Jun 26
Floating homes: What it costs to live on the water NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Many people dream of living near the water, but a few people take it to the extreme: Living on top of the water — in a floating home. “It’s a beautiful lifestyle,” said Robert Oshatz, the designer of a new floating …
Jun 22
Ideas Abound for for Kitchen Flooring. While design, color, and surface appeal are important considerations, you’ll also want kitchen flooring that can live up to your lifestyle and provide the comfort and durability you need. Here are some favorites, with their pros and cons: Natural Stone Flooring Durable and easy to clean, stone offers a …
Jun 22
Single-Family Homes a Hot Rental Item. Are your clients reluctant to sell their homes in a down market? Well, you’re in luck: Fannie Mae reported that the single-family home rental was the fastest-growing sector of the rental market from 2005 to 2010 — and it’s still growing. While it might not be the best time …
Jun 20
Want an Energy Efficient Home? Start With Good Design. If you’re not yet giving much thought to how much energy your new house is going to use, and how much it’s going to waste, then it’s time you started. It should be one of your top priorities – if for no other reason than your …
Jun 20
Foreclosures spike 9% in May. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Foreclosure filings in May spiked 9% compared with a month earlier, according to an industry group. RealtyTrac reported that 205,990 U.S. properties received filings last month, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, marking the first monthly increase since January. Bank repossessions climbed steeply, up …
Jun 08
Foreclosures made up 26% of U.S. home sales in first quarter. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Homes in some stage of foreclosure accounted for more than one in four home sales during the first three months of the year, according to a report released Thursday. Distressed properties that were either in default, scheduled for auction or …
Jun 08
4 ways to save on landscaping. (Money magazine) — There’s no better place to build sweat equity than landscaping. A high-end landscaping contractor will charge at least $5,000 to remodel a typical compact suburban front yard. Yet if you can handle a shovel, hose, and wheelbarrow, you have the physical skills to replace overgrown or mundane …
Jun 06
Be prepared for any home emergency. Sometimes disaster strikes, despite your best efforts to prevent it. And that means you should always be ready for the unexpected. The right emergency gear will help you protect your home and family, as well as deal with unpleasant realities like a post-storm power outage or broken windows. Here …
Jun 06
Living off the grid in a mail-order home. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — House Arc may look like an egg-shaped antidote to McMansion mania, but this small mail-order home was really designed as a way to quickly provide housing to victims of disaster. “We wanted to see how we could produce a house that would fit …
Jun 05
Home prices lowest since 2002. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices hit new post-bubble lows in March, according to a report out Tuesday. Average home prices were down 2.6% from 12 months earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major markets. Home prices have not been this low since mid-2002. “While there …
Jun 04
After three straight months of gains, the latest Pending real estate Sales Index (PSHI) from the National Association of Realtors showed a decline of 5.5 percent for the month of April. This declining figure is not the bright spot many analysts were hoping for, but it does leave pending home sales 14.4 percent above April 2011. …
Jun 01
2011-12 Cost vs. Value: Big-Bang Remodeling Projects. Find out which remodeling projects will provide the biggest bang for your buck this year, according to Remodeling magazine. Optimizing the use of space in a home will not only attract buyers but also give sellers more bang for their buck, according to Remodeling’s “2011–12 Cost vs. Value …
