FRIDAY - god save the queen
By Holm Design & Consulting LLC Minnetonka - See more Home Design Photos
- Industry Expert: The Only Thing to Fear in 2017 is Fear Itself
- Zillow predicts hottest neighborhoods in San Jose metro, Oakland
- Brown Revisits Plan to Increase Housing Construction Statewide
- Tiny houses rise as an economical option but face legal barriers
- The 3 Biggest Reasons You Can’t Sell Your Home
- What an Open-Plan Addition Can Do for Your Old House
Enjoy!
Industry Expert: The Only Thing to Fear in 2017 is Fear Itself - The housing market is improving and in some areas, even back to pre-crisis levels. Now, one expert explains that the only thing to fear in 2017’s housing market is, well, fear itself.During the past few weeks, the housing market saw an increase in existing home sales at the highest pace since 2007, a decrease in foreclosures and yet more jobs added in an already-full jobs market. Because of these numbers, one expert, OwnAmerica CEO Greg Rand, explained that there is nothing to fear headed into 2017.
The exception, he stated, was that the change in administration is causing some consumers to hold off on making decisions related to homeownership, purchasing and investing.
“I’d have to say that disruption from Washington is the only thing that I could see on the horizon,” Rand said.
Zillow predicts hottest neighborhoods in San Jose metro, Oakland - “This is a theme we’ve been seeing in many neighborhoods around the country,” said Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist. “Neighborhoods that are slightly less expensive but still close to other, more desirable neighborhoods are starting to get a spillover effect. … They still have a lot of head-room to grow, value-wise.”
Brown Revisits Plan to Increase Housing Construction Statewide - In releasing a state spending plan for the next fiscal year, Gov. Jerry Brown revisited efforts to increase new housing through legislation that would streamline permitting and create incentives for local governments to meet housing goals.
The plan released Tuesday is far less specific than a permit-streamlining proposal floated by the administration last year. That proposal was defeated in the Legislature. But Tuesday's plan asks for a bill package containing the same basic provisions of the prior proposal: creating incentives for local governments to lower fees and streamlining the lengthy building approvals process.
Tiny houses rise as an economical option but face legal barriers - Under the pressure of excessive housing prices, a growing number of Bay Area residents have found their American dream is no longer a four-bedroom home, but a tiny house where every square inch has function. In November 2015, the Fresno City Council took the first steps in legalizing tiny houses and put tiny houses on wheels into the city’s building codes. In September 2016, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a five-year law that bypassed the state’s building codes and allowed San Jose to create tiny homes for the homeless, according to San Jose Mercury News.
The 3 Biggest Reasons You Can’t Sell Your Home - So-called “sale fails” are on the rise. Deals to sell homes are falling through at a faster rate than they were a year ago, according to a report released Wednesday by real-estate site Trulia, which found that on an annual basis, the failure rate has nearly doubled to 3.9 percent in 2016, up from 2.1 percent in 2015. The real estate site looked at all listings that were pulled for the first two months of each quarter from the fourth quarter of 2014 through the fourth quarter of 2016. Home sale deals fail for three main reasons, said Felipe Chacon, a housing data analyst for Trulia: a buyer can’t get financing, the inspection turns up something bad, and/or the appraisal doesn’t match up to the sale price.
What an Open-Plan Addition Can Do for Your Old House - Don’t resort to demolition just yet. With a little imagination, older homes can easily be adapted for modern living. Some of my favorites:
