Many Find Success in Volatile Housing Market
Bad news about the housing market is almost a daily occurrence, but it’s not all doom and gloom out there. Many real estate agents, builders, buyers and sellers are anxious to talk about their success in this volatile market. Judy Sanaiha, co-owner of Tempe, Ariz.-based Palacia Homes, has noticed traffic picking up at her sales offices. The builder has four subdivisions open, including a gated community in Chandler. “In the Chandler community, as an example, it’s not uncommon for me to have 35 to 45 people in a weekend walk through,” she said. “We have 59 homes available in that community, and the traffic has just been phenomenal.” Potential buyers are now tired of waiting, Sanaiha said. Interest rates and prices are dropping, which has left many potential buyers wondering “if I don’t get off that fence, maybe it will be a little bit too late,” she said. Contractors Luis Cruz and Michael Jenkins were raking in the money during the housing boom, building 100 tract homes at a time. When the bubble burst, rather than close up shop, they switched gears and began taking any construction job they could get, including small commercial projects and fix-up jobs in bank-owned homes and custom homes. “Before it was ‘We do this and we do this only,’” Jenkins said. “Now…you can call us whether it’s a broken window on a house…or doing tenant improvements whether it’s a barber shop or someone putting in a coffee shop. You just adapt to what’s there and then you work with it.” (www.eastvalleytribune.com)
East Valley Tribune (9/20/08); Edward Gately and Associated Press
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‘Board-Up’ Guys See Boom in Housing Bust
Jason Norton, a 27-year-old contractor in the San Francisco Bay area, knows how to handle sophisticated remodeling projects. But these days, instead of installing granite countertops or spa-like master bathrooms, he handles the lowest common denominator of contracting work: boarding up windows with plywood, hauling junk to the dump and visiting color-matching scanners at Home Depot and Lowe’s to identify which exterior color will best cover up graffiti. Norton is working for lenders and banks who have repossessed properties through foreclosure proceedings. “The business has picked up quite a bit,” says Norton, who began taking on “board-up” jobs in 2006 and now handles five to 10 jobs a week. “Banks can’t just let properties sit there.” Bank-repossessed homes accounted for about 17% of all U.S. homes for sale as of June, according to monthly estimates by RealtyTrac. The actual number of bank-owned homes could be higher, since some are not formally listed for sale, as lenders hold on to them hoping the market will improve. Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, says that under normal market conditions a lender will put a repossessed property onto the market within 30 days of foreclosure. Now, he says, the market is so backed up that some repossessed homes take as long as 11 months to hit the market. (www.msnbc.com)
MSNBC.com(9/9/08); Jane Hodges
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Senior Housing Still Strong
Senior housing continues to be one of the bright spots in Minneapolis-St. Paul’s sluggish residential construction market. Work on one complex began last week and developers recently announced plans for another. Bloomington-based United Properties has begun construction of Applewood Pointe of Winona, a 42-unit cooperative housing complex for people 55 and older that is expected to be completed next summer. The four-acre, $8 million complex includes amenities such as heated underground parking, a common room with a large kitchen that can be used for parties, a craft room, a game room and an Internet café-style library. About 57% of the units, priced from $150,000 to $300,000, have been sold. Meanwhile, the Goodman Group of Chaska announced plans to build a 150-unit seniors housing development adjacent to a golf course. Amenities will include casual and fine dining facilities, a bank, a billiard room, pub, library, computer center, boutique shopping area and an indoor park with a stage. Clinical services and a holistic fitness and wellness center will also be available. (www.startribune.com)
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (9/21/08); Susan Feyder
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7,500 Reasons to Buy a Home
Two big-ticket purchases are coming up for Spencer Craven and his fiancee. They’re buying a townhome and having a wedding. Which will cost them more this year? “Oh, I don’t know,” Craven said with a laugh. “I’ll let you know after it’s done.” But he is certain that the recently enacted $7,500 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers has gone a long way toward making it possible to purchase a Pulte Homes townhome in Bartram Park in the Jacksonville, Fla. market and also stage a memorable wedding. “We’re getting married in April, so getting that tax credit right before our wedding was a decisive factor,” he said. Signed into law last month by President Bush as part of a bigger housing bill, the federal tax credit is aimed at luring fence-sitting home buyers back into the real estate market. (www.jacksonville.com)
Florida Times-Union (9/15/08); David Bauerlein
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More ‘Green’ False Advertising Claims Will Be Brought, Lawyers Predict
The increase in companies’ claims about “green” products and services and consumers’ growing concern for the environment will drive more enforcement and litigation in the area, several lawyers predict. The Federal Trade Commission is revising its environmental marketing guidelines, and the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division, the industry’s self-regulating body, has already started to see more cases. “The proliferation of environmental marketing claims is growing,” said Robert S. Huie, a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins. “I think we’ll see an increase in private suites because frankly, juries are going to be more receptive to weeding out claims that are deceptive or not informative.” Green marketing claims are already playing a growing role at the National Advertising Division (NAD), which reviews about 150 cases a year. More products are being reformulated to be environmentally friendly and there are more companies challenging competitors’ green claims, said Andrea Levine, the division’s director. In a recent case, for example, NAD agreed with Panasonic’s claims that its plasma televisions are free of lead and mercury but recommended the company discontinue claims that its televisions are “environmentally friendly.” (www.nlj.com)
National Law Journal (9/19/08); Vesna Jaksic
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That Sucking Sound Isn’t the Sink Disposal
Fall is a good time for home owners to re-evaluate their energy use and do some cost-saving home improvements, says Calli Schmidt, NAHB’s environmental communications director. Among her suggestions, residents may want to beef up their insulation because, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, homes can lose up to 60% of their heating through areas where insulation or ducting is inadequate. Environmentally friendly insulation such as blown-in cellulose is recommended, and the water heater and pipes should be covered, too. Home owners should use caulk, new weatherstripping or a spray foam to patch cracks and openings around the house that let in cold air. Checking to determine that the HVAC system is the correct size is also a good idea. If the unit is too big it won’t perform the way it should and it will cost more to operate. Programmable thermostats that cost $40 to $100 but save the average home 10% to 15% on energy bills are also a wise investment. (www.denverpost.com)
Denver Psot (9/18/08); Marni Jameson
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