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While the Super Bowl is being played this Sunday in Arizona – far from the home stadiums of the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots – CNBC takes a look at some other home field advantages in both Seattle and Boston: their housing markets.
According to information gathered from the U.S. Census, RealtyTrac and Redfin, Seattle and Boston are two of the nation’s hottest housing markets. Given incomes and home prices, it’s slightly more affordable to buy a home in Boston, but it’s far more expensive to rent. The vacancy rates are the same in both cities.
Home sales have been more robust in Seattle recently than in Boston, at least compared to sales a year ago, but Boston is getting more supply than Seattle, which could mean far better sales in the spring market.
Boston is more of a walking city, but Seattle’s views and waterways are nothing short of stunning.
This article from EcoBuilding Pulse highlights the recent growth in construction employees who are trained in the field of green construction. Between 2010 and 2011, the percent of construction employees working in green construction and services jumped from 7.0 to 8.9 percent, according to data recently released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in green construction have continued growing and the organization highlights the importance of marketable skills for those in the building industry. Optimism for a continued rise in green construction stems from sources such as the USGBC’s reported rise in the number of LEED Credentialed Professionals, demand for certified professionals, and green building projects nationwide. State programs, like Green Jobs Green New York, continue to fund training for construction professionals to perform energy audits and weatherize homes.
A new article from U.S. News addresses rumors about who can claim the home office tax deduction. With the large number of American small businesses based out of an owner’s home – including more than half of all small businesses, according to the Small Business Administration – those who qualify shouldn’t hesitate to claim the home office deduction. But unlike more obvious deductions, many people aren’t sure if they qualify to take the home office deduction.
According to the IRS, a portion of your home might be considered a legitimate home office if it meets a few requirements: It’s your primary workplace (i.e., you don’t have a separate office space that you are required to attend from 9 to 5 every day); it’s used exclusively for work; you regularly meet with clients there; and/or you have a place such as a garage that you use to store work-related supplies.
Recognizing that calculating the percentage of a mortgage and other expenses by the square footage of a home office can be a trial, the IRS instituted in 2013 what it calls the “simplified option” for calculating the home office deduction in 2013.
Although economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected new single-family home sales to reach a pace of 450,000 in December, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales increased 11.6% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000.
New-home sales rose to their highest level since June of 2008, finishing the year on a strong note and suggesting renewed momentum for the sector.
Adding to the brighter picture, figures for October and November were revised up by a combined 11,000.
“On the whole, the combination of lower mortgage rates and solid labor market activity appear to have ignited a meaningful pick-up in sales activity,” Millan Mulraine, deputy head of U.S. research and strategy at TD Securities, said in a note to clients.
December was warmer than usual across the continental U.S., possibly contributing to the uptick. But mortgage rates have been heading lower, employers are adding jobs at the fastest clip since before the recession and consumers appear confident, factors which may continue to support the sector.
During a press conference at the International Builders’ Show, panelists discussed current home trends and the home preferences of Millennials as they begin to enter the home buying market in larger numbers. According to the panel, homes will get a little smaller, laundry rooms will be essential, and home technology will become increasingly prevalent.
NAHB Assistant Vice President of Research Rose Quint shared the results of two surveys: one asking home builders what features they are most likely to include in a typical new home this year, and one asking Millennials what features are most likely to affect their home buying decisions.
Of the Top 10 features mentioned by home builders, four have to do with energy efficiency: Low-E windows, Energy Star-rated appliances and windows and programmable thermostats. The top features: a master bedroom walk-in closet and a separate laundry room.
When NAHB asked Millennials what features fill their “most-wanted” shopping list, a separate laundry room clearly topped the list, with 55 percent responding that they just wouldn’t buy a new home that didn’t have one.
The New York Times looked at years of data about home sales and listings to find some interesting insight about street names, and their affect on the value of homes.
Street names tell stories. They tell us if a neighborhood is expensive or affordable, brand-new or decades old. With street names alone, we can uncover all kinds of insights. When it comes to home values, there are three key findings. First, names are better than numbers. Second, lanes are better than streets. Third, unusual names are better than common ones.
Nationally, the most common street names tend to have the lowest home values. Look at Main Street. It’s by far the most common street name in America. It’s also the least valuable. Main Street homes are worth, on average, about 4 percent less than America’s median.
On the other side of the spectrum are “Lake” and “Sunset.” Homes on “Lake” average 16 percent more than the national median home value, and “Sunset” homes are a close second.
A new article from The New York Times offers advice to home sellers on the best ways to prepare a bathroom for showings.
“Every room is important to stage,” said Elaine Clayman, an associate real estate broker at Brown Harris Stevens in Manhattan, but a bathroom is extremely important because that’s where buyers really scrutinize the details.
Start with the basics: the ceilings and the walls. “A lot of bathroom ceilings are peeling,” Ms. Clayman said. “Even if it was just a matter of humidity, it will cost the seller a lot of money because people will always assume it’s a leak.”
So it’s well worth the effort to repair and repaint any area that’s peeling to give it a clean, smooth surface.
Another problem Ms. Clayman frequently sees in bathrooms is mismatched light bulbs above the vanity.
“A lot of bathrooms have that row of bulbs that has a Hollywood look,” she said, and as burned-out bulbs are gradually replaced with whatever a homeowner happens to have on hand, the fixture ends up with an assortment of clear and frosted bulbs in different sizes.
“All of those bulbs should be taken out and replaced so that they’re the same size and same color,” she said.
The Wall Street Journal reports on a new survey that finds most millennials want to live in single-family homes outside of the urban center, even if they now reside in the city.
The survey, released recently by the National Association of Home Builders, asked over 1,500 people born since 1977 if they wanted to remain urbanites or eventually relocate to the suburbs.
“While you are more likely to attract this generation than other generations to buy a condo or a house downtown, that is a relative term,” said Rose Quint, the association’s assistant vice president of survey research. “The majority of them will still want to buy the house out there in the suburbs.”
The survey found that 66% want to live in the suburbs, 24% want to live in rural areas and 10% want to live in a city center. One of the main reasons people want to relocate from the city center, she said, is that they “want to live in more space than they have now.” The survey showed 81% want three or more bedrooms in their home.
A new article from Reuters highlights some of the factors at work in favor of home buyers this year, especially those who want to trade up to a larger home.
New single-family housing starts are at a high since 2008, according to the Commerce Department’s latest report. Fewer homeowners are renting out their homes to delay selling them, down to 35% in 2014 from 39% in 2013, according to Redfin. And more consumers have positive equity. Last spring, 19% of homeowners in Redfin markets (such as Atlanta and Philadelphia) had low or negative equity. That was down to 11% in November. Nela Richardson, Redfin’s chief economist, expects it to hit 8 percent by March 2015.
Even better for buyers, interest rates are near-historic lows below 4 percent. “The question of staying versus leaving is shifting. For people who were afraid to leave their mortgage because they thought it was the best they’re ever going to get, now there is another good mortgage around the corner,” Richardson says.
