real estate posts

In the hopeful-timing department -- the real estate market traditionally busts open in the spring -- Zillow.com has launched the Zillow Android App, delivering data on 95 million U.S. properties literally into the palms of cell-phone users' hands.

Capitalizing on the success of the Zillow iPhone App, which posted almost 1 million downloads over the last 10 months, according to Zillow, the free Android application offers similar features to that system, plus new ones unique to this app.

Just when it seems safe to jump into the real estate market again -- hey, it's spring, that's when we do that -- the drumbeat of negative news ramps up once again.

Despite hopes for a leveling off of homes entering foreclosure, the percentage of homes in foreclosure has increased to 3% of all mortgaged homes, from 2.2% the year before, according to Santa Ana, Calif.-based First American CoreLogic, a housing data firm. Some of the country's largest cities, such as Miami and Los Angeles, are among a host of hard-hit metro areas.

Currently there are 3.5 million mortgages at least 90 days delinquent, according to First American, and two million mortgages at least 180 days delinquent. The glut of foreclosed homes portends low prices and a continued buyers' market, as supply outstrips demand. So what else is new?

Are you trying to find a landlord who will not only welcome Fido with open paws, but understand the pooch's need to use the backyard as a potty? Are you someone whose home-buying priority isn't good schools but rather proximity to a dog park or 24-hour vet clinic? If you had your druthers, would you forgo a home with built-in bookshelves in favor of one with a built-in cat platform-climbing tree?

Moving, whether it be down the street or from coast-to-coast, is stressful. So call it a clever marketing tool or the answer to a pet-owner's prayers, but the Pet Realty Network is here to help. The brainchild of British-born Rhona Sutter, the Pet Realty Network charges real estate agents $30 a year to showcase an unlimited number of pet-friendly properties. They can also upload their bios and photos. The fee for developers is $50 a year. The site, free to visitors, provides a wealth of pet moving tips. Sutter is also a Realtor.

In a case of things are tough all over, the Paramount Realty Group of America Corp. filed a lawsuit on behalf of Paolo Zampolli, against his former landlord, Iceland mogul Jon Asgeir Johannesson and his wife, Ingibjorg Palmadottir, for installing an allegedly "ugly" Ikea kitchen into a swanky $312,000 co-op rental apartment on the 16th floor at 50 Gramercy Park North. Hmmm .. HGTV or Judge Judy?

It seems the Johannessons are being called on the faux-Persian carpet by their tenant for committing a Nordic no-no of Viking range proportions. According to the suit, the embattled Icelanders failed to make promised renovations on time and when they finally did the kitchen was deemed unsuitable -- read cheap -- for such a luxurious home.

During the Great Depression, it took about one year to build the entire Empire State Building from top to bottom (well, I guess it was actually bottom to top), so why should it take months to build a mansion sized, custom house?

Apparently, the answer is, it shouldn't take a few months to build a mansion and , increasingly, it doesn't. But would you believe only 32 hours?

I'm thinking about buying a house in a box. Not Ma and Pa Joad's, but a high-end modular that will let me be both frugal and green.

The Washington Post did an encouraging story on the trend. It quoted not only people who had bought one of these houses and paid more than a $1 million or $2 million (way out of my league) and also people who watched one being built next door, who first shuddered and then applauded.

The story featured Haven Homes, a modular homebuilder based in the Washington, DC, suburbs. Haven CEO Jerry Smalley says the publicity is good for business, but he wishes that people didn't refer to his homes as modular. "Modular is a technique, not a type of house," he says.

It's true that once these homes are finished, it's impossible to tell by looking the difference between them and what the industry calls "stick built." But these homes are built in a factory to architectural and buyer specifications and then trucked to the site where they are erected on a previously built foundation. This Washington Post video shows one being constructed with amazing efficiency.

Smalley says his company doesn't sell to do-it-yourselfers. There has to be a builder in the middle. "There are so many technical dimensions that it takes a builder to deliver finished results," he says.

Average Joe, seeking to save his house by getting a loan modification, knows that that process is about as easy as getting Congress to pass health care legislation. So imagine a scenario under which investors may, for $99.95 per month, peruse lists of foreclosed homes they can buy at bulk-buyers' costs, with the mere click of a mouse. How did that happen?

Starting this week, RebuildUS.com, a Woodland Hills, Calif.-based company, is launching a Web site that allows buyers to purchase low-end properties online. No courthouse mob scene, no auction fracas. The homes for sale -- usually distressed and starting at about $4,000 -- are available courtesy of bulk buyers like James Odell Barnes, a well-known foreclosure investor. Barnes, of Leesville, S.C., buys vast quantities of homes over the phone, without inspecting them. Or, as he explained it once in an interview, "I will buy anything."

Well and good. But how do investors get in on this bonanza?

It used to be that unconditional love came from two certain sources: the dog at your feet and the real estate agent who wanted your listing. Both lavished you with affection, hung on your every command and growled menacingly whenever a rival came close to you, precious you.

Today, be grateful you still have the dog.

Real estate agents are actively turning away potential home sellers, particularly those who aren't what they deem "realistic" about pricing. As most things in life, it comes down to the money.

Seniors, whose home values have taken a particularly bad beating in the recession, take note: Light may peeking through the end of the tunnel.

After remaining flat or declining for seven consecutive quarters, older Americans' average home values stopped sliding late last year, according to data from Golden Gateway Financial, which tracks such information. The national average self-reported home value of older Americans rose from $369,762 in the third quarter of 2009 to $381,895 in the fourth quarter. Although home prices among the senior population are rebounding, they still remain steeply lower than 2008 levels.

While the news about national home values was upbeat in some regions, many large states, such as Florida, Texas and New York, still are reporting significant declines in prices. This mixed recovery reflects reduced inventory in some markets, while others still are flooded with homes for sale. But pockets even within these recalcitrant markets are showing a glimmer of improvement, according to the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Price Indices, offering some optimism for seniors who rely on their homes to supplement or support their retirements.

"This is especially true for those considering a reverse mortgage, because as their home increases in value, so does their potential for greater reverse mortgage proceeds," said Eric Bachman, Golden Gateway's CEO.

Americans who knew little of Canadians aside from their funny pronunciation of "house" and "about" know a lot more about their northerly neighbors after the Olympic Games. They really are good at skiing, ice hockey and curling.

Turns out, they're also savvy about real estate. And they're flocking to Arizona, where the buyin' is cheap and the weather is warm.

Anyone who's leased an apartment knows that rent control and peace and quiet rank high on a renter's wish list.

To that list, add a strong preference for living in an "eco-friendly" apartment, according to a recent Rent.com survey. The questionnaire was timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22.

A whopping 86% of respondents said they would prefer to occupy a green living space and 55% claimed they would be willing to pay more to do so.

A sizable number -- 28% -- said they'd pay $50 more per month for an eco-friendly apartment, while 14% would pay $100 more. Later in the survey, however, two-thirds of the respondents said that money was the key impediment to making eco-friendly lifestyle choices. Additionally, 18% said lack of information about how to adapt a green lifestyle prevented them from doing so.

We're inundated with data on the housing market every day, and the stock market moves rapidly in either direction depending on the perception of the moment: Are things getting better or are they getting worse?

One of the problems with studying the housing market is that it's nearly impossible to draw any useful conclusions from the data. Consider the following data points:

• The USA Today reports that existing home sales "skyrocketed" 27% in the fourth quarter of 2009 versus the prior year period, and the "national median price for an existing single-family home was $172,900, or 4.1% below the median price in fourth-quarter 2008."
• On a more local level, Trulia reports that the "Median sales price in Boston, MA went up 5.55% to $532,500 from prior quarter." Furthermore, "Average price per square foot in Boston, MA went down 5.41% to $612/sq ft from prior quarter."

In just four years, roughly one fourth of the U.S. population will be 55 or over -- that translates into some 85 million Americans.

So it is little wonder that home builders are reportedly taking aim at these aging baby boomers in an effort to increase sales at a time of great uncertainty and fiscal pain throughout the real estate market.

"In general, we're seeing very positive response among this buyer group," says Chris Naatz, the Midwest-area director of marketing for Pulte Homes, in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.

There's even an on-line magazine you can buy that is focused on this particular segment of the home buying public.

Back in June of 2009, according to a news release on the website of the National Association of Home Builders, the association's chief economist, David Crowe, said, "A strong and growing number of retirees and empty-nest households are interested in either downsizing or moving to a more user-friendly home -- especially if it's near their existing community."

But he went on to caution that the market conditions, as they existed this past summer, were such that it still presented "significant obstacles" to the 55-plus potential home buyer because of the difficulties in selling their current home.