Condo Prices Exceed Single-Family Homes
For the first time since such records started being kept in the 1980s, the median-price for an existing condominium last year exceeded the median price of an existing single-family home. The median condo price rose 17% to $193,600, a record high, compared to the $184,100 median price tag on the resale of a single-family home, an 8.3% increase over 2003, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The existing condo market is about one-seventh the size of the existing home market. Even though sales of existing condos and co-ops didn’t increase in 2004 quite as quickly as re-sales of single-family homes, they rose 8% and set a record for the ninth consecutive year. Condos tend to be located in more-expensive urban areas, which is one reason for their higher cost. (www.realestatejournal.com)
Wall Street Journal Online (2/15/05); Ray A. Smith
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Task Force Finishes Study of State’s Post-Hurricane Needs
A panel created to study the low-income housing needs in Florida following the 2004 hurricane season estimated that the more than $322 million in spending recommended by Gov. Bush could help repair 70,000 homes, construct 10,000 apartment units and provide beds to at least 2,300 migrant farm workers who were displaced by the storms. The panel would allocate nearly $25 million to help repair or replace almost 52,000 housing units in Escambia County that were damaged by Hurricane Ivan; and $15 million would go to Santa Rosa County for 23,000 homes. Escambia County saw 42.7% of its housing stock damaged by the hurricane; Santa Rosa, 46.9%. The remaining money would be split among another eight counties. The task force found that more than 708,000 homes were damaged by last year’s storms; seniors who resided in older housing were more likely to face larger repair bills; and renters were less likely to receive assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), whose programs target home owners. More than 14,000 displaced Floridians are sheltered in temporary trailers provided by FEMA. (www.pensacolanewsjournal.com)
Pensacola News Journal (2/16/05); Aaron Deslatte
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The Strong, Silent Type
Insulated concrete form builder Karl W. White, of White Haus Presidential Homes in Oregon, first used the technique for his own home in West Linn and now says, “I’ll never live in a wooden house again. On average, houses built with insulated concrete walls require 44% less energy to heat and 32% less energy to cool than comparable frame houses, according to the Insulating Concrete Form Association, and they are especially attractive in places with wide swings in temperature, such as Texas, the upper Midwest and Las Vegas. The walls — made of concrete, metal and a tough plastic called polystyrene — are twice as thick as those in a typical wood-frame house, and the exterior may be finished with stucco, siding or shingles. Contractors say the concrete homes are 4%-8% more expensive than those made of wood, but the cost margin has been lowered by rising wood prices. No one tracks how many ICF homes are built nationwide, but NAHB estimates that the technique was used in 4% of total residential square footage in 2003, up from 1.2% in 1999. (www.oregonian.com)
The Oregonian (2/10/05); Steve Mayes
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In the Loop — Cul-de-sac Properties Promote Privacy, Sell at a Premium
Tom Beste, president of Premier Homes in Monroe, Mich., says that homes on cul-de-sacs generally capture a 15%-20% premium, depending on location and added amenities such as woods or extra-large lots. The limited access to traffic on cul-de-sacs is a huge draw, according to home builders, real estate agents and buyers, especially among young families. “People really like them,” says Beste. “It gives them a little more privacy and creates smaller communities in larger neighborhoods.” Although most city planners aren’t bothered by cul-de-sac designs, “The turning circles do have to be large enough to get trucks around,” says Professor Robin Boyle, associate dean of the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs at Wayne State University in Detroit. “Some fire marshals will require roundabouts that can accommodate a city’s largest emergency vehicle," he notes. Planners “just don’t like to see the streets get too long,” he said. “A lot of communities have street-length restrictions. I guess if there’s an emergency, they want to be able to get in and out quickly.” (www.freep.com)
Detroit Free Press (2/13/05); Lauralee Ortiz
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City Sued for Inclusionary Zoning Law
The Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit against a controversial inclusionary zoning law that requires developers to make 15% of the units in housing projects with more than 10 units lower-cost for working families making less than the median income. The association is only challenging restrictions on rental apartments, not owner-occupied units, which it says are in violation of state law that bans municipalities from regulating the amount of rent that can be charged. The association’s executive director Nancy Jensen says that the new law is making it harder to create low-cost rental housing. “Developers are uneasy about building when there’s uncertainty,” she said. “It’s currently a barrier to creating affordable housing in Madison.” The city’s Planning Unit director confirms that no lower-cost rental or condo units have been completed since the law took effect, but two plans have been approved. (www.madison.com)
Wisconsin State Journal (2/13/05); Dean Mosiman
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Wired — More Homes Come Ready Made for High-Tech Users
Home surveillance hasn’t really caught on in the Bloomington, Ind., area yet, but Jim Jones says that his company, Jim Jones Electric, is installing the wiring in new homes so cameras can be added. It’s part of a prewiring package that’s become standard in homes built by Stelle Homes, whose vice president, Ed Neaves, plans on installing cameras on the front and back porches of his new home so he can monitor his dogs when they’re in the back yard. The cameras, the width of a dime, add about $600 to the cost of a home. Paul Lopez, of NAHB, said that prewiring for home security, audio and high-speed Interned access isn’t just for high-end homes these days. “We do a monthly survey among our builders and that is something that’s becoming more and more on everybody’s radar. It’s people trying to make their home their castle. They invest in high-end TVs, stereo, security and don’t want to fumble around with ripping into walls and looking for wires.” General contractor Mark Widdell of Armstrong Builders said he’s prewiring about 75% of his homes at a price tag of about $2,000, including speakers in the kitchen, living room and master bedroom. (www.pentagraph.com)
The Pentagraph (2/11/05); Kate Arthur
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Shy Salamander Has Developers on Tenterhooks
Downgraded last year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from endangered to threatened, the reclusive and rarely seen California tiger salamander is credited with delaying a dozen major construction projects on the Santa Rosa plain in Sonoma County, Calif., including new housing subdivisions, a shopping mall and an elementary school. Builders say that the salamander has put on hold the construction of as many as 2,000 homes and apartment units in the area. “With salamander studies tying up projects literally for years, there’s not a shovel in the ground, and the production of workforce housing has really been hampered in southwest Santa Rosa,” said Charlie Carson, executive director of the northern division of the Home Builders Association of Northern California. Builders say mitigation measures for the amphibian would add about $25,000 to the cost of a single-family house. Meanwhile, a panel is trying to protect the salamander’s breeding pools. Buying enough rural land to save the salamander in Sonoma County could cost between $200 and $400 million, exceeding the cost of the county’s biggest public works projects. (www.sfgate.com)
San Francisco Chronicle (2/18/05); Jim Doyle
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Green Buildings Reduce Toxic Buildup
Frank Laskey, owner of Capital Construction in Ballston Spa, N.Y., has built one of the five demonstration homes that are part of a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority project highlighting green building practices. Located in the town of Wilton, N.Y., where Laskey is building a subdivision of 22 green homes, the home is a pilot project for the NAHB Research Center and will be used to help establish green building guidelines in New York State. It also meets or exceeds Energy Star standards and the American Lung Association’s healthy house guidelines. Laskey also built a home for Richard and Jane Leifer using such materials as natural sisal grass carpeting on the cellar stairs and bamboo and cork flooring for interior rooms. The couple added radiant-heat floors to keep the home drier and prevent moisture-caused bacteria from growing. “The motivation for us was that my wife is chemically sensitive, and a lot of modern building materials are dangerous to her health,” said Richard Leifer, director of executive programs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “It’s great to be able to walk in your house without having breathing problems, a runny nose and headaches.” (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chicago Tribune (2/11/05); Frances Ingraham Heins, New York Times News Service
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Mortgage Intro Rates Near 1%
Mortgage lenders are using low teaser rates as a way to attract customers at a time when business has slowed. The option adjustable-rate mortgages carry an initial rate as low as 1%, which can last as little as one to three months before the rate typically jumps above 4% or more. Borrowers can choose a monthly payment — a minimum payment, an interest-only payment or the standard payment on a comparable mortgage. Buyers pay 2.25 points upfront, which is usually rolled into the loan amount. IndyMac Bancorp reports that 30% of its mortgage customers are choosing its Pay-Option ARM, which starts at 1%. At Washington Mutual Inc., short-term ARMs accounted for $19 billion, or 40% of the company’s mortgage originations in last year’s fourth quarter, up from 24% a year earlier. In California, the loans account for as much as 20% of the current mortgage volume, according to Todd Householder, an executive vice president at National City Corp. (www.contracostatimes.com)
Contra Costa Times (2/18/05); Ruth Simon, Wall Street Journal
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‘New Urbanism’ Embraces Latinos
Latino new urbanism in denser, walkable neighborhoods where people live, work and play is taking hold in California and Texas, the nation’s two most populous states and the ones with the largest number of Hispanics. Almost one-third of California home buyers had Hispanic surnames last June, according to DataQuick Information Systems, up from less than one-fifth in 2002. One of the five “Pilot Villages” approved by San Diego last year — Mi Pueblo in San Ysidro near the Mexican border — is pure Latino new urbanism. It eventually will have 1,143 residential units, with facades in vibrant red, blue, yellow and green. Three-bedroom, two-bath homes are selling there for $270,000, about half the local median. “I think Latinos can be the ideal audience for a new urbanist conversation,” said former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, who is the chairman of American CityVista in San Antonio. The company develops homes in city neighborhoods that haven’t seen new housing in decades. Cisneros advocates designs that fit Hispanic families — from big kitchens with gas stoves for grilling tortillas to courtyards for social gatherings, multiple bedrooms for large and extended families and driveways that accommodate many cars. (www.usatoday.com)
USA Today (2/16/05); Haya El Nasser
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Firm Markets Steel Frames for Home Building
PanaSteel LLC has opened an office in Evans, Ga., to market its residential steel-frame building system as a better alternative to traditional lumber, and is under contract to supply frames for two local custom homes. Workers at the company’s headquarters in Savannah use computer-controlled machinery to fabricate the light gauge steel-frame panels according to a project’s architectural plans. Although steel ages better than wood, is straight, can speed up construction time and reduce construction site waste, according to its proponents, the material only has about 3% of the market. NAHB economist Michael Carliner says that price plays the biggest role in steel-frame usage. Interest peaked during the lumber price spike of 1993-94 but has since fallen as wood prices have stabilized and last year’s steel shortage boosted its price. However, “The next generation, I predict, will be able to walk into any home builder’s office and get a steel-framed home at the same, or a lower cost, than wood,” said Larry Williams, president of the Steel Framing Alliance. (www.augustachronicle.com)
Augusta Chronicle, Ga. (2//11/05); Damon Cline
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It’s Increasingly Tough for Firms to Relocate Here
The high cost of doing business and the lack of affordable housing for employees is keeping some companies from coming to Ventura, Calif., according to John Boyd Jr., a consultant with the Boyd Co. of New Jersey, which advises businesses on the value or cost of locating in certain areas. Ventura County was ranked the eighth most expensive among the 30 cities included in his firm’s study. San Francisco was most expensive and Fresno was the least expensive in the state. Sioux Falls, S.D., was the least expensive on the list. Boyd said that cities such as Phoenix or Denver have competed with California's cities for business for years, but those areas have also grown increasingly more expensive. The latest trend has been to locate in the Southwest and Midwest — in places such as Oklahoma City or Sioux Falls. (www.venturacountystar.com)
Ventura County Star, Calif. (2/16/05); Allison Bruce
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