More good news for sellers!

Home prices in Dallas were up another 7 percent year-over-year this spring, posting a median home price of $169,900, though housing inventory continued to dwindle.

The number of homes listed for sale on the market dropped 33% according to a report released Tuesday from ZipRealty, which measured MLS housing data from Feb. 15-March 15.

The rising home prices, coupled with the dwindling number of listings, has created a frenzy that's being seen not just in Dallas, but throughout the country, said Lanny Baker, president and CEO of ZipRealty.

Across the country the median sales price rose to $242,519, a 14.6 percent increase year-over-year, according to the report. The national inventory of home listings decreased 34 percent.


Long story made short, home prices will continue to climb this year as inventory remains at historically low levels.

Prepare your home to beat the heat

With summer quickly approach, I thought this would be a good opportunity to remind readers about some basic home maintenance musts for those sweltering months.

Seal it up!

Energy efficiency is a must when the temperature starts to rise. Have your air conditioning system checked in the spring to beat the rush. Repairmen are often busy in the summer and you may have to sweat it out until your appointment.
Use your ceiling fans as often as possible. I know this is an obvious one but they are a truly energy efficient way to keep the temperature down. Dust them regularly and tighten loose screws.And most importantly, check windows and doors for air leaks and seal with weather stripping or caulk as needed. You’re paying for the cool air, so take steps to be sure it’s not escaping outdoors.

Home Exterior Care and Landscaping

Take advantage of this nice spring weather to wash your windows and siding before the summer months hit. Use a hose rather than a pressure washer to avoid potential damage. Now is also a great time to paint.
Make sure you have your exterminator out to check for termites before it heats up.
In the lawn department, keeping grass cut longer in the summer months will prevent roots from drying out as quickly. Mow regularly but keep some length.
Water in the morning to allow it to soak further into the soil before evaporating.
Also, before planting additional trees and shrubs in your yard, take into consideration the plant's size when mature and whether or not roots might intrude upon underground pipes or paved surfaces such as sidewalks and driveways.

Garage Upkeep

Be absolutely sure to rid your garage of heat sensitive materials before the temperatures increase..
If you have children, instruct them not to go in the garage unaccompanied. Store your hand tools and power tools behind a lock and key. Fertilizers, weed-killers, and pesticides should be stored out of a child’s reach or behind a locked cabinet. You might also consider organic gardening, which employs nontoxic alternatives to these poisonous chemicals.

Driveways And Walkways

Make sure to inspect your driveway regularly throughout the summer for any cracks. Remedy the one's you find immediately. This can be huge in preventing further slipping and serious repair costs in the future.

Make yourself a checklist to help remind you to keep your home up to par all summer long!

First-quarter new construction way up

Work began on exactly 4,312 new homes in the DFW area since the beginning of 2013. This shows a 35% increase in new home starts and is the highest first-quarter construction volume in five years. Experts attribute the high level of activity to builders reacting to the increasing sales rise and low level of inventory.

Rates down again

Mortgages rates dipped again this week, even as the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones remained at record highs. This comes just a day after the Federal Reserve announced it would begin to taper off its stimulus program this summer and end it all together later this year. Average rates on a 30-year fixed were posted at 3.54, down from 3.57 last week and 3.98 this time last year.

Application rates stayed mostly flat this week, coming up only the seasonally adjusted 1 percent.

More Millennials Seeing Value in Ownership

Most millennials that make more than $50,000 a year are more interested in buying homes than they were a year ago, a recent survey by homebuilder PulteGroup, Inc. found.

Nearly two-thirds, or 65 percent, of renters between 18 and 34 who responded to the survey and had an income above $50,000 said that their intention to buy has "significantly or somewhat increased in the past year," PulteGroup said.

"Millennials have witnessed the housing boom and bust, but still believe homeownership is a good investment," said Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup, in a statement. "Consistent with other third-party research that shows more than 90 percent of millennials plan to buy a home someday, we see a lot of young adults who are making financial sacrifices to afford a place of their own."

As part of the survey, PulteGroup also polled people on what home aspects matter most to them. The company found that millennials highly value efficient use of space in a home, with 69 percent of respondents indicating that they "overwhelmingly want an open layout space in the kitchen and family rooms for entertaining family and friends."

Millennial survey respondents also said these features were either very important or extremely important to them:

84 percent said ample storage for daily items;
76 percent said space for TV, movie, or sports watching;
73 percent said the entry to the home;
63 percent said an outdoor living space or deck; and,
36 percent said the ability to conduct business from home.


Originally from Inman News - http://www.inman.com/news/2013/04/1/more-millennials-see-homeownership-a-good-investment

Wikipedia of Real Estate Taking Shape

As listing sites ramp up efforts to augment their statistical data with local color, a real estate developer may soon launch a new website devoted solely to delivering qualitative, community information to homeowners, buyers and sellers.

WikiRealty aims to crowdsource information from professionals in all facets of the real estate industry in order to bring the sort of insider information to consumers that they traditionally can only glean from face-to-face interactions with locals, says founder Sanjay Kuttemperoor, a Naples, Fla.-based real estate developer and attorney.

"Getting access to granular location-based information is almost impossible," Kuttemperoor said. "I want [WikiRealty] to be the repository for that kind of information."





Some listing sites already offer platforms designed to provide consumers with on-the-ground community data. Trulia, for example, hosts a forum where professionals and consumers can post questions and comments, and sound off on neighborhood issues.


Such sites appear to be increasing their focus on furnishing consumers with local color. Trulia's new ‘Real Estate Lab' aims to deliver "the inside scoop on the psychology and strategy" of real estate buyers, sellers and professionals in different markets. And RealtyTrac just began partnering with brokerages to obtain local information based on anecdotal feedback.

But WikiRealty's sole purpose will be to collect, organize and display "granular location-based information," according to Kuttemperoor. "This is a different take," he said about the site.

If the "Wikipedia of real estate" takes shape, consumers could avoid encountering surprises late in the home-buying process, he said.

A real estate attorney and developer in Naples, Fla., Kuttemperoor observed one such contingency in his local market, when an architectural control committee began to enforce construction-approval rights that it previously had not enforced, he said.

If WikiRealty was around, attorneys familiar with the matter could have brought the committee's activity to the attention of people thinking about building homes in the community by posting to the site, Kuttemperoor said. That would help them avoid the possibility of having a lien placed on their home after building it without the committee's approval, he said.

The site could also offer a canvas for contractors to showcase their work, similar to home-remodeling site Houzz. An interior designer who just finished a job in a particular community, for example, could post a description and photos about the job, he said. The body of such a post would be limited to 250 characters, but the author would be able to add additional information on a separate page, Kuttemperoor said.

The site even aims to capture the idiosyncrasies of individual properties. Kuttemperoor said. WikiRealty has partnered with a listing syndicator to help achieve this end, Kuttemperoor said. He would not name the syndicator, saying he doesn't have permission to disclose its identity.

As with any crowdsourced website, WikiRealty's success depends on attracting an engaged audience that continually contributes content. Kuttemperoor said he thinks that industry professionals like agents, mortgage brokers and real estate attorneys will volunteer information to the site for exposure to possible clients, who theoretically will visit WikiRealty for the inside scoop on communities.

"The lawyer that posts information is doing that not only because he's well-intentioned but probably also because it brings him clients in the future," Kuttemperoor said.

Kuttemperoor said he plans to launch a beta version of WikiRealty in 30 to 45 days that will serve his local market in Naples, Fla. He said he has been developing the site for two years, and has spent $200,000 out of pocket on it. Other investors have contributed $100,000 more, he said. He added that he is seeking additional capital.



Originally from Inman News - http://www.inman.com/news/2013/03/28/wikipedia-real-estate-taking-shape