HOME OWNERS LOVE THEIR GREEN HOMES

How satisfied are home owners who bought a green-certified home? A recent survey finds that the majority love their homes and would even buy another green home in the future.

According the report from GuildQuality, a customer surveying company for residential real estate, 94 percent of home owners who purchased a National Green Building Standard (NGBS) certified green home built within the past three years said they would recommend a green home to a friend, and 92 percent said they'd go green again in their next home purchase. Home owners were most satisfied with their low utility bills, energy efficiency, and better insulation, according to the survey.

The report, which was commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders, also found that 71 percent of respondents believe that green homes are, overall, of higher quality, and 90 percent were satisfied knowing they "did the right thing" in buying a green home.

"Historically, studies have focused on interest in green among buyers in the market or on trends as reported by industry professionals," said Matt Belcher, Co-Chair of NAHB's Energy & Green Building Subcommittee and a builder from Wildwood, Mo. "While that's certainly important information for all those in the industry, it doesn't always get to the heart of what new buyers want to know, which is: 'How satisfied are green homeowners with their decision?' This data provides groundbreaking information that can be of value to the general public as well as the industry."

Source: "National Green Building Standard Certified Homes Report on Survey Responses," 

IS THAT A (GASP) CRACK?

Few things will send an already nervous Buyer running for the hills than a crack in the foundation. As soon as it shows up in the inspection report they can see their new home breaking in half like the Titanic as their children scream, Fido barks and they scramble to save the big screen TV. Yes, a crack is not good, we all know that. And sometimes it is an indication of something very bad. But mostly its a result of anything from settling to an errant workman who whacked a wall with a Bobcat while working in the foundation (true story). The important thing for a Realtor is to reassure your Buyer, and get a structural engineer out there to take a look. Now that in itself can add an interesting spin to the negotiation as many Buyers will insist the Seller pays for the structural engineer and that's where your Agent's expertise comes in. The structural engineer will inspect the foundation and will provide a written opinion. It can range from a requirement to repair it, to a suggestion to watch it to see if it grows over time. Engineers have told me that so long as the cracks don't extend to interior walls, chances are the foundation crack is benign and merely cosmetic. But we all know that's little comfort to a Home Buyer who is certain the home is shifting on the foundation and ready to collapse. In our experience we've found the structural engineer can always suggest some kind of repair, even if the crack is minor. While some Buyers will be okay if the engineer says it's nothing to worry about, most will only be satisfied if some action is taken. In that case, we always insist the Seller make some repairs to the crack and get paperwork to back it up. If the home was built within the last ten years, the original builder's structural warranty can come into play. However it's handled, it's the job of the Realtor is to manage the panic and to be sure that whatever action is taken will stand up down the road if a problem arises. That way the only courtroom we have to see is on Law & Order. Thanks for reading and we'll see you around the neighborhood.

DON'T GET SQUISHED

A few months ago when our illustrious Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted he might possibly consider tapering quantitative easing it sent interest rates up by over a point in what seemed like a few days and when he came out a few days ago and said he had changed his mind and it would continue in the short term, the stock market shot up and rates came down a little right away. Now for those of you who might not know, quantitative easing is essentially a monthly investment of around $85 billion into the economy by the Federal Government. Our main interest (you and me) in QE, as it is called, is that it keeps mortgage interest rates low.Problem is, if every time Ben opens his mouth, the rates can whipsaw one way or another, consumer confidence gets a little wobbly and home buyers stop and start and stop their home buying activities. Well here's the bottom line. A 30 year interest rate in the 4's is a good deal. If you have been thinking of buying a home instead of renting or moving up to a larger home, NOW IS THE TIME! Don't get trapped on the hamster wheel of the media reporting of rates yo-yoing up and down or of government shutdowns or any of the doom and gloom that sells ads for CNN. If you find a home you like today and you have a job and good credit, just about any bank will give you a loan at around 4 or 4.5 percent and you'll find yourself in your new home gardening, grilling and playing with the kids. Remember, most of the road kill you see in the highway are there because they couldn't make up their mind which way to go, so they sat still and got squished. Don't get squished. Give me a call and we can get you out of the road and into your new home. That's all for now. Thanks for coming by.

IS IT A HOUSING SHORTAGE OR JUST A SHORTAGE OF LISTINGS?

If home inventory is so low, why aren't builders building more? The answer is they are being cautious. Trulia chief economist Jeff Kolko says "Because, despite a supply shortage, the vacancy rate remains elevated, thanks to a glut of unlisted vacant properties, many of them foreclosures.

The market does not have a housing shortage, just a shortage of for-sale listings.

"Many of those vacant, off-market homes could come onto the market, especially if their owners are just waiting for prices to rise enough to make selling worthwhile," Kolko wrote in a blog post.

Also because household formation, which fuels demand, is only half its normal rate.

"The big reason why this is happening is that the share of employed young adults is still closer to recession levels than to normal," Kolko wrote. "In total, we estimate there are 2.4 million "missing households" -people of all ages who should be heading up their own households but are instead living with parents, roommates, or others."