Home improvement projects are on the rise, according to the BuildFax Remodeling Index. For the 19th straight month, May’s index rose, suggesting that homeowners in Fitchburg are remodeling more frequently than in the past.
Do-it-yourself projects are on the rise, too.
If you’re among the many homeowners forgoing paid contractors, be sure to follow basic safety precautions because, as this 5-minute video from NBC’s The Today Show points out, a home remodeling “accident” could cost you more than the money saved on the project itself.
The interview gives several key tips:
Use “expandable” earplugs to prevent hearing loss from power tools.
Don’t wear sneakers or sandals. Wear construction boots.
Never stand on the top 2 steps of a ladder.
In addition, we’re reminded to wear safety glasses always. Eye issues are the number one injury as reported by home remodelers, and accidents can happen anytime.
Watch the full video at the NBC website. And, f you feel your next home remodeling project is beyond your personal expertise, seek a professional’s help. Call or email me for local recommendations.
Buyers are writing contracts at a furious pace nationwide.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the Pending Home Sales Index rose 2 percent last month to reach its highest level since March.
A “pending home sale” is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed.
The forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index is up 11 percent from its low of the year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®, and well ahead of its rolling 6-month average.
Unfortunately, national data isn’t always helpful for buyers and sellers in Leominster and nationwide. To help make data more relevant, therefore, the official Pending Home Sales Index report includes a region-by-region breakdown.
Between May and June 2011, results were mixed:
Northeast Region: -0.4%
Midwest Region : -3.7%
South Region : +4.4%
West Region : +6.4%
However, even the value of regional data may be dubious. (more…)
Standard & Poors released its May 2011 Case-Shiller Index this week. The index measures change in home prices from month-to-month, and year-to-year, in select U.S. cities.
May’s Case-Shiller Index showed a 1 percent increase from April 2011. Home values rose in 16 of the Case-Shiller Index’s 20 tracked markets. Only Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa fell. Phoenix was flat.
Don’t look too far into the findings, though. Like the FHFA’s Home Price Index, the Case-Shiller Index is rife with flaws.
The first flaw of the Case-Shiller Index is its limited geography. Despite being positioned as a national housing index, Case-Schiller Index is sourced from just 20 cities nationwide. There are more than 3,100 municipalities nationwide.
The Case Shiller Index’s second flaw is that it ignores all home types excepts for single-family, detached homes in its findings. Condominiums, multi-family homes, and new construction are not included in the Case-Shiller Index.
In some markets, these excluded home types outnumber the included ones. (more…)
According to Census Bureau data, the number of new homes slid 1 percent from May. On a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, home buyers bought 312,000 newly-built homes last month.
It’s the third straight month of falling sales and the headline data casts the Fitchburg housing market in a negative light.
Upon closer inspection, however, the numbers appear quite strong.
First, sales are down marginally. Total units sold have dropped just 2 percent from the highs of the year. And, second, the number of newly-built homes for sale is down markedly from last year
At today’s sales pace, the complete new home inventory would be sold in 6.3 months — the quickest sell-out window since the expiration of the 2010 federal home buyer tax credit.
Builders are feeling better about their business, too. (more…)
The FHA is insuring a greater percentage of loans than during any time in recent history. In 2006, it insured roughly 5 percent of the purchase mortgage market. Today, it insures one-quarter. “Going FHA” is more common than ever before — but is it better?
The answer — like most things in mortgage — depends on your circumstance.
Like its conforming counterpart, an FHA-insured mortgage is available as a fixed-rate loan and as an adjustable-rate one. Payments are made monthly and come without prepayment penalties.
That’s where the similarities end, however, and decision-making begins. For homeowners and buyers across Worcester , FHA mortgages carry a different set rules as compared to conforming loans through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac that can render them more — or less — attractive for financing. (more…)
Buyers are writing contracts at a furious pace nationwide.
Home builders are slowly reducing inventory.