09 Jul 08 
Thinking About Remodeling Your Existing Home?
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For some, declining home values has many homeowners seeking to remodel rather than sell. As recent reports from the National Association of Realtors have stated, pending home sales are down and in most major real estate markets, so too are home values. It is for this very reason that many homeowners are inclined to sit on their home and are willing to ride out the housing slump in hopes of regaining some of their home’s value in the future.
The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) has estimated that homeowners will spend in excess of $302 billion on remodeling and other home improvement projects in 2008. This is a slight decline in home improvement spending from 2007, when homeowners spent $306.7 billion on remodeling projects.
Finding a trustworthy contractor is often a concern for those wishing to conduct major remodeling jobs. My advice for those homeowners is to consult the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB’s Reliability Report is designed to help protect consumers from being taken advantage of. This service allows you to either enter in the business name or the type of business you are seeking, e.g. contractor, plumber, real estate agent, etc., which will then provide you with a list of businesses to choose from. Another great resource offered by the BBB is their Accredited Business listings, where users can also search by business name, type of business, and even the product offered.
A few things to remember when hiring a contractor is to hire one that is a member of a professional association, never pay for the entire job upfront, and check out the company’s references. Speaking to past customers can sometimes be the best way to feel out your new contractor.
Tags: bbb, bbb reliability report, better business bureau, contractor, hiri, home improvement research institute, home values, housing slump, NAR, national association of realtors, remodeling
26 Jun 08 Permian Basin Home Sales Up
According to a report by Kathleen Thurber, of MyWestTexas.com, home sale prices in the Permian Basin area have increased about 7 percent from the same time last year. The Permian Basin region is located in west Texas just south of Lubbock, to Midland-Odessa, and extending westward to neighboring state New Mexico.
There are over 400 units for sale in the area, up from around 250 from the same time last year, according to Carroll Nall, member services director of the Permian Basin Board of Realtors.
Home prices in the region are selling at the average price of $169,700, an increase of $8,700 from May 2007 – Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Thurber also mentions that area builders are reporting that homes are being bought at the same rate they are being built. The Permian Basin Home Builders Association is stating that more than 300 building permits have been issued this year, up roughly 30 percent this year.
To read more about these developments, read Thurber’s story Real Estate Season Kicks off with Summer.
Image credit - Wikipedia
Tags: average home price, carroll nall, home prices, home sales, home values, kathleen thurber, lubbock real estate, midland real estate, new mexico, odessa real estate, permian basin, permian basin board of realtors, permian basin home board of realtors, permian basin home builders, permian basin home builders association, real estate center texas a&m, texas a&m university, Texas Real Estate, west texas real estate
24 Jun 08 Can Homebuyers Trust Online Real Estate Valuators?
As more and more homebuyers turn to the Internet to help them in their search for their next home, many have stumbled upon home valuator websites such as Zillow.com and Cyberhomes.com. The premise of these websites is simple – they allow the user to enter an address and a computer generated value is then outputted. While these services are designed to aid homebuyers when researching a prospective home, problems have continuously arisen with inaccurate values being taken far too seriously by users.
The San Francisco Chronicle recently did a report on the accuracy of these types of websites. They reported that the percentage of errors on home estimates from such websites is still very large. After reading the story, I decided to enter my home address into both Zillow.com and Cyberhomes.com.
Zillow.com estimated my home to be worth $478,500, while Cyberhomes.com estimated my home to be worth $514,701. Zillow.com told me that my home is 1,833 square feet, 3-bed, 2-bath, on a 17,056 square foot lot; Cyberhomes.com didn’t know how many bedrooms there were, stated my home to be 2,090 square feet, with 2 bathrooms, on a 22,220 square foot lot. In reality, my home is 2,200 square feet, 4-bed, 3-bath, and to be honest I do not know the actual lot size or its current market value.
These particular discrepancies can be very misleading for a potential buyer, should I ever decide to sell. I am willing to bet that discrepancies exist in the majority of home valuations created by these sites, especially for users that do not have comparable sales in the area of the home they are researching.
The truth is… a home is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it, and in today’s market I wouldn’t suggest anyone base their asking price on the estimation of a website using computer generated figures. For a true valuation of your home, I strongly recommend hiring a professional home inspector to conduct a walkthrough inspection of your house and then a professional appraiser. I also suggest that you compare your home to those of homes in your neighborhood that are currently listed, or have recently sold.
Curious to see how far off Internet home valuator websites are on your home? I am! If you have the time, let us and our readers know!
Tags: cyberhomes.com, home estimates, home inspection, home valuator, home values, homebuyers, house value, market value, the san francisco chronicle, zillow.com
