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ECO-FRIENDLY HOME TIPS

April 22nd, 2008 2:51 PM

Incorporating eco-friendly measures in homes has moved beyond installing energy efficient appliances and swapping out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents - going green is giving home sellers a competitive advantage. Here are eight tips that outline how to make homes sustainable, energy- and cost-efficient now, and appealing to eco-conscious homebuyers.

1. A ray of light. Natural daylight can help keep the indoor climate comfortable during the winter months, allowing a homeowner to set the thermostat a bit lower. Alternatively, drawing shades during key daylight hours during the summer can help cut down on air conditioning needs.
2. Green gardening. Planting native plants, vegetation and shade trees strategically around a yard can keep a home cool during the summer and block cold winds during the winter. And native vegetation will thrive in its preferred environment without requiring excess water.
3. Switch to green power. The use of renewable energy in a home, such as solar, wind, water or geothermal, greatly helps reduce pollution.
4. Dial it back. Lowering the settings on water heaters, refrigerators, dishwashers and laundry machines reduces the amount of energy required to maintain the temperature.
5. Re-use rain. Recycling rain water for gardening is another great way to conserve.
6. Less lawn does more. Eliminate as much of the lawn as possible and plant native bushes, flowers, etc.
7. Turn old into new. Refurbish the home's existing materials when remodeling instead of buying new ones (cabinets, tiles, flooring). If brand new appliances are required, homeowners should make sure they are energy-efficient, and should consider donating their old appliances to be recycled or reused.
8. Insulation is key. Insulating cold-water pipes will prevent them from dripping condensation, and insulating hot-water pipes will prevent costly heat loss and save on energy bills.

Posted by Brian Banak on April 22nd, 2008 2:51 PMPost a Comment (0)

MORE ON OPENHOUSE.COM

March 24th, 2008 4:49 PM

OpenHouse.com, a leading consumer destination site for open house listings nationwide, has announced an agreement to receive a bulk data feed from Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. With this agreement, all Prudential Real Estate open house listings will be automatically uploaded to OpenHouse.com on a daily basis.

OpenHouse.com will be starting a consumer marketing campaign very soon.

Posted by Brian Banak on March 24th, 2008 4:49 PMPost a Comment (0)

CENTURY 21 LAUNCHES CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE

March 12th, 2008 8:40 AM

Century 21 Real Estate LLC has launched a branded Channel on YouTube that is dedicated to helping people showcase and search for real estate around the world. Aimed at sellers, buyers and enthusiasts, the Channel will provide the opportunity for customers and agents to create and submit user-generated content. In addition, to officially launch the branded channel on YouTube, the Century 21 System will hold a national consumer-generated video contest.

Instead of the traditional photographs, virtual tours and videos on today's real estate sites, videos uploaded by agents and sellers on YouTube will have a personal touch that can help a prospective buyer better decide which homes may be right for his needs. A video voiceover can highlight areas of interest in the home, as well as showcase recent home upgrades or renovations to the potential buyers.

Video might be the way that properties are marketed in the future as generation "Y"ers begin to enter the age of first time homebuying.

Posted by Brian Banak on March 12th, 2008 8:40 AMPost a Comment (0)

OPENHOUSE.COM

March 8th, 2008 8:25 AM

Finally, there is a website where consumers can go to see open houses for all agecies in one place. That website is OpenHouse.com.

OpenHouse.com, a leading consumer destination site for open house listings nationwide, has announced that it has successfully begun receiving bulk data feeds from the real estate industry at large. Real Estate One, a leading independent real estate brokerage firm headquartered in Southfield (MI), is the first outside company to post its open house listings on OpenHouse.com. Previously, OpenHouse.com accepted listings exclusively from real estate brokerages affiliated with its parent company, Realogy Corporation, and its franchise brands: CENTURY 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby's International Realty.

OpenHouse.com currently allows consumers to search by price, date/time, location or number of bedrooms. The site will remain neutral at all times and will not allow searches by specific brand or brokerage name. OpenHouse.com has made the commitment that it will not accept any real estate brand, brokerage or ancillary service advertising on its site.

All Century21 Alaimo & Corrado open houses are available on OpenHouse.com effective immediately.

Posted by Brian Banak on March 8th, 2008 8:25 AMPost a Comment (0)

MORE GOOD NEWS!

February 3rd, 2008 10:34 AM

After several years of seeing families priced out of the housing market by rapidly increasing prices, that trend began to reverse itself in 2007, according to the National Association of REALTORS' (NAR) monthly housing affordability index released this week.

The NAR's housing affordability index is based on the number 100, which is the point at which a median-income family has the amount of income they need to purchase a median-priced house. That number assumes they have a 20 percent downpayment and the house payment takes no more than 25 percent of their gross income for principal and interest. The higher the index, the more affordable the housing is for families with median income.

Between December 2006 and December 2007, the housing affordability index increased from 109 to 122, the highest it's been since February 2005. Every region in the country experienced a similar, double-digit increase, led by the Midwest, where the index surged from 152 to 163.8. In the Northeast, it rose from 95.4 to 109.3; Southern buyers saw the index rise from 120.9 to 132.8. Even in Western markets, where affordability was measured in the teens during the height of the real estate boom, the index increased from 71 to 83.4.

A very meaningful number in the report is the median mortgage payment as percentage of income, which shows how much of a person's income will be needed to make a house payment. Historically, the highest affordability was in 1972 when that number was at 16.2 percent of monthly income. The lowest was in 1981 when a house payment consumed 36.3 percent of monthly income due to record high interest rates. Currently, the percentage is 20.5.

Posted by Brian Banak on February 3rd, 2008 10:34 AMPost a Comment (0)

More Market Info.

January 14th, 2008 11:21 AM

The National Association of REALTORS forecasts a steady housing market for the next several months with a gradual rise in home sales later on this year and into 2009.

However, the trade group says the opposing forces of pent-up demand from four million jobs added to the economy during the past two years versus buyers holding back on purchases makes it difficult to predict exactly when a full recovery will take place.

Housing market imbalances generated during the boom were corrected to some degree during the 2006-to-2007 housing downswing. To address flagging demand, many sellers of new and existing homes cut prices and offered a variety of non-price sales incentives. At the same time, median household income grew at a healthy rate - about five percent per year.

As a result, house price-to-income ratios have fallen in most places and standard measures of affordability (incorporating prime mortgage market conditions) recently have been on the rise in all major regions of the country.

On the supply side of housing markets, builders have cut back dramatically on production of new housing units, dropping single-family starts by more than 50 percent from the cyclical high two years ago. These cutbacks have led to modest reductions in unsold inventories of new homes, and inventories also are off recent highs in the existing-home market.

In mortgage markets, the unsound practices that helped fuel the boom generally were weeded out during 2007, and we're not looking for further tightening of mortgage lending conditions in 2008.

All of the above is evidence that now is a very good time to purchase real estate.

Posted by Brian Banak on January 14th, 2008 11:21 AMPost a Comment (0)

Market Stats

January 3rd, 2008 7:52 PM

When all is said and done, 2007 will go down in history as the year with the fifth highest number of transactions (5.92 million) which is down from 6.48 million in 2006. 2008 home sales are projected to be 6.27 million.

This weeks CHFA rate has dropped to 5.375% with 1 point. This is the lowest that it has been for the last couple of months. Not a bad rate for first time homebuyers.

Nationally, total housing inventory declined 3.6 percent at the end of November to 4.27 million existing homes available for sale. This represents a 10.3 month supply at the current sales pace which is down from a 10.7 month supply in October.

Accross the country, the median existing single-family home price was $208,700 in November, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier.

The median price in the Northeast was $258,300, down 3.2 percent from a year ago.

Posted by Brian Banak on January 3rd, 2008 7:52 PMPost a Comment (0)

The Real Estate Market is Good

December 15th, 2007 7:19 PM

The local Real Estate market is not as bad as the press would have you believe. Interest rates are at or near record lows, there are more homes to choose from and homes are on sale. If you're thinking about buying a new home, it doesn't get any better than this. Happy Holidays, Brian

Posted by Brian Banak on December 15th, 2007 7:19 PMPost a Comment (0)