Applications for new home purchases plunge - Mortgage applications for new home purchases plunged 22% relative to the previous month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Following strong new home sales in October, MBA data shows November sales volume dropped significantly. The figures show that average loan size increased to almost $307,000 in November from roughly $300,000 in October, indicating that builders are having greater success with higher priced homes and difficulty at the entry level, as first-time buyers continued to face tight credit conditions.
The Gift of Home: Crowdfunding the Best Present Of All - If you’re looking for a creative and meaningful gift to give to your loved ones, there are new online platforms that allow users to crowdsource the down payment for a house. For example, Hatch My House is an online gift registry that is free to use and allows anyone to give funds toward the registrant's down payment.
8 Popular Cabinet Door Styles for Kitchens of All Kinds - Don't mess around picking cabinet doors. Let our mini guide help you choose the right style, and save the messes for cooking. Some of my favorites:
