From the monthly archives:

November 2012

Under One Roof, Building For Extended Families

November 30, 2012
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Tweet Tom and Kristin Moser’s new house – nearly 3,000 square feet in a development outside Tucson – has all the modern amenities, including solar panels and an open kitchen. But their house also has a feature that the builders are betting will be a hit. Tucked inside is a one-bedroom apartment with its own [...]

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In Nearly 60% Of U.S. Metros, Buying Beats Renting In Three Years Or Less

November 29, 2012
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Tweet Looking at the breakeven horizon will give you a better idea if buying is the better choice vs. renting a home in a given area. If you plan on staying in a home longer than the breakeven horizon, buying is the more financially advantageous choice. All the costs associated with buying a home (down [...]

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Housing Market Recovery Accelerating, Now 47% Back To Normal

November 29, 2012
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Tweet Trulia’s Chief Economist reveals the latest findings from the Trulia Housing Barometer. In October, the housing recovery made the biggest three-month jump to date, putting it near the halfway point now. “In October 2012, all three housing measures improved: construction starts increased again, existing-home sales rose, and the delinquency + foreclosure rate dropped considerably. Averaging [...]

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Fiserv Projects Home Price Growth Into 2017

November 29, 2012
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Tweet The latest numbers from the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes show that the housing market may finally be on solid footing again. Average U.S. home prices increased by 1.2 percent in Q2 2012 from the same quarter last year. The year-over-year increase is the first since 2006 when excluding 2010, which was influenced by the federal [...]

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Village Builders’ “NextGen” Concept Makes Its Austin Debut: “Home Within A Home” Aimed At Multigenerational Households

November 29, 2012
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Tweet With its research showing a rising trend of multiple generations living together under one roof, national homebuilder Lennar has created a new series of innovative floor plans that it calls “NextGen.” Billed as “The Home Within a Home,” the NextGen concept is making its Austin debut at the Teravista master-planned community in Round Rock. [...]

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Americans See Best Job Climate Since The Financial Crisis

November 29, 2012
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Tweet Nearly one in four Americans (24%) say it is a good time to find a quality job, triple the 8% who said the same a year ago and reflecting the most positive job market perceptions since March 2008. While nearly three in four Americans (73%) continue to say it is a bad time to [...]

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Fed Says Household Debt Declined 0.7% In Third Quarter

November 29, 2012
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Tweet Household debt in the U.S. fell 0.7 percent during the third quarter as a decline in real-estate borrowing outpaced rising student and auto loans, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey. Consumer indebtedness shrank by $74 billion to $11.31 trillion. Mortgage debt declined by $120 billion to $8.03 trillion, the lowest [...]

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Price Rise Shows A Better Balanced U.S. Housing Market

November 29, 2012
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Tweet The best evidence that the U.S. housing sector is recovering is the recent gains in home prices. Tuesday brought two reports on home values. The third-quarter S&P/Case-Shiller nationwide home price index was up 3.6% from its year-ago level, its second year-over-year gain. The Federal Housing Finance Agency uses different price methodology but came to [...]

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Selling Your Home: Adding More Light To A Dark Kitchen

November 29, 2012
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Tweet A dark kitchen probably won’t scuttle a sale on its own, said Tracie Golding, a senior vice president with Stribling & Associates in Manhattan. “I might refer to it as a bat cave, but some people don’t mind that,” she said. To a certain extent, she noted, it comes down to personal preference. Still, [...]

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Rising Prices Could Lift 3.5 Million Homeowners Out Of Negative Equity

November 29, 2012
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Tweet While almost one quarter of homeowners remain underwater, rising home prices over the past 12 months have some economists hopeful negative equity could begin to diminish in coming months. While “[a]dmittedly, the recovery is still in its infancy,” Capital Economics sees the potential for 3.5 million homeowners to move out of negative equity positions [...]

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