FRIDAY - A WEEK WELL SPENT
- Ask an Expert: What Is Your Ultimate Space-Saving Trick?
- House-hunting? Hurry. Homes in California are moving faster
- Analysts Still Hold High Hopes for Housing Recovery in 2015
- Home Buyers Should Do Their Homework When Shopping for a Mortgage
- Think Bay Area Rent Is High? Rents Are Rising Everywhere Faster Than Inflation, Experts Say It’s Going To Get Worse
- Bay Area residents slam plan to phase out high-polluting fireplaces
House-hunting? Hurry. Homes in California are moving faster - Southern California is home to four of the nation’s nine fastest-moving housing markets right now, according to a new report from Trulia. Due to basic supply and demand, the fastest-moving market was San Francisco, where only 26 percent of listings last two months. In Orange County, the number was 41 percent, and eight of the top 10 were in California. The pace is only picking up. Three-fourths of the nation’s 100 biggest housing markets had fewer homes listed for two months than they did a year ago.
Analysts Still Hold High Hopes for Housing Recovery in 2015 - Economists at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sticking to their forecasts that housing will rebound in 2015 and reach a point of "sustainable recovery.” Recent reports of slower-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter, including job gains that fell well short of expectations in March, have not prompted major concerns from experts who remain optimistic. The return of boomerang buyers to the market, an improved economy, and an expansion of the credit box are reasons it is believed the housing market will be sustainable this year.
Home Buyers Should Do Their Homework When Shopping for a Mortgage - Two-thirds of buyers‒‒particularly the young and those who’ve already bought homes‒‒obtain multiple mortgage quotes, though newbies to the process typically rely on friendly advice to find a suitable lender and terms, according to a survey from Fannie Mae. Borrowers may be leaving money on the table by not shopping around and negotiating for the best terms they can get. The authors of the study also found that first-time and minority home buyers are more likely to report unexpected changes at the closing table. A third of first-time buyers and a third of minority buyers say that they had some type of surprise at the closing table.
Think Bay Area Rent Is High? Rents Are Rising Everywhere Faster Than Inflation, Experts Say It’s Going To Get Worse - Renting has gotten increasingly expensive over the last five years. The average U.S. rent has climbed 14 percent to $1,124 since 2010, according to commercial property tracker Reis Inc. That’s four percentage points faster than inflation, and more than double the rise in U.S. homeprices over the same period.
Bay Area residents slam plan to phase out high-polluting fireplaces - Angry homeowners and real estate sellers Thursday denounced a proposal to phase out high-polluting open-hearth fireplaces in the Bay Area as expensive, intrusive and unnecessary. More than 100 people packed a public workshop to criticize a regional air district proposal that would be the strictest in California in regulating old-fashioned wood-burning fireplaces with no emission controls.
10 Ideas for a Creative, Water-Conscious Yard - Check out these tips for a great-looking outdoor area that needs less water. Some of my favorites:
