Renovation Ideas Owners May Want to Rethink

Renovation Ideas Owners May Want to Rethink

Home renovation television shows give home owners big ideas about how they can spruce up their property. But some of these projects can open up problems for owners whose big remodeling dreams may not have been well-thought out. Realtor.com® recently spotlighted a few renovation plans that often turn out badly:

Tearing down walls: While some walls may not look like they’d be any big deal to tear down – even, say, a half wall — they actually may be providing more support to a home than home owners realize. The walls may be holding up floors or framework. Also, those walls may contain electric and plumbing. Always ask a professional the implication of tearing down any wall and check what is required by your municipalities building code.

Modernizing a historic home: Removing some of the historic appeal or character of a home – such as removing original woodwork, built-ins, or claw-foot bathtubs – can be one of the worst mistakes remodelers make, says Matt Forcum, a real estate pro with Century 21 Realty Concepts in Effingham, Ill. The interior may no longer match the character of the exterior, and thereby bring down the value of the property.

Replacing worn-out wood floors: “Unless you’ve had significant water damage, it doesn’t take much to replace hardwood flooring,” says Luis Leonzo with TableLegsOnline.com. Tearing out old floors could potentially lower your home’s value too, Leonzo adds. “The older the home, the higher the quality of hardwood, which might have cost $20 a square foot when it was built. Replacing the flooring with laminate or carpet at $1 a square foot is like reupholstering your leather couch with canvas!”

Using the highest priced materials: Some of the priciest renovations rarely pay off at resale. For example, Morgan Franklin with United Real Estate Lexington in Kentucky suggests finding a nice granite for $35 to $50 instead of the marble for $100-plus a square foot. “In the eyes of the appraiser and the next buyer, there isn’t much difference,” Franklin says.

Source: “The Worst Renovation Advice You Might Actually Try,” realtor.com® (Aug. 4, 2016)

Home Owner Sues Over Pokémon GO Grief

Home Owner Sues Over Pokémon GO Grief

A home owner in West Orange, N.J., has filed a request for a class-action lawsuit against the makers of the popular Pokémon GO game, saying that it has encouraged trespassing on his property. The owner says the company placed Poké Stops and Pokémon gyms on his property without his consent and is profiting from players who invade his private space.

The home owner says he sees strangers routinely coming into his backyard, holding up their cell phones. At least five people have knocked on his door to ask if they could gain access to his backyard to catch Pokémon, a key to playing the virtual game. The game urges players to not trespass and recommends they ask permission before going on private property.

Still, complaints have been surfacing since the game’s popularity soared in the past month. Wanderers showing up in people’s yards, cemeteries, and even the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., have been reported.

The lawsuit asks that property owners effected by the game be paid and that Poké Stops and Pokémon gyms not be placed on private property without consent, Forbes.com reports.

The defendants, Niantic Inc., the Pokémon Company, and Nintendo Co. Ltd., have 21 days from July 29 to respond to the suit.

Source: “Homeowner Files Class-Action Lawsuit Telling Pokemon GO to Get Off His Lawn,” Forbes.com (Aug. 3, 2016)

It’s a Good Time to Sell, Americans Say

It’s a Good Time to Sell, Americans Say

Fifty-two percent of home owners say now is a good time to sell in their neighborhood. This is up from 34 percent who said so last year, according to a survey conducted by the real estate brokerage Redfin.

What’s more, 58 percent of home owners believe sellers have more power than buyers in the market right now. Redfin researchers note this is nearly the highest level of seller confidence they’ve recorded.

The top reasons sellers say they want to sell now:

• I want a larger or nicer home: 40%
• I am relocating to a new city: 24%
• I want to pull out my profit: 21%
• I want a smaller or less expensive home: 20%
• I have had a change in family status: 19%
• I want to move to a better school district: 15%

“Many move-up buyers have told me they are buying now to take advantage of low mortgage rates,” says William Porterfield, a real estate professional with Redfin in Little Rock, Ark. “Buyers are trying to get as much home as possible before rates rise.”

Still, some Americans expressed concerns about selling, mainly about finding a new home to buy when they sell their own.

The following were Americans’ top concerns about selling:

• I might not find another home I want: 30%
• Prices might fall before I sell: 26%
• I might not find another home I can afford: 25%
• General economic conditions might discourage buyers: 23%
• The appraisal might come in low: 19%

Pricing Matters

When it comes to setting the price for their home, 55 percent of home owners say they will price in the middle range based on comparable sales. However, 19 percent of home owners said they would price high, citing that negotiation is inevitable. Also, 12 percent of home owners said they would price high because if the market didn’t value their home, they would wait until it did.

“While we’re noticing a shift among sellers in terms of their confidence in getting their homes sold quickly and for good prices, it’s up to the agent as their advocate to keep their expectations grounded and recommend a pricing strategy that is most likely to get the best value for their home,” says Sascha Gummersbach, a Redfin real estate agent in Atlanta. “A seller’s market doesn’t grant home owners a license to skip things like valuable upgrades, home staging or setting a price based on comparable homes in their neighborhood.”

Source: “Most Home Sellers Think Now Is a Good Time to Sell,” Redfin Research Center (July 28, 2016)

Buyers Want More Land

Buyers Want More Land

A high demand for land is driving up prices in the luxury market. Median list prices for prime lots in the nation’s top luxury markets climbed 8.7 percent in the first half of the year compared to a year ago, realtor.com®’s data shows.

The South saw the highest increases compared to any other region. The median list price in the South rose 13.33 percent in the past year.

Robert Dietz, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders, told The Wall Street Journal that the housing crisis in 2007 is what contributed to most of the current shortage. Builders couldn’t get funding from banks at the time and that stopped or slowed the pace of developing land for future construction, Dietz says.

The data shows that the median list price for a lot in a high-end neighborhood is $635,000 nationwide. The largest increases in median land prices in luxury markets has occurred in Beverly Hills, Calif.; Southampton, N.Y.; Chicago, and downtown neighborhoods in Miami.

Source: “Land Scarce for Luxury Homes,” The Wall Street Journal (July 27, 2016)

Rate of Home ownership Hits 50-Year Low

Rate of Home ownership Hits 50-Year Low

More Americans have become renters. The share of Americans who own their homes dropped to 62.9 percent in the second quarter, the lowest rate since 1965, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. That also marks the second consecutive quarterly decrease. In the previous report, the home ownership rate was at 63.5 percent – still far from its peak in June 2004 of 69.2 percent.

“One of the biggest hurdles now is affordability,” Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, N.C., told National Mortgage News. “Home prices are rising so much faster than incomes, so it’s hard for buyers to save for a down payment.”

Indeed, younger households are reportedly struggling to branch out on their own, unable to save for a down payment, amid heavy student loan debts and rising rental costs. The home ownership rate for 18- to 35-year-olds dropped to 43.1 percent in the second quarter, the lowest level since 1994, according to U.S. Census data.

But the numbers aren’t are all that dismal.

“The broader picture suggests a degree of economic strength: Renters are spurring a steady increase in overall household formation,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “Renter-occupied housing units jumped by 967,000 from the same period a year earlier. Overall, household formation has been fairly steady since the early days of the expansion. A rising number of households suggests more people are optimistic enough to strike out on their own and helps further spur growth as they buy furniture, start families and move up the economic ladder.”

The growing numbers of renters are still likely to one day become buyers. Case in point, 81 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds recently surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders said they want to be able to buy a home one day. What’s more, the majority all age groups of the more than 2,800 Americans surveyed say they view owning a home as a good investment.

Source: “Homeownership Rate Tumbles to the Lowest Since 1965,” National Mortgage News (July 28, 2016) and “U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to Five-Decade Low,” The Wall Street Journal (July 28, 2016)

Ways to Get Others Talking About You

Ways to Get Others Talking About You

You can boost your business’ reputation without spending a dime, according to Forbes. To stay top of mind in your market, try these ideas for your online marketing:

1. Talk to the press.

Offer up your take on the local housing market to your local press. Pitch them a story about a real estate trend or home improvement idea you’ve noticed in your area. Or, write up a press release and even syndicate it by using tools like PRWeb.

2. Submit guest posts.

Get blogging! You may be able to increase your presence online by submitting a guest blog to other established blogs in your area or nationally. Make sure you know the audience you’re blogging for and that you keep your post targeted to them. Start with local publishers and niche websites before you work up to offering to guest blog for higher-authority publishers, Forbes.com notes.

3. Find those with influence.

Harness the power of influencer marketing. Identify a person of influence in real estate with thousands of followers on social media, and engage that person in a conversation and share some of your content with them. They may start to share your content to their audience – thereby, you can boost your reputation by using that person’s reputation.

Source: “7 Ways to Boost Your Brand’s Reputation for Free Online,” Forbes.com (July 2016)