Coastal Builders Are Finding Eager Buyers for Their Fortified Houses
After two years of horrendous hurricanes, with more catastrophic weather expected, a few dozen developers and contractors along the Southern coasts, from Texas to the Carolinas, have begun to produce a new generation of houses designed to withstand just about anything that nature can throw at them. “We’re building tanks,” said Jason Comer, who is putting up an upscale village in the Florida Panhandle of gleaming white mansions with eight-inch concrete walls and heavy, ridged concrete roofs. Until now, few buyers have been interested in super-strong houses that have often looked more like ugly ducklings than cozy havens. But many of the new homes are proving more appealing. Demand has jumped sharply, and insurance companies are even offering policies at a discount in coastal areas where they are otherwise cutting back on coverage. “People have seen what has happened in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi and they know that what has happened can happen again,” said Gopal Ahluwalia, the vice president for research for the National Association of Home Builders. (www.nytimes.com)
New York Times (6/22/06); Joseph B. Treaster
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U.S. Losing Its Middle Class Neighborhoods
Middle-class neighborhoods, long regarded as incubators for the American dream, are losing ground in cities across the country, shrinking at more than twice the rate of the middle class itself. In their place, poor and rich neighborhoods are both on the rise as cities and suburbs have become increasingly segregated by income, according to a recent Brookings Institute study. It found that as a share of all urban and suburban neighborhoods, middle-income neighborhoods in the nation’s 100 largest metro areas have declined from 58% in 1970 to 41% in 2000. Middle-income neighborhoods — where families earn 80% to 120% of the local median income — have plunged by more than 20% as a share of all neighborhoods in Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. They are down 10% in the Washington area. As poor and rich neighborhoods proliferate, the share of middle-income neighborhoods in greater Indianapolis, where unemployment is low and the downtown is vibrant, has dropped by 21% since 1970. “It means that if you are not living in one of the well-off areas, you are not going to have access to the same amenities — good schools and a safe environment — that you could find 30 years ago,” said Alan Berube, an urban demographer at Brookings who worked on the report. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (6/22/06); Blaine Harden
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Remodeling on the Rise; And It’s the Upper End of the Market Boasting the Biggest Increases
As the real estate market slows, more home owners appear to be staying put and adding on. That’s not to say that the remodeling industry is going to take giant leaps any time soon. In fact, the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University estimates this year’s first-quarter increase in activity at 4.5% over the same period in 2005. It represents spending of $155 billion over 12 months, said Kermit Baker, director of the remodeling-futures program at the center. “Remodeling contractors have reported a slight decline in hours worked by their employees, and more modest growth in their payrolls,” Baker said. “This points to remodeling following home building into a period of slower growth in the months ahead.” Still, home owner equity — $11 trillion of it — is continuing to feed the remodeling market, according to Vince Butler, chairman of the Remodelors® Council of the National Association of Home Builders. (www.philly.com)
Philadelphia Inquirer (6/20/06); Alan J. Heavens
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As Housing Market Cools Down, Some Buyers Bailing Out
As the U.S. housing market cools, builders say more people are walking away from contracts and from tens of thousands of dollars in deposits. When a housing market is hot and prices increase, cancellations are rare. But if the market is slowing, as it has been this year, builders might need to add incentives and price cuts. People who are buying investment homes are the most likely to bail out, experts said. They reason that it would be better to lose a deposit than to go ahead with an investment that could lose value. “I have seen people literally walk away from $125,000 deposits rather than go forward with the closing because the value of a home identical to their own was being sold by the builder for $100,000 less,” said Alexandria, Va. Lawyer James Brincefield, Jr., who is preparing litigation for buyers who want to get their deposits back. Gopal Ahluwalia, director of research for the National Association of Home Builders, said his group’s surveys show cancellation rates increasing nationwide, but not as much as others have estimated. (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Seattle Times (6/18/06); Sandra Fleishman
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Copping Copper: Thieves Are Stripping Valuable Pipes and Wiring From Homes
Dallas home builder Jeff Dworkin has seen his share of job site thefts. But when thieves snatched the copper coolant lines for air conditioning at one of his homes under construction, he realized that he would have to take extra steps to guard his projects. “They actually had to clime into the attic and cut the supply line and pull it through the house,” Dworkin said. With prices for copper building materials near a record, home builders are sometimes paying twice. First they have to come up with the extra money to buy copper wiring and plumbing materials. Then they have to pay again if thieves cart off the copper fixtures. (www.dallasnews.com)
Dallas Morning News (6/16/06); Steve Brown
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Energy Costs Will Shift Buyer Priorities in New Homes
The American Homeowners Foundation (AHF) predicts that new home buyer priorities will shift dramatically over the next two years. AHF believes that home buyers will increasingly prefer a slightly smaller but more energy-efficient home. “The combination of rapidly increasing energy costs, increasing mortgage rates and higher home prices will undermine the ‘McMansion’ trend that has continued for the past several decades,” said AHF President Bruce Hahn. Energy efficiency goals and recent tax incentives will drive more consumers to become more interested in Energy Star® homes, AHF believes (www.americanhomeowners.org)
American Homeowners.org (6/16/06)
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A Room of His Own; Men Want Their Own Space, and They’re Pulling Out the Stops
There was a time when Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” resonated with women. But that was before houses morphed into mini-mansions and women got not only a room of their own, but a house of their own to generally decorate as they pleased. Now it’s the man’s turn to covet a room of his own, and for an increasing number of men, the “man’s room” is a cut above the garage where Tim Allen liked to hang out in the sitcom “Home Improvement.” “Men have always wanted a know-around place where they can spill things and tromp around,” said Joanne Carroll, publisher of Connecticut Builder magazine. But today, these places are “getting more luxurious, just like everything else.” She has seen a hunt room with custom cabinets for rifles and wall space for the heads of trophy animals. Still another man has his own meditation room. One Woodbury resident had a “wine cave” modeled after a dimly lighted wine cave that dates from the 13th century built in his basement. Custom builder Eric Strachan understands the desire for a man’s room. He has outfitted his own garage to look like a 1950s Texaco station — with a Texaco gas pump, two race cars and whitewashed walls. (www.courant.com)
Hartford Courant (6/16/06); Valerie Finholm
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Be Selective in Home Renovations
Before you renovate your home in order to reap the reward of a higher selling price, you should know that not all renovations are equal. In fact, some won’t do more than make a home owner happy. In a This Old House article, “Remodeling Returns,” writer Carol Vogel warns sellers about the renovations that help boost sales prices and those that don’t. Kitchens and baths rank the highest, said Kermit Baker of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Of course, these rooms are often the most expensive to renovate, but they may pay for themselves in a sale. Adding rooms is also a good bet, especially a family room or master bedroom suite. Swimming pools rarely return their cost, and home offices don’t garner a lot of sympathy. (www.detnews.com)
Detroit News (6/16/06); Lynne Schreiber
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