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CHASING THE CONSUMER

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It’s hard to go anywhere or do anything without being exposed to marketing and a rapidly growing number of ways designed to lure us into buying new products.Yet it’s not that our desire to be bombarded with marketing and advertising has increased; quite the contrary, we don’t want it. Just think of the “Do Not Call” list and the legislation that has been enacted to reduce spamming.”? Even our new love for TIVO and DVRs is the result of a strong desire to zap out unwanted commercials.According to Trend #4 in the Swanepoel Trends Report for 2007, the Internet, while it continues to be a great solution, has provided its fair share of complications.”? For example, type in “Homes for Sale” on Google or Yahoo and you will get results numbering in the multiple millions.”? Yet according to Realtor.com there are currently only approximately 3 million properties for sale.The reason lies in the fact that the real estate industry is still marketing all over the board and really doesn’t understand the online marketing channel. In many cases the industry is complacent in its approach to marketing and the methods it employs; it still holds onto old “trusted” methods while jumping onto anything new.

CondoTel

A CondoTel is a condominium project that is operated as a hotel with a registration desk, cleaning service and complete with all the amenities that a hotel can offer The units are individually owned. Unit owners also have the option to place their unit in the hotels rental program where it is rented out like any other hotel room.

There are advantages and dis-advantages to condotel ownership.

Advantages
- Pros include rental income to offset ownership expenses, a great vacation home, a cared-for home and potential price appreciation.

Dis-Advantages
- You might have to make a reservation for your own unit several days or weeks in advance. There are risks associated with all hotel ownership as well, such as occupancy rates that might be based on general economic conditions and potential destruction of the property.

Generally, condotels cannot be considered as your ‘first’ home. It is good for investment or as ‘second’ home only.

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Vanity is not a sin

A vanity is not a sin nor an indulgence. Do not let anyone else tell you otherwise! At least, it’s not a sin when it returns around 70 percent of your investment in it as well as a better chance of selling. As of late, bathroom cabinets and vanities have been making a comeback in popularity. Most sought after are the sleek stand-alones or the under-mounted ones which are a sturdier alternative. Considering there are is a wide variety to choose from, one can be sure to pick one that’s the right price and the right item to the toilet.

Toilets? Not a nightmare anymore!

If your kitchen has already impressed the buyer, wait till you reach the toilets. You probably would want to place on a pair of earmuffs over your ears if you haven’t done anything to the toilets. Chances are, those hair clumps, bad drainage, and irremovable stains are still there. Toilets and tubs are just as inspected as the kitchen, maybe even more so. A good investment in standard clean installations will ensure a recoup of around 78% when selling your home. Choosing water saving ones will also not be a bad idea and buyers may be attracted to the water bill saving utilities your house offers.

Fixing the cabinets

Sitting around for a long time, those kitchen cabinets sure could do with a little makeover. And when I say makeover, I don’t mean a thousand dollar refurbishing. In fact, you can do this for as little as the price of several paintbrushes, several cans of paint, and your own ingenuity. Handy homeowners who are good at crafts can turn boring old kitchen cabinets to luxurious dark wood cabinets. A simple paint job will most often suffice. Should your cabinets be in a serious state such as molding or being eaten away by termites, call the contractors in for a small job of replacing the piece with a similar wood piece. A clean and new looking kitchen goes a long way to adding a couple more bucks to the price of a house.

Top-Earning Town for 2007

There are just places that have everything every family could have wanted – high economic opportunity, safe environment, better schools and an air of community sense. If there is a place that will fit in the expression, “don’t even bother to ask how much it actually costs, you sure can’t afford it”, it is Hillsborough in California.

The population of this wealthy place is about 10, 500. The average household income of the residences here is $263, 456. If you are planning to move in to this place, you should be confident that you could afford a multi-million house because a single house could cost you $2.6 million on the average.

Bad sinks will sink you

If you are more of a cook meals at home type of person, then your sink will probably have gone through more than its fair share of workouts. Seeing those left-over stains and rusting edges will not appeal to a buyer at all and might even drive him/her away. Invest a small amount into replacing the kitchen sink and faucet with something stainless, luxurious-looking, and best of all, cheap. Out there, faucets and sinks are available for a couple of hundred. The investment’s likely to add more return than how much you spent for the furbishing as well as attract better buyers, especially those with an eye for great kitchens.

Worthy investments to your home

Sure prices on housing are falling. In fact, most people are so worried about the rising trend, they’d rather sell off the house as soon as they can to the highest buyer than waste time waiting for the trend to stop. To even think about spending more on house improvement might be a bewilderment or even an outrage to house sellers but contrary to popular belief, these are all worthy investments that could bring home a few extra money for just a small price. Around this time, contractors are waiting like hungry dogs, ready to pounce on any work or projects that have long abandoned them due to this trend. This could work in your favor as they will be highly open to bargain and fixing that kitchen or toilet could be cheaper than you think.

Real Estate Change: Bubble Trouble (Again?)

For real estate professionals there are lessons to be learned from every changing market condition; especially a housing bubble. The question is will they? For a great many agents who have never experienced anything other than the recent feeding frenzy this is the first time they�ll be learning them and for the rest who have �been there before�, it�s a time to reflect on the last time through the cycle and add the new lessons learned.

The housing bubble expanded in the first few years of the 2000s, especially in the costal areas, the southwest and the highly populous areas. The bubble is basically a period during which a mania for home buying occurs. In Read the rest…

Single-family starts, permits fall in November

The pace of groundbreaking for home construction in the U.S. fell in November after rebounding for the first time in four months in October, while building permits slid to the lowest level in 14 1/2 years.

Housing starts declined 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.187 million annual rate in November, after rising 4.2 percent in the previous month to 1.232 million, the Commerce Department said this week. Year-to-year, housing starts during November were 24.2 percent below the level of construction in the same month of 2006.

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