Friday, November 28, 2008

Are you Happy with Housing Prices Falling?


If you haven’t noticed or read the news, it has been reported the house prices are falling rapidly and this is due to the impending crisis that has pulled the real estate market as well. Is this good or bad?

It is good if you are the consumer that has saved and would want to get your own home. The time to finally purchase that dream house is now and you have the luxury of choosing what you want. So as far as people are concerned, good housing at these lowered rates is an opportunity that many have longed for, even before they started escalating towards inappropriate levels.

On the other hand it is bad for the economy since it means that our businesses are dropping and the developers are destined to lose a lot. It can also mean inferior use of materials for living as the best way to drive down the cost is to turn towards alternative raw materials to help ease the burden of potentially devastating losses in the real estate development process.

So as a consumer, it is a good thing but for investors, it may be bad. Depending on which side you are on, it is a reality you just have to love or hate.

Source

Monday, November 24, 2008

Housing Bailout or Home Price Manipulation?


We have been hearing financial bailouts being spread as far as the world of business is concerned but what about their branch concerning real estate and properties? People are in need of assistance too and surely many of them are in danger of losing their homes if no form of assistance is extended to mortgage problems.

Surely it seems that all walks of life are in need of bailouts. But while the monetary funds have been released, it is curious to note that these requests are short of saying to the government “Please Help Us All!”

Why? For one, you can just recall that one of the problems that contributed to the financial debacle of most financial groups are bad debts coming from mortgages and unsettled loans. So if the government should help, would it not look weird to save the banks and then save the people in need of assistance as well?

For sure more light on this matter of housing bailout will be talked about in the next couple of days. But for sure, it doesn’t take a genius to notice that housing bailouts seem to be asking too much although it does not necessarily cover all.

"The last thing we want to do is manipulate home prices," said Paul Willen, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and co-author of a recent study showing that foreclosures are following an historical pattern, not causing an unprecedented death spiral. "They need to find a level where homes become affordable, and buyers return."


Source

Saturday, November 15, 2008

How to Find the Right Apartment


For people who are in the market for new places to live in, monthly rentals are surely one of their main concerns. Although you will not know what the actual rental rate of a certain apartment or condo unit would be until you call, you can really assess and gauge if it is within you budget depending on how long it remains vacant.

Some apartments for rent that are good and fair priced are bound to be immediately taken. But one thing you have to note is associating the actual apartment size with the asking rate. The lessors are bound to be open for negotiating the monthly rate but don’t expect it to be drawn down to levels that can match your budgeted rate for living.

Here are some tips on spotting crazy rental rates:

1. Assess the time it remains vacant. The longer it is, the expensive it is bound to be.
2. Survey the location. There has to be a reason why it takes some time for a place to be rented. It could be haunted or there may be issues such as constant flooding or even robberies.
3. Ask around and evaluate the neighborhood. When renting, you don’t have the privilege of security most of the time. Consider the people living in the area and on whether you can co-exist with them.
4. Check out the amenities. There are some lessors who do not take into consideration issues like plumbing or renovation. Some of these apartments have been up for some time and if they are not maintained, you may end up living in a minefield waiting for disaster to happen.
5. Do a Landlord Background Check. If you have the resources to check around on the lessors history, do so. It would be best to know the type of landlord you will be having.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Colored Carpets Based on your Room Theme


It is the dream of any home owner to implement the perfect blend of paint and the elements in a room but the problem with some is that they are hard to come by. Never has anyone found a perfect blend of mixing paint that matches rug color to perhaps walls and entire room furnishings such as the bed, cabinets and tables until Wear-Dated came along.

“An important aspect of our color forecasts is that a consumer can use them to create their own color palette,” says Ann Hurley, creative manager for color and product for Wear-Dated carpet fiber. “We want consumers to infuse their homes with color, and we hope that our tools inspire them.”


So now that Wear Dated has surfaced, home owners who remodel or are in the stages of designing their own homes have lesser things to worry about. Check out Wear-Dated and throw those colored worries away!

(Source) PR Log

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Surplus of Homes Building in Cottesloe, Dalkeith and Peppermint Grove


The rise in number of unsold homes in the real estate market is not really surprising. For one, who can afford to gamble and invest at this time considering that the economy is in one of its worst stages since some centuries back. Rather than commit yourself to paying a monthly amortization, people today are apparently becoming wiser. Make do with what you have and hope for the best. Things are bound to get better once all these financial turbulence settles down.

There are of course some people who are wishing that the interest rates and the price set for these properties would fluctuate in a downward manner. Lowering prices to affordable ones may be a home wisher’s dream. But that is unlikely to happen as covering the costs of building one home or condo unit is bound to conquer all these wishful thinking. The fact remains, they can just be left unsold.

One can just look at the 130 homes in Cottesloe, Dalkeith and Peppermint Grove. They are apparently sitting their and left to rot. Unless something significant hits the real estate market, this is a clear image of what to expect in most parts of the world.

“People in those areas tend to be more exposed (to a financial downturn) so they may be looking at rationalising their assets or downsizing.

“A lot of people may have been holding off and are now realising the market’s not going to go up further.”


Source