Million-Dollar Home? Don't Brag!
The number of $1 million-plus properties is on the rise in several cities due to strong appreciation rates, the desire for larger dwellings and better construction quality, according to research from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Nearly 12% of residential properties in Cambridge, MA, cost more than $1 million; while high-cost homes make up 7% of the housing stock in San Francisco, 3.8% in Los Angeles, 3.3% in Fort Lauderdale and 2.7% in Stamford, CT. More than 40% of the nation's upscale dwellings are in California, with 7.1% in New York, 5.8% in Florida, 4.4% in Connecticut, 4% in Illinois, 3.8% in New Jersey and 3.2% in Texas and Massachusetts. A report from the Federal Reserve reveals that whites disproportionately own more million-dollar properties than minorities — one out of 72 versus one out of 762. (www.wsj.com)
Wall Street Journal (02/19/04) P. D9; Hagerty, James R.
Builders Offer Charms of Home in Smaller, Cheaper Packages
Cottages are gaining popularity in Snohomish County, WA, as developers flee the condominium market to avoid litigation and make it easier to obtain the necessary liability insurance and as city planners look to comply with the state's Growth Management Act. The homes are built close together on small lots, and buyers like them because they are more affordable than subdivision dwellings. According to Mill Creek's Planning and Community Development Director Bill Trimm, singles, single parents, seniors and starter-home buyers — dubbed "the four S's" — prefer cottages for the small-scale, single-family lifestyles they afford. Most cottage developments are built on land zoned for multifamily housing, but many planners are pressing for a separate zoning classification now that cottages are in such high demand. (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Seattle Times (02/18/04) Hodges, Jane
Master Planners
When designing their homes, prospective buyers can hire an architect to draw up the plans; have the builder handle both the design and construction; or sift through and purchase blueprints online. By working on the home from the start, builders believe they offer a seamless process and help buyers avoid the delays that occur when an architect's drawings are off. Architects, meanwhile, insist that they offer a better quality product without imposing lofty prices. Still, some buyers prefer to surf the Web to find a design that best fits their needs. Many of these sites allow them to use only a portion of the draft or modify the blueprint to accommodate their preferences. Regardless of the source of the design, the project must comply with local zoning laws. (www.washtimes.com)
Washington Times (02/18/04) P. B1; Waters, Jen
Housing: Home Building Has Widespread Benefits
In the 12 months following a home purchase, new occupants typically invest slightly more than $8,000 on furnishings, decor and improvements. Home building and remodeling spill over into and impact the larger economy in a number of other ways as well. For instance, according to the NAHB, construction of 1,000 single-family houses creates 2,448 jobs in the building trades and related industries. Additionally, the group estimates, it generates nearly $80 million in wages and in excess of $42.5 million in local, state and federal taxes. (www.investors.com)
Investor's Business Daily (02/17/04) P. A11
'Build Tight, Ventilate Right' to Breathe Easier
A common myth suggests energy-efficient homes that prevent outdoor air from getting inside also have the undesirable effect of increasing indoor air-pollution. However, experts counter that letting outdoor air inside without proper controls is what allows moisture and pollutants to enter the home. According to Florida Solar Energy Center project director Subrato Chandra, indoor air problems can be solved with tightly sealed, energy-efficient homes that are accompanied by adequate ventilation, filtering and dehumidification. Thorough vacuuming and the elimination of wet carpets, worn insulation, pesticides and poorly vented stoves and furnaces, among other things, are also important. Home owners should install exhaust hoods and open windows when using kerosene heaters, paints or chemicals to encourage airflow. (www.orlandosentinel.com)
Orlando Sentinel (02/15/04) P. J2; Sheinkopf, Ken
Ideas to Burn: How to Update Your Fireplace
Home owners have a number of options in terms of materials and features when remodeling their fireplaces. They can opt for stone, tile, chrome, copper, stainless steel, wood, precast concrete, and paint finishes. The could shell out $500 or more for custom-built mantels or $300-$400 for do-it-yourself mantel kits. To free up space, home owners can install direct-vent gas fireplaces that do not require chimneys. David Logsdon of Sacramento, CA-based VP Originals says, "Instead of designing the room around the fireplace, the fireplace can be designed to complement the room." (www.shns.com)
Scripps Howard News Service (02/16/04) Vierria, Dan
Backyard on Ice
Scores of home owners have already turned their backyards into outdoor gathering places complete with kitchens, decks, hammocks and other items popular during the summer. The newest trend involves transforming the backyard into a year-round retreat so that home owners spend more time outdoors in colder weather as well. A growing number of home owners are installing winterized hot tubs, ice skating rinks, patio greenhouses, putting greens and tubing runs; and some are even buying snow-making machines to enjoy a small-scale version of cross-country skiing. These winter projects can easily top $50,000 and are gaining popularity among affluent vacation-home owners who are returning to their summer retreats despite the cold. However, they also require a significant amount of maintenance and can annoy neighbors who do not want to deal with cluttered yards or noisy ice-making machines. (www.wsj.com)
Wall Street Journal (02/13/04) P. W1; Fletcher, June
Condo Sales Outrun a Fast Market
Condominiums are gaining popularity among first-time buyers, single women, young professionals, empty-nesters and retirees because they are cheaper than single-family dwellings, require less maintenance and allow owners to enjoy a city lifestyle. The median condo price hit $174,700 in the fourth quarter of 2003, surpassing the median single-family home price of $171,600, according to the National Association of Realtors®. For all of 2003, the median condo price surged 15.2% from 2002 to $163,800; while condo resales jumped 9.5% to a record 898,000. The strength of the market can be attributed to demand, low interest rates and growth restrictions that favor urban condos over suburban subdivisions. Irvine, CA-based building industry consultant John Burns says new condos account for 5%-10% of construction output, with upscale units popular in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Miami and several metropolitan areas in California. (www.usatoday.com)
USA Today (02/17/04) P. 1B; Fogarty, Thomas A.
Demand Is Heating Up
HUD's Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing calls tankless heaters one of its top 10 technologies, and the devices were featured in three of the homes on display at NAHB's recent International Builders' Show. Tankless heaters provide instant access to hot water, but they have not been popular in the United States because they cannot meet the hot-water needs of an entire home. Home owners who plan on taking showers, washing clothes or running their dishwashers simultaneously need separate point-of-use units. Still, home owners are showing interest in tankless heaters because they prefer technologies that make their lives easier, according to Rinnai America Corp. executive Ervin Cash. The devices cost more than conventional heaters at $200 to $1,000 — depending on the size of the unit and whether it runs on gas or electric — but they are cheaper to operate, smaller in size, consumer less water and are not as likely to corrode. (www.philly.com)
Philadelphia Inquirer (02/15/04) P. K1; Heavens, Alan J.
Asbestos Shingles Lurk as a Roofing Woe
Owners of homes with asbestos roofs could find themselves without insurance unless they repair or remove the shingles — a process that is pricey due to the safety precautions and dumping fees that accompany it. Asbestos was used in roofing tiles in the past because of its strength and longevity, but the fibers have been found in recent years to cause serious health problems if inhaled. Home owners can be fairly certain their roofs have asbestos if the tiles have turned a grayish brown color over the years, but experts urge them to have their roofs inspected by an experienced roofer to be absolutely sure. An asbestos roof does not need replacement unless the tiles are deteriorating or have been disturbed, releasing the fibers into the air. It often is cheaper for home owners to have leaks caulked and sealed and worn tiles replaced with non-asbestos materials. A safe remediation project is one in which tarps are spread out to catch debris, tiles are brought down in buckets to prevent breakage and debris is sealed in plastic and carted off in lined dumpsters or trucks. The National Roofing Contractors Association can help home owners find competent roofers in their area. (www.washtimes.com)
Washington Times (02/13/04) P. F1; Ross, Audrey
The Showpiece and the Shortcut
Servant stairs located in the back of the home were popular during the Victorian era, but they disappeared when ranch homes became the norm in the 1950s. However, back stairs have been making a comeback during the last five years due to aesthetics, convenience and the desire to keep the front stairs presentable at all times. Chicago's Society of Architectural History Director Pauline Saliga notes, "It's about separating the public space from the private space." While many home owners want rear stairs even if they are not needed, others would rather remove the front staircase altogether to free up space. (cowww.nytimesm)
New York Times (02/12/04) P. D1; McKee, Bradford
New Homes Tend to Use More Energy
Homes built between 1990 and 2001 use more energy than dwellings built 30 years before, according to the Energy Information Administration — an arm of the Department of Energy (DOE). Despite better insulation, highly sophisticated window technology and fewer air leaks, new homes consume about 92.7 million Btu's of energy annually. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy attributes the trend to larger property sizes and the tendency of wealthier home owners not to worry about energy conservation. (www.homeenergy.org)
Home Energy (02/04) Vol. 21.1, P. 45
Hardware Help for the Back-Up Chore
While using CD-burners and rewritable CDs is still a good way for small business users to back up their data, DVD burners and network attached storage (NAS) devices are emerging as new storage alternatives. A single DVD can store up to 4.7 Gigabytes of data, while rewritable CDs are only capable of storing 650 Megabytes of data each. DVD-recorder prices have fallen, and more vendors have released software packages designed to use both CD and DVD burners. Stomp's BackUp MyPC4.85, Dantz's Retrospect Professional 6.5 and NewTech Infosystems' NTI Backup NOW! Delux 3.0 are all sturdy backup packages. The latest backup trend is the use of a hardware device called NAS by small businesses and at-home PC users. NAS devices like the Mirra Personal Server and Maxtor's OneTouch external hard drive, can be used to back up and share files across a network. A slew of companies — including Netgear, Belkin, Iomega and Mirra — have announced they are coming out with lower-priced NAS devises, making NAS devises more appealing backup options for small business users. (www.ft.com)
Financial Times (02/11/04) P. 13; Taylor, Paul
Managing Printing Costs in the Post-Paperless Office
Though some heralded the electronic document delivery revolution as a means of eliminating printing costs, in reality, no matter how much of a business conducts operations via the Internet or its Intranet, employees are still going to want hard copies of documents. Meaning that a communications department may be able to boast of zero printing expenses, but their savings is partly being passed on to other business units in ways difficult to gauge. On-demand printing by employees converts printing costs into supply costs for individual departments. In some companies, costs can be estimated with the use of sophisticated formulas that consider the costs of the copier, maintenance, paper, toner and electricity, enabled by copiers that only allow certain departments to use them though the use of cost center codes. Yet such a method eliminates the easy access to information conducive to a knowledge-sharing environment. Perhaps a better way to estimate costs involves calculating the expense of printing on each type of printer at a company and posting the information near printers so that employees become aware of them. The cost of a printer is estimated by adding the machine, paper and toner costs per page. This will give a reasonable idea of expenses, but does not take electricity and personnel costs into consideration. Posting the information allows employees to see the savings that might be gained from using one printer rather than another, premium paper rather than generic and color rather than black. (www.os-od.com)
Office Solutions (02/04) Vol. 21, No. 1, P. 28; Gragg, Ellen |
