Daily Briefing: Wednesday, March 13, 2013
TODAY'S TOP STORIES
NAR: Buyers value storage space, in-law suites
WASHINGTON – March 13, 2013 – Purchasing a home is an important life decision, and many factors can influence the home choices buyers make.
The National Association of Realtors® released its 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences. It looks at the features buyers prefer when it comes to purchasing a home, including regional differences, as well as factors such as geography, demographics and household composition. The survey captures buyers who purchased a home between 2010 and 2012.
Buyers in the South, including Fla., for example, predictably prefer air conditioning. Compared to other areas, many Southern state buyers also seek out a home less than five years old on a wooded lot.
“Deciding where to live comes with a lot of options, but buyers quickly realize that some features are more important than others when it comes to choosing the right house for them,” said NAR President Gary Thomas.
Geography and demography strongly influence what buyers value in a home. The typical recently purchased home was 1,860 square feet built in 1996. Repeat buyers, buyers of new homes, married couples and families with children typically purchased larger homes.
First-time buyers and single women tended to buy older homes. The typical buyer purchased a home with three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Slightly over half of the homes purchased were on a single level.
Other findings
• While more than three-fourths – 78 percent – of all buyers purchased a home with a garage, garages were more popular among new-home buyers, Midwesterners and suburbanites.
• Forty-one percent of homes purchased had a basement, but this feature was more popular among buyers in the Midwest and Northeast.
• Southerners typically bought the largest home at 2,000 square feet. Those in the Northeast followed closely behind with a typical home purchase of 1,850 square feet.
• Among buyers 55 and older, 42 percent considered finding a single-level home very important, compared to just 11 percent of buyers under age 35. Single women also placed higher importance on single-level homes, while single men wanted finished basements.
• Both single men and married couples placed higher importance on new kitchen appliances.
• Among all 33 home features in the survey, central air conditioning was the most important to the most buyers; 65 percent of buyers considered this feature very important.
• The next most important feature was a walk-in closet in the master bedroom; 39 percent of buyers considered this feature very important. Closely behind that was a home cable-, satellite TV-, and/or Internet ready, as well as a master bathroom.
• When it came to actually buying a home, among buyers who considered central AC and cable-, satellite TV-, and/or Internet ready very or somewhat important, 94 percent bought a home with these features. The next most common feature was an eat-in kitchen; 89 percent of buyers who thought this was important purchased a home with an eat-in kitchen.
• Buyers value some features so much that they are willing to spend more money to have them. Sixty-nine percent of buyers who did not purchase a home with central AC would be willing to pay $2,520 more for a home with this feature.
• Sixty-nine percent of buyers who did not purchase a home with new kitchen appliances would be willing to pay $1,840 more for a home with this feature.
• A walk-in closet in the master bedroom was the third most common feature on which buyers would spend more. Sixty percent of buyers who did not purchase a home with a walk-in closet would be willing to pay $1,350 more for a home with this feature.
• The features on which buyers placed the highest dollar value were waterfront properties and homes that were less than five years old. Thirty-two percent of buyers would be willing to pay a median of $5,420 more for a home on the waterfront, and 40 percent of buyers would be willing to pay a median of $5,020 more for a home that was less than five years old.
• The rooms buyers were willing to pay the most for were a basement and an in-law suite. Thirty-three percent of buyers would be willing to pay a median of $3,200 more for a home with a basement, and 20 percent of buyers would be willing to pay a median of $2,920 more for a home with an in-law suite.
• When it came to rooms that buyers want in a home, 55 percent of buyers thought it was very important to have a living room, although buyers in the Northeast placed more importance on a home with a dining room. Buyers aged 55 and older placed more importance on a bedroom on the main level of the house. Buyers aged 35 to 54 placed more importance on a laundry room, while those with children placed more importance on a family room.
• The two most common rooms buyers were willing to spend more for were a laundry room and a den/study/home office/library. Sixty-three percent of buyers who did not purchase a home with a laundry room would be willing to pay $1,590 more for a home with this room. Forty-four percent of buyers who did not purchase a home with a den/study/home office/library would be willing to pay $1,920 more for a home with this room.
• 97 percent of recent buyers were satisfied with their home purchase.
• Within three months of a home purchase, 53 percent of buyers undertook a home improvement project. The typical buyer spent $4,550 on various projects. Of those who did a home improvement project, 47 percent worked on the kitchen; 44 percent redid a bathroom; 41 percent added or replaced lighting; and 37 percent added or replaced appliances.
In October 2012, NAR, working with a private firm, surveyed a sample of households that had purchased any type of residencal real estate during 2010 to 2012 and still owned the property.
NAR sells the 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences. Members pay $14.95 and non-members pay $49.95. It can be ordered on NAR’s website.
© 2013 Florida Realtors®
Kiplinger: Housing recovery firmly underway
WASHINGTON – March 13, 2013 – Prices are rising and inventories are falling in markets throughout the United States, which has led financial reporting and forecasting firm Kiplinger to declare the housing recovery “firmly” in motion. Moreover, the company says housing will help carry the overall economy at a time when U.S. exports are decreasing, says Karen Mracek, a Kiplinger editor and real estate analyst.
“The biggest reason we think we’re on firm ground is that we’re seeing every indicator on the way up,” Mracek says. “As with the overall economy, it’s kind of hard to call the bottom or the pivot point. But we’re seeing a range of indicators that suggest pretty solid growth going forward.”
In addition to home values and supply, positive indicators include the number of multiple-bid situations, new-home construction and credit availability, she says. Solid improvements in those fundamentals will lead to formation of new households and help more borrowers come out from underwater – and trade up to a new home. They’ll also create new jobs in real estate and construction, Mracek explains.
The recent gains made in housing have some concerned that real estate could be entering another bubble market, but Mracek disagrees with that assessment. “There might be [a bubble] in some concentrated markets,” she says. “But I don’t think it will be a bubble that’s as widespread and disastrous as the one that happened in the last decade.”
Improvements have been – and will continue to be – uneven. The turnaround will probably be slower in metro areas in Florida and the Midwest.
Nationally, Mracek says the current housing recovery is real and sustainable, but she also acknowledges that the rise in home values and decline in inventories won’t maintain their current pace.
“We see prices leveling out a bit more [in the future] from the late jumps in 2012,” she says. “There are still foreclosures for the banks to work through. As prices improve, you’re going to see banks get rid of REOs.”
Source: Brian Summerfield, REALTOR® Magazine
© 2013 Florida Realtors®
HARP refinances surpass 2012 estimates
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 13, 2013 – Nearly 1.1 million Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) refinances were completed in 2012 – almost 2.2 million since HARP was implemented in April 2009. The results come from the just-released Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) December 2012 Refinance Report.
The 2012 HARP performance surpassed previous estimates for the program, in part because the government has tinkered with the rules since its inception failed to make significant headway in helping homeowners at risk of foreclosure.
Florida ranked second nationally in the number of HARP refinances with 175,686. California led with 301,327, followed by Illinois (147,252), Michigan (144,709) and Arizona (106,387).
Since 2009, FHFA says that 35 percent of all Florida refinances resulted from HARP. In December 2012, 58 percent of the state refinancings resulted from HARP.
Also in the report:
• Most HARP refinances were on primary residences (1,895,827); second homes made up 69,522; 199,672 were for investment properties.
• HARP volume reached 297,461 refinances in the fourth quarter of 2012 or 22 percent of total refinance volume.
• In December, 25 percent of loans refinanced through HARP had loan-to-value ratios greater than 125 percent.
• In December, 18 percent of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for shorter-term 15- and 20-year mortgages. |
Mac computers not immune to malware
SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 13, 2013 – The biggest vulnerability to Macintosh computers is the belief among their devoted users that Apple’s superior operating system makes them immune to malware, experts say.
“Some Mac users have this perception that the Mac is free from hacks and that is completely wrong,” said Zheng Bu, senior director of research for FireEye, which develops anti-malware products.
Mac users, said Kevin Haley, Symantec director of product management for security response, “have let their guard down.”
While the vast majority of malware is aimed at Windows operating systems, the growing market share of MacBooks and iMacs is making Apple computers a bigger target. In recent years, Macintosh computers have garnered about 20 percent of the U.S. consumer market, said Stephen Baker, the hardware analyst at the NPD Group. “They are gaining,” he said.
Macs going mainstream may be great for Apple’s bottom line, but it also makes the Macintosh operating system a bigger target for hackers, experts say.
“We are seeing more and more Macs getting infected,” Haley said.
The first computer viruses actually were aimed at Apple computers, said Andrew Conway, a researcher at Cloudmark, which works on Internet security problems. “Back in the day, the first virus appeared on Macs,” which was more sophisticated than Microsoft Disk Operating System, or MS-DOS, he said. “You could write a virus on it, and you couldn’t do that on DOS.”
Many Mac users have long assumed Apple’s operating system, which is tightly knitted with the hardware the company also designs, has stronger security than Windows. Conway, though, said there is no way to prove that is true.
While Apple is good about fixing its vulnerabilities, “the Mac hasn’t come under the kind of attack we’ve seen with the Windows PC,” he said.
The Macintosh operating system is “not a super-system made by super-people,” Conway added.
What is certain is the Macintosh operating system is once again becoming attractive to hackers.
Last year, the Flashback Trojan malware infected an estimated 600,000 Macs by appearing to be a browser plug-in but actually stole personal information. In February, Apple said Macs operated by Apple employees were infected with Java-related malware when they visited a software development website. The Cupertino, Calif., company did not disclose how many of its employees’ computers were infected or when.
One of the biggest threats to Mac users is third-party software, such as Java, a popular vehicle for cyber thieves to infect Windows and Mac machines by writing only one attack code. In such cases, simply visiting an infected website that exploits a Java vulnerability can enable malware to get onto a Mac, which is what happened with the Apple employees, Haley observed. He called it a “drive-by download.”
“In this case, (infected) Java software was used to download malware onto machines,” Haley said. “You would have no idea.”
Adobe software is also another vehicle used by hackers to infect computers, Bu said.
“Both Apple and Windows need to work closely with third-party (software makers) to make safer software,” he said. “Then they need to build a rapid process to quickly address issues.”
Haley said Mac users can also take steps to ensure they avoid malware traps. Perhaps the most important move is to quickly accept software updates from Apple and other vendors, such as Adobe, which often close security vulnerabilities.
“It’s a good idea not to ignore those,” he said, adding, “People are always good about computer security after they have been hit with malware.”
Five ways to make Macs safer:
- Accept software updates from Apple and third-party vendors as soon as they become available. These often include security patches.
- Do not click on unexpected attachments, even from email that appear to be from people you know.
- Do not click on suspicious links.
- Be careful about clicking on links on Facebook or Twitter from someone who appears to be a friend “offering” photos of you.
- Consider using anti-virus protection software for Macintosh computers.
SOURCE: Kevin Haley, Symantec director of product management for security response.
Copyright © 2013 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) Distributed by MCT Information Services.
Global luxury market is booming
NEW YORK – March 13, 2013 – The international luxury real estate market appears to be relatively immune to economic headwinds, according to a report by Christie International Real Estate, a luxury real estate affiliate network. Christie’s International Real Estate Index monitors record sales prices and prices per square foot, among other indicators in the global luxury real estate market.
London emerged at the top of the network’s index, boasting a record sales price of more than $121 million for a residential property in 2012. In New York, an $88 million sale allowed it to come in at No. 2.
The international luxury market is showing strong momentum, “driven by scarcity of quality inventory and demand from international buyers in many of the world’s top destinations,” says Bonnie Stone Sellers, CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate.
There are more billionaires worldwide now than there were in 2008. What’s more, the percentage of worldwide millionaires has grown by 55 percent since 2000, according to the report.
As wealth has grown so has the number of homebuyers making housing deals in all cash. For example, the report notes that nearly all of the transactions in Los Angeles above $5 million were cash deals; 90 percent in New York; and 70 percent in San Francisco and Miami.
Source: “Global luxury real estate market showing ‘strong momentum’,” Inman News (March 11, 2013)
© Copyright 2012 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
NOW YOU KNOW
If the photos aren't good, the tech doesn't matter
SAN FRANCISCO – March 13, 2013 – Real estate photos should showcase the lifestyle that’s possible in a particular home, and that type of technology hasn’t changed in years. If feasible, agents and brokers would be wise to hire a professional photographer to ensure their listings stand out, enhance their brand and facilitate a better user.
However, despite improvements in camera and image processing technology, agents continue to make several mistakes when it comes to listing photos. For starters, a photo should never have a date stamp.
In addition, don’t use a partial room shot, blurry photo or a picture with people or pets in the scene. Orange or yellowish interior photos indicate a problem with the camera’s automatic white balance setting and should also be avoided.
Agents do themselves and clients a disservice when they post exterior shots taken in the sun or interior photos taken at night. Avoid crooked photos, ones with open toilets, or a bathroom shot that shows the agent – and camera flash – reflected in a mirror.
Some experts say agents should spend as much time caring about the quality of their listing photos as they do obsessing over mobile technology.
Source: Inman News (02/22/13) Boardman, Teresa
© Copyright 2013 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
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