The Most Expensive Suburbs by City

Suburbia doesn't have to be boring, but it sure can be expensive. Here's where your richest neighbors sleep and play

Want to leave city life behind for a suburb with affordable housing, low taxes, and a cheaper cost of living? Don't look in these places.

Even with last year's home price declines, the most expensive town in your metropolitan area probably has a median house price in excess of $1 million, with a property tax rate well over $10, or even $20, per $1,000 of home value.

But if you have the means and the stomach for such elevated prices, you can, luckily, expect to get your money's worth in a costly suburb. The school systems are best-in-class, the crime rates are nil—and if suburbia's dull, conformist image has deterred you in the past, a wealthy community packed with mountain trails and luxurious beaches may finally win you over.

BusinessWeek.com asked Portland (Ore.) research company Sperling's Best Places to come up with a list of the most expensive suburbs in 20 of the nation's major metropolitan areas using home prices, cost of living, and property taxes as determinants. The results are varied—with median home prices ranging from $772,000 (Dellwood, Minn.) to $2.8 million (Hillsborough, Calif.)—but uniformly unaffordable to all but the richest American families.

Every suburb on our list has a cost-of-living index of at least 196.8 (Greenville, Del., and Dellwood, Minn.), with 100 being the national cost-of-living average. Hillsborough, in the famously expensive San Francisco area, has an index of 535.1, or five times the national average, while Old Westbury, N.Y., on Long Island, has an index of 498.1. Property tax rates run as high as $26.2 (Piney Point Village, Tex.) per $1,000 of home value.
Understated Elegance

Surprisingly, not all ultra-expensive suburbs feature gaudy estates and celebrity neighbors. Take Rolling Hills, Calif., an equestrian-oriented community of less than 2,000 residents just 30 minutes from downtown Los Angeles.

Rolling Hills is a gated, strictly residential community on the Palos Verdes Peninsula featuring white ranch homes with ocean and city views on spacious two-acre lots surrounded by three-rail white fences. There are no traffic lights, and there are more horse trails than roads. Residents work, shop, and go to school in surrounding towns.

"We call ourselves the only gated city in America," says Bill Ruth, a realtor with Keller Williams in the Palos Verdes area. "We've been playing off that one for a while."

The median home price in Rolling Hills is about $2 million, with sales last year ranging from $1.5 million to $3 million. Although the median household income in the community is $256,944, the highest on our list, there aren't many $10 million mansions here. No flashy Hollywood types, either: Most residents are business owners, doctors, or attorneys, and the wildest event you are bound to attend is a children's party or a Little League game.

"It's a unique community where you can still leave your front door unlocked," Ruth says. "There's zero crime. Though a horse was stolen last year."
Brandywine Bargain

Well-off folks who want to live large but still enjoy a good deal (and who doesn't?) may consider relocating to Philadelphia's priciest suburb, which happens to be in the inconspicuous state of Delaware, amid the open spaces and sprawling golf courses of Brandywine Country.

In fact, Greenville, Del., buoyed by Delaware-based chemical giant DuPont (DD), is also a commuter community for workers in Wilmington, Washington, and New York. Houses in Greenville range from DuPont family-owned colonial estates to 10,000-square-foot McMansions to houses commissioned by the Texas oilmen who came to the area when DuPont acquired oil and gas company Conoco in the early 1980s. Today the community's residents are of a mix of old and new money, with many lawyers, bankers, and businesspeople employed by the local industry.

"There are some trust-fund babies around, but the majority are working types," says Wendy Bunch, a local agent with Brandywine Fine Properties Sotheby's International Realty.

While $5 million homes are not at all uncommon in Greenville, the median price in the area is just $805,300. Property taxes run at a rate of $8.17 per $1,000 of home value, and the cost of living is less than twice the national average. And forget about sales tax—there isn't any in Delaware.

"It's a wonderful place to live, and it is still a bargain," Bunch says.

Want to know where the wealthiest suburbanites live in your metropolitan area? Click here for the list of the most expensive suburbs for the 20 biggest cities in the U.S.

Queens real estate broker charged in $1.6 million real estate investment scam

District Attorney Richard Brown announced Wednesday that a Bayside real estate broker has been charged with defrauding four real estate investors out of more than $1.5 million which she allegedly used to pay off personal and business loans.

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Shelly W. Cao, 40, of 45-63 218th Street in Bayside. She was arraigned yesterday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Ira Margulies on a criminal complaint charging her with first-, second- and third-degree grand larceny, first- and second-degree criminal possession of stolen property and first-degree scheme to defraud. Judge Margulies set bail at $1 million and ordered the defendant to return to court on February 6, 2007. If convicted, she faces up to fifteen years in prison.

District Attorney Brown said that, according to the criminal complaint, the defendant offered to purchase real estate in upstate New York for investors as part of an agreement to create a new joint company for the ongoing purchase of real estate for investment purposes. It is alleged that between February 12, 2005, and August 31, 2005, she accepted a total of $1,597,615 from four businessmen wishing to invest in the venture.

The District Attorney said that the complaint further alleges that the defendant deposited her victims’ funds into her personal and/or business accounts to pay off loans owed by her or her companies: Wei’s Realty Corp., #1 Funding Center, Inc., and Perfect Funding Corp, all located at 136-31 Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. The complaint further charges that the defendant never formed a new joint company nor did she make any purchases on behalf of the venture.

Real Estate Marketing Tips -- Using Testimonials

Genuine testimonials can add credibility to a real estate marketing program. When the testimonial comes from a known source, like a neighbor, that power increases tenfold. So how do you go about using testimonials?

An easy but effective formula:

1. Place a testimonial at the top of your piece, in headline fashion.

2. Followed up with your message, giving specifics of the transaction -- the number of interested buyers that came through, the time it took to get a contract. (Or other relevant data from a buyer agent transaction).

3. Then offer to help the reader in the same way.

4. End with your offer and call-to-action.

Create a testimonial "harvesting" system.

The easier your testimonial gathering system is, the more likely you'll do it on a regular basis. Put something down on paper. Map it out. Make it a point to solicit a testimonial from each client X-number of days after the transaction.

Follow your timeline consistently. And be sure you make it clear how you will use the testimonial (simply by using the phrase "in my marketing efforts").

Use your client's full name and address whenever possible. When you write a testimonial-request email or letter (or call them on the phone), ask if you can include their full name and address. Explain that it makes the testimonial more believable than something signed by "R. P. from Houston."

For example, if you lived at 344 Elm Street, Houston, TX, which of the following testimonials would capture more of your attention:

One signed by J. Riley, Houston, TX?

Or one signed by John and Beth Riley, 357 Elm Street, Houston, TX?

Send thank-you cards or a small gift to testimonial providers. This will boost your referral rate. Besides, it's just plain nice (and there's plenty of room for nice in today's business world).

Use the complete testimonial.

Open your newspaper up to the movies section and you'll see testimonials that look like this:

"...great..."

"...superb..."

"...astounding..."

Besides the fact that these snippets are worthless, what's the first thing they bring to mind? If you're like me, you might say they look like they've been taken out of context by a tricky writer. Use the full testimonial, or at least the full sections that are most applicable.

Summary

Testimonials carry more power than anything you might say about yourself. Create a simple harvesting system and follow it consistently. Be honest about your intentions. Send a thank-you card or small gift.

GarCo hits $1 billion in real-estate sales

With real-estate sales in Pitkin County surpassing $2.5 billion in 2006, Garfield County made a run for the money last year too, breaking the $1 billion mark for the first time.

According to a report by Land Title Guarantee Company, the dollar volume of real estate transactions in GarCo was $1.04 billion in 2006, a 21 percent increase from 2005, when $855 million worth of real estate transactions took place. A total of 2,852 units were sold, 9 percent more than the previous year.

December ended on a high note, with $104 million in sales, which was up 32 percent over 2005 in dollar volume but slightly less in the number of units. The largest part of that volume took place in Carbondale, which saw $836,000 in sales that month.

Dollar volume has increased rapidly in GarCo over the last few years. In 2003, there were $439 million in real estate sales, then $600 million in 2004 -- last year's transactions represented a nearly threefold increase in dollar volume.

Comparatively, Pitkin County had both a double-digit percentage increase in dollar volume (26 percent) and a double-digit percentage decrease in transaction volume in December, showing that prices continue to go up, according to Land Title.

Pitkin County's $2.64 billion in real-estate sales is an almost 18 percent increase over the previous year -- and 132 percent higher than in 2003.

Not surprisingly, Aspen had the lion's share of the dollar volume in December -- 57 percent, compared to 36 percent of the number of transactions.

Last year also saw only a 2 percent increase in dollar volume from fractional sales: $181 million as opposed to $178 million in 2005.

How To Name Your Real Estate Blog

This post is for agents thinking about starting a blog. The first item of blog business is choosing a name. We suggest you consider incorporating the keywords “Real Estate“, as well as your local market, eg: New York Real Estate Blog. Here’s one reason why. The coveted keywords “real estate” are normally not within reach on Google. But they are DEFINITELY within reach on Technorati, which is currently the #1 Indexer of Blogs.

I typed in a search for “real estate” in the “blog directory” and here were the results, sorted by authority. Of the 874 blogs about real estate, Sellsius° was number 2 and Rain City Guide was number 3. Neither of us have the ranking or traffic of Curbed, yet we both are at the top of page 1. Why? Because we use “real estate” in our blog title. Other familiar blogs on page 1 include: Pat Kitano’s Transparent Real Estate, Joel Burslem’s The Future of Real Estate Marketing and Real Estate Investing for Real by Bigger Pockets. Just something to think about.

Tiny London apartment on sale for $335K

LONDON - Location, location, location. Almost anywhere else, the tiny dilapidated studio wouldn't attract much more than mice. But this is London and the 77-square-foot former storage room — slightly bigger than a prison cell and without electricity — is going for $335,000.

The closet-sized space in the exclusive Knightsbridge neighborhood may be only "about the size of a ship's galley, said real estate agent Andrew Scott, who's handling the sale. "But it's permanently anchored to one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the world."

At more than $4,340 a square foot, the mortgage buys a spot within walking distance of tony stores like Harrods and London's iconic Hyde Park. Originally conceived as a maid's room, the apartment at 18 Cadogan Place hasn't been used for years and is littered with trash bags and crumbling paint.

A coffin-sized shower is en suite, and storage is provided by a shallow closet and 10-inch-deep shelves cut into the wall. Two hot plates and a small sink make up the kitchen. Two dirty windows allow light to filter into the basement room, and the fire escape could conceivably double as a shared patio.

With no electricity or heating, Scott said it would cost an additional $59,000 to make the room habitable.

"It is an investment," he said, as he stretched his arms the width of the room, laying his palms flat on opposite sides of the wall.

The sale of this dark, mildewy room illustrates the astronomical rise in property values across London, which in the past year has seen average residential property prices increase 22.4 percent, to about $703,000, according to figures released Monday by Rightmove, which tracks the British property market.

Prices in London's most desirable neighborhoods have grown even faster, with average house prices in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea — where Cadogan Place is located — rising 61.8 percent over the past year to a jaw-dropping $2.2 million.

Ultra high-end property prices in London are the most expensive in the world, with some recent sales hitting $5,900 per square foot — making the Cadogan Place studio a bargain by comparison, according to research published last year by CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

Similar properties in New York can go for about $5,300 per square foot, while those in Hong Kong sell at around $3,950 per square foot.

Scott said he already had three offers on the property, which might go to auction. Size, he added, is in the "eye of the beholder."

"If you thought of this as the cabin on a boat, you'd say, 'It's pretty spacious,' " Scott said.

Real estate scammers: We're onto you

So, two more Brit issues came in this week regarding real estate or visa-type problems that were complex and costly.

Note to the ill-doers: Everyone is onto you these days. I think there was a time maybe when people Americanflag_3 were naive and didn't know what was happening. People were trusting. But everybody from the U.S. Embassy to Homeland Security to little-ole-me knows how a lot of this works by now.

I cannot stress enough to those who are buying real estate to consult with established firms on good referrals and lawyers who work in immigration. During the real estate hey-day of the last few years in Central Florida, a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon to sell and it was easy. They sat in their office and the phone rang. Now, they're starving. What do people do when they starve? Some of them get desperate and willing to compromise whatever miniscule set of values they had.

The people who have been in real estate know the drill. The market goes up, it goes down, it goes up, it goes down. It's like farming. Farming families have the fortitude to make it through tough years, knowing full well they are coming and they are going. They don't lose their values on the lean years. So it is with good real estate people. Find those people when you are buying and selling. Find an immigration lawyer --- those are the ones who have a passion for immigration issues --- to work with you. Any old lawyer won't do.

And don't let a few bad stories ruin your hope of being in the U.S. if you want to be.

On The Market: HUDSON RIVER MULTIFAMILY

$1,595,000

WESTCHESTER: 1178 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers

A 114-year-old Victorian with five apartments: the largest has two bedrooms, one bath and three fireplaces; two have one bedroom and one bath; one has three bedrooms and a bath; and one is a studio. Jane McAfee, Houlihan Lawrence (914) 337-0400; www.houlihanlawrence.com.

TAXES: $22,100 a year

PROS: The largest apartment has oak floors and a renovated kitchen with trendy appliances. The house is perched high on a hill, affording grand views of the Hudson. The zoning for the 0.67-acre-lot allows for redevelopment to a condo complex.

CONS: The house is on a busy commercial street and requires a steep climb to the front door. And the Yonkers public school system has been troubled for decades.

After Sale, Rent Increases Give Some Sticker Shock

Dara Kane loves almost everything about Peter Cooper Village, from her spacious apartment and friendly neighbors at the complex overlooking the East River near 23rd Street to the park-like grounds and the elementary school her 7-year-old attends.

But Ms. Kane and her family are moving out.

She said her landlord notified her that the rent on her two-bedroom apartment was going up $700 a month, or 18.7 percent, to $4,450 from $3,750, beginning Feb. 28. That is on top of the $500 rent increase she got last year. It is just too much, she said.

Ms. Kane and dozens of other tenants paying market-rate rents are suffering from sticker shock in the first wave of lease renewal letters being sent out by Tishman Speyer Properties, which bought Peter Cooper Village and its sister complex, Stuyvesant Town, in October in a record-breaking $5.4 billion deal.

Some tenants among the nearly 25,000 residents in the two complexes report that their rents are going up as much as 33 percent, the latest sign that the two complexes, long regarded as an affordable haven in Manhattan for middle-class New Yorkers, are changing.

“It’s really a special place,” Ms. Kane said. “But they are not interested in retaining any stable tenancy. When people like us leave, you have to wonder, how are the public schools going to survive? How will the 14th Street Y sustain itself? All those things are going to suffer.”

Evan Horisk, a television producer for PR Newswire, a corporate news network, moved out of his two-bedroom apartment in Stuyvesant Town on Jan. 4, after the landlord notified him that his rent would jump 26 percent, to $3,350 from $2,660 a month.

“It flipped my life upside down,” Mr. Horisk said. “Living there was great. The renovations were superb. The maintenance was top-notch.” But, he added, “I didn’t get a big raise this year that can compensate for that kind of increase.”

While moving vans may be a more common site in front of the 110 buildings that make up Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, a wholesale exodus is not under way. Indeed, Rob Speyer, a senior managing director at Tishman Speyer, said that roughly 80 percent of the tenants are renewing their leases, regardless of the increases.

He said the company is only raising rents to market levels from below-market rates. It was a process begun by the previous owner, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, over the past four years.

“We’re generating significant demand from existing residents as well as from the outside,” Mr. Speyer said. “Our rents are well within the market, and our renewal rates demonstrate that.”

According to Citi Habitats, a rental broker in Manhattan, the average rent in the neighborhood east of Gramercy Park, which adjoins Peter Cooper Village, was $2,785 for a one-bedroom apartment and $3,846 for a two-bedroom apartment. Those rents include buildings with doormen, an amenity that neither Peter Cooper Village nor Stuyvesant Town has.

Last year, rents rose an average of 10 percent in Manhattan, while the vacancy rate fell below 1 percent.

“Depending on the neighborhood, the increases were anywhere from 7 percent to 20 percent,” said Gordon Golub, senior managing director of Citi Habitats. “The neighborhoods below 23rd Street were the most affected, and that trend will continue in 2007.”

Still, it has been a shock for many residents of the two complexes, where nearly three-quarters of the 11,200 apartments have regulated rents at a third to half of the market rate. Traditionally, tenants moved in and stayed for years and even decades.

MetLife built the complexes in 1947 with state and city subsidies after it agreed to maintain below-market rents for 25 years. An apartment can be decontrolled, however, after it becomes vacant, or if the rent reaches $2,000 a month and the existing tenants’ household income rises above $175,000 for two consecutive years. About four years ago, MetLife began renovating vacant apartments, which allowed the company to take the units out of rent regulation.

Many of the rent-stabilized tenants feared that they would somehow be ousted from Stuyvesant Town or Peter Cooper Village by a new owner after MetLife announced last year that it was selling the complexes.

But their rents are protected by state law. It turns out, some residents say, that the market-rate tenants, who account for 27 percent of the apartments, are the ones who should have been concerned about the future.

“We’ve heard a lot of complaints about this,” said Alvin Doyle, president of the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association.

One tenant at Peter Cooper said she had decided to renew her lease for a year, despite a 33 percent rent increase to $4,300 for her two-bedroom apartment. But she will be moving out in 2008.

“I don’t want to leave,” said the woman, who insisted on anonymity because she has not yet signed her lease. “But I can’t afford it. I’ve got a kid going to college in a year and a half.”

Mr. Doyle said he was also getting complaints from rent-stabilized tenants who had received letters from the landlord saying that their lease would not be renewed because the apartment was not their primary residence. Under state law, the landlord is permitted to evict a tenant who is using a rent-regulated apartment as a pied-à-tere or illegally subletting it.

Jack Lester, the longtime lawyer for the tenants association, said the landlord was trying to evict tenants who own any property outside the complex, including vacation homes or investment properties, in an attempt to “bludgeon people out of their homes.” MetLife did the same thing, he said, but the practice seems to be accelerating under Tishman Speyer. Mr. Lester said he now has 38 nonprimary-residence cases, up from an average of 18 a year.

Mr. Speyer said that legal tenants had nothing to worry about.

Home Buyers Guide to Understanding Home Styles and Names

Don't Know a Cape from a Colonial? This Guide is for You


Takeaways
Cape style houses have one and a half stories
Ranches have all living space on one level
A colonial means that all the bedrooms are upstairs
If you are thinking about buying a house, particularly if you are buying your first house, you may be a bit confused by house styles. Understandably so. There are many styles to choose from, so it is helpful to know what each one means.

Refer to this guide to help you understand which style of house is which. You'll be a whiz at knowing a Split from a Splanch or a Post modern from a Victorian.

Cape, or Cape Cod

A cape is defined as being a one and a half story house. However, this may have variations. A non-dormered cape will have a small upstairs with a very slanted triangular ceiling. This is the half story.

Sometimes capes are dormered, however, and will have more room in the upstairs bedrooms. Usually, the ceilings toward the front of the house will still be fairly slanted and may have alcove-type windows, called dog-house dormers. You will usually see a lot of roof from the outside.

A cape may typically have two bedrooms downstairs and one or two bedrooms upstairs.

Colonial

A colonial is the most popular style of house. The name colonial conjures up images of quaint early American homes. However, all that is really meant by the term colonial is that all of the bedrooms are upstairs. Very simple.

There are also center hall colonials. This means that the front door is in the center of the house, not towards either side. You will also find the stair case and hall way in the middle of the house. A side hall colonial will, therefore, have the front door to one side of the front of the house, with the stairs and hall also to one side.

Contemporary

These are usually pretty easy to identify. They have a very modern look with soaring ceilings and some angular construction. They may have many skylights. They tend to have open floor plans, with one room flowing into another without necessarily having walls between them. Many homes of this style were built in the 1980s.

Farm Ranch

A farm ranch is somewhat similar to a cape, but it is usually larger. It will have the same kind of sloped roof and ceiling upstairs the way a cape does. A farm ranch will usually have two or more likely three bedrooms downstairs. The downstairs will be larger than the upstairs, which can give it a feeling similar to a ranch. Often, the master bedroom is on the first floor and may or may not have its own bathroom.

There are usually two bedrooms upstairs with slanted ceilings. Farm ranches can also be dormered (have their upstairs ceilings raised and unslanted) for more space.

High Ranch or Raised Ranch

High ranches or raised ranches are usually easy to identify. You typically have to go up a few stairs to get to the front door. Then, you have to make a choice of whether to go up a few stairs or down a few stairs.

The main floor or upstairs of a high ranch will have most of the living space. Kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedrooms. This gives it a feeling similar to a ranch.

The downstairs of a high ranch is not completely underground the way a basement is. So it can have good sized windows. There may be a den area at the bottom of the stairs which can typically have doors to the backyard. There will usually be a door to a garage at this level as well. There is no additional basement.

Post Modern

A post modern style house is usually a term that we use for newer construction. It is usually a colonial (with bedrooms upstairs, remember?) and may have some cathedral ceilings and oversized windows.

Ranch

A ranch is not necessarily a house that you will find in the middle of cattle country. A ranch is a house with only one level besides a basement. The living space, bathrooms and bedrooms will all be on this level.

Ranches are advantageous to anyone who does not want to climb stairs very often as all the living space in on the same level. Sometimes, however, the garage will be underneath the house, requiring a hike up. Sometimes, though, it will be at ground level.

Split Level or Split

A split level house, or split, will have many half stair cases. You never go up or down an entire level at once as each level is offset halfway from the other.

Typically, on the main level of a split, you will find the living room, dining room and kitchen. One disadvantage of this style is that there is no bathroom on the main level.

If you go half a flight up from the main level, you will get to the bedrooms and main bath. The master bedroom may or may not have its own bathroom. It could also be another half flight up from here.

If you go a half flight down from the main level, you will usually be in a den which is mostly above ground. There may also be a bath and a bedroom. You can sometimes access the garage and backyard from here.

Down again a half flight from the den level is the true basement. These are usually partial basements.

Splanch

A splanch is somewhat similar to a split. On the main entry level of the house, you will find the living room, dining room, kitchen, bath or powder room and sometimes a den. If you go upstairs half a level you will come to a floating living room. This means that it is all by itself on this level. The living room may be somewhat open to the kitchen or the den.

Up another half flight from the living room are the bedrooms and at least one full bath. Again the master bedroom may or may not have its own bath. Splanches are usually fairly large. They have partial basements.

Tudor

Tudors are usually quite charming and distinct. They are usually colonials with stucco exterior walls with beautiful woodwork. They may have small windows. You will usually find Tudors with lots of woodwork inside and the windows may have leaded or divided glass panes.

Victorian

Victorians are usually colonials. They are not necessarily old, however. They usually have front porches or turrets. There may be gingerbread style siding on the outside. These additional architectural features conjure the charm that is associated with a Victorian.

House Hunting

Now that you have your glossary of house styles, you may want to print it out and take it with you while you are looking for houses. This way, when your Realtor says she is going to show you a Post Modern Victorian, Side Hall Colonial or a Dormered Cape, you will know exactly what she means.

Documents You Will Need when Selling Your House

Make Sure to Locate These Documents so the Sale or Your House Can Close Smoothly


Takeaways
Have utility hills handy in case the buyer asks about htese costs
Certificates of Occupancy or builiding permits may be obtained from your local Town Hall
Make sure to know what the true property taxes are without exemptions
You have decided to sell your house. That is am important decision. It can be a stressful time; you'll have to have strangers walking through your house, you'll have to negotiate the price, you'll have to pack up all of your belongings and move. So, why not take some time before you've got an offer and locate all the documents you'll need to complete the sale.

In addition, you may find that you can not locate something you were sure you had. If you get all of your documents together ahead of time, you will have plenty of time to replace anything that you can't find. You may also discover that you need permits from your local town hall. Getting these can be time consuming. If you begin the process now, you won't have to hold up your sale or make any last minute negotiations.

1.Deed or deeds to the property

a. Property description

b. Exact boundaries and size of the plot or acreage

c. Tax map number of section, block and lot

d. Restrictions and easements (others' right to property including mineral, water and drilling) legally binding all future owners

e. Description of any property sold from original purchase

2. Surveys, survey maps, tax maps. Often, the buyer's bank will want a new survey of the property. This is the usually responsibility of the buyer to order and pay for. However, while your house is for sale, prospective buyers may want to get an accurate idea of property boundaries, so if you have a survey or tax map be sure to find it.

3. Title insurance policy or title search information. You will need a copy of your title insurance certificate or policy. This states that you own the house and that no one else except your mortgagor makes claim to the property. You will need this documentation.

4. Property taxes (any reduction due to veteran's or other exemption?). If you have any property tax exemptions, be sure to let the buyer know before contracts are signed for the sale or your house. For example, the buyer many not be entitled to your Veteran's exemption. A buyer can claim misrepresentation if the true property tax amount is not disclosed.

5. Mortgage information (including first and second mortgages, any liens, judgments or equity loans on the property). You will also need to get a pay off amount from your mortgagor shortly before the closing. The buyer or his attorney will need to make out a check to your bank for this amount.

6. Insurance. Make sure that you have all insurance certificates on file and that they are current.

7. Engineering or contractor inspection report. Your buyer will almost certainly want to have his or her own building inspection of your house. However, if you have had a recent engineering or contractor inspection report, you many want to have it accessible to prospective buyers.

8. Guarantee and warranties. The buyer will appreciate having any warranties or instruction manuals for the appliances, etc. Also, you may have guarantees for items like a roof or central air conditioning unit. Be sure to turn these over to the buyer at the closing. Having them handy may even be a selling point to a buyer.

9. Contracts and leases. If you have a tenant, be sure to have a copy of his or her lease on hand, as well as any other contracts you any have involving your house.

10. Utility bills. Prospective buyers will often want to know what the costs are of running your house. Of course, prices will vary from year to year and so will their usage. But it is a good idea to have these bills handy as a guideline.

11. Termite inspection or guarantee. In most areas, the seller is responsible for delivering a house free and clear of any wood eating insects or from damage due to those insects. A bank generally will not finance a house that has live termites or carpenter ants. The buyer will often have an inspection done to determine if any of these insects are present. If a treatment is determined to be necessary, be sure to get a treatment and a one year guarantee. Bring the guarantee to the closing.

12. CO's (certificates of occupancy) by your local town for additions or changes to existing structure and/or property as well as for original structure. It is a great idea to make sure that these are all in order when or before you list your house for sale. If you have made any changes to the structure of the house, if you have added or enlarged windows or if you have finished previously unfinished space, you will need a Certificate of Occupancy from your local town hall.

Don't wait until the last minute for these. No one wants to get to the closing table, only to find out that the sale is held up because you are missing a permit. Your local Realtor may be able to help you determine if you need any additional permits or Certificates of Occupancy.

Smooth Sailing

Now that you have all of your documents ready, you can proceed with the sale or your house. You will not have to make any concessions because you have something missing at the last minute. If you have all of your paperwork handy and current, you will find that the process of selling your house will go more smoothly. Be sure to check with your local Realtor or attorney as customary paperwork may vary from region to region.

Add Value To Your Home

A badly designed kitchen shall affect your peace of mind and make any time spent in the kitchen an unpleasant experience. You could further enhance your kitchen by simply changing the colors on the wall; if this does not satisfy you then you can move on to making bigger changes. A kitchen must look charming and cook beautifully too; one without the other may not get you very far. A granite countertop can be very beautiful, but also very resistant to scratches at the same time; it can come in one long slab or in tiles.

A badly designed addition to your very home can kill your resale value, so be sure to do a great job on any remodeling job. When you find a contractor you should be prepared to come with some ideas for them to take a look at and a budget for them to follow. A kitchen island is a centrally located countertop which gives you more space to actually prepare or serve your very food. Your main objectives during your kitchen remodeling project is to make your kitchen look like as though you spent a ton of money even though you did not.

A professional kitchen remodeler might be the ultimate help in your home improvement project, but not everyone may afford that. You will see that everything regarding kitchen remodeling can be found at your local home improvement store, therefore do not panic when it is time to make needed changes. Add value to your home with a kitchen remodeling, while you add functionality and comfort as well. Your main countertop and tile on a small area of the kitchen such as an island; will be a great start to your kitchen remodeling project.

Almost each kitchen remodeling project should start out with a well-thought-out and detailed plan in order to be a positive value. A kitchen must contain a counter or table for food preparation and must contain cabinets and/or shelves for storage. Add value to your own home with a kitchen remodeling job and improve the chances of selling your home more than ever. Add value to your home by starting with your kitchen and remodeling it for an up to date look to the room. With kitchens increasingly becoming the center of functional activities it is crucial to have a functionally efficient kitchen. Adding an island can create up to two to four small work spaces of additional cook stations in your kitchen. A badly designed kitchen will be a big problem as this area tends to be a center of social and useable activities.

Brits snap up Berlin homes

Britons are flocking to Berlin as a resurgent German economy makes Europe's cheapest metropolis attractive to second-home buyers.

Brits, Irish and Americans last year spent £7bn on properties in the German capital.

Much of the spend was by institutional investors but private individuals are buying hundreds of flats. Investors have also come from Spain, Norway, Sweden and France.

Big flats in trendy areas can cost as little as £110,000.

Move slightly out and that can drop to between £70,000 and £90,000. Jurgen Michael Schick, vice president of Germany's IVD Real Estate Association, said more than €10bn(£6.6bn) was spent on Berlin properties in 2006, with 'foreign investors accounting for most of those transactions'.

Philipp Tabert, head of Berlin real estate consultancy Winters & Hirsch, said: 'Values are significantly lower than those in London, New York or even Prague and Moscow.' Almost 95% of Tabert's clients are from Britain, Ireland, America, Spain, Italy and France.

Berlin property prices dropped every year from 1996 to 2004 while in London they climbed 80%.

A renovated flat in a prime Berlin area can today cost €1,500 a square metre while one in London is €15,000.

Gary Savage, a teacher from London, said his 87-square-metre apartment in the heart of the Mitte district, for which he paid €145,000, was a real bargain.

'You couldn't even buy a garage or a shed in London today for that,' he said.

Private equity funds such as New York-based Cerberus Capital Management and Goldman Sachs' Whitehall investment fund have also been targeting Berlin. In 2004, the two together bought 65,700 units of Berlin public housing for €2.1bn.

Think Small: Getting Started as a Real Estate Investor

Even in a Sinking Market,
Carefully Buying and Managing
Properties Can Bring New Riches

The real-estate bubble has burst. Get over it. In areas that saw big home-price run-ups in the first half of the decade, prices are stagnant, or worse. New-home inventories are up; new-home builder stocks are down.

A kind of real-estate weariness has set in. Who's the cocktail-party boor? The guy still talking about making a killing on Miami Beach condos.

Smells like a buying opportunity. Probably not right away, because there's still plenty of froth in the markets that saw the biggest price increases. But soon, you'll see the real-estate investors -- property vultures who buy when prices are low and then ride property manias to their crest -- toeing the market again.

Even in today's uncertain climate, novice real-estate investors can make money, especially in smaller properties that are easy to acquire and manage.

Let's explore some options.

In-Law Units

The most basic form of property investment is a so-called in-law unit or guesthouse on the site of your home itself, sometimes attached to the main house, sometimes not. No one has ever gotten rich renting out such properties, but they can significantly reduce the cost of homeownership. Renting out an in-law unit for $400 a month and using that money every month to pay down principal on a $350,000 30-year mortgage will shave 10 years from the mortgage term and reduce total payments by more than $165,000. And you will be able to write off all your costs on your income taxes -- including depreciation on the unit -- up to your actual rental income.

Weekend or Vacation Homes

Just as with an in-law unit, renting out your weekend house is not a way to get rich. Many of the same numbers that applied to in-law units can be applied to your weekend home, although the tax situation is decidedly different.

HOMEOWNER VS. LANDLORD


Investing in real estate isn't the same as owning a house. Here's a look at the financial breakdown.First, the IRS gives second-home landlords a very nice little present in that it allows two weeks of tax-free rental income a year. Beyond that, however, the accounting can be irksome. The IRS doesn't want people buying second homes and disguising them as rental properties. It has two criteria to determine whether the property is a second home (bad) or a rental (good). It's a second home if you don't rent it out at all or if you personally use it at least two weeks a year or 10% of the number of days the place is available for rental, whichever is longer.

Single-Family Homes

Throughout much of the country, the market for single-family homes is seriously out of whack. As prices fall and inventories rise, that's changing. But, compared with rents, prices are still quite high, outstripping the ability of such properties to cover their mortgage and operating costs.

Avoid this segment of the market unless you have a chance to buy a property at a 30% or 40% discount from its previous price. Don't think this is out of the question. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the government liquidated the real-estate loan portfolios of bankrupt savings-and-loans, speculators picked up properties for just dimes on the dollar.

Managing a house that pays for itself is what it's all about. You can do it in one of two ways: Renting or "flipping." Renting is a "buy-and-hold" strategy, while flipping calls for quick turnarounds of fixer-uppers that can be spruced up and sold quickly.

But in the current environment renting is probably the more prudent path, although it can be very difficult to make a house pay for itself at today's prices. That's because if your house carries an 80% or 90% loan, the renter will have to pay more per month to rent the house than he would to buy it.

Look at it this way: There's a handsome three-bedroom, two-bath house in Tampa, Fla., for sale at an asking price of $199,900. If you bought it with 10% down and a 90% loan at 6%, your monthly payment will be about $1,550 (that's PITI -- principal, interest, taxes and insurance). As a landlord, at a minimum, you'll want to budget at least $200 a month in additional expenses. That puts your break-even point at almost $1,800 a month. That's far more than you can reasonably expect to earn where comparable properties in the same neighborhood can be rented for less than $1,300.

But it turns out that there's a similar house available less than a mile away. This other house is roughly the same size. The difference is this one's being taken over by its lender, and the house has a mortgage loan of $110,000.

A buyer with cash can drive a hard bargain and make out very well. And the worse the market, the better for the buyer. But don't get carried away. If you simply take over an existing 90% or 95% note, you won't make any money. Let the lender foreclose and take over the place. Then lowball the lender.

Multiple Units

A housing market that saw the price of single-family homes skyrocket was not quite so generous to smaller two-family or multifamily properties. Because the universe of home buyers expanded so much in the past 10 years, the universe of renters contracted, and the market for smaller rental properties contracted with them.

In Memphis, where two-bedroom apartments in better neighborhoods rent from $500 up to $800 a month, good two-family properties can still be bought for far less than a one bedroom condo on either of the coasts. Recent prices for 40-year-old two-family homes near the University of Memphis main campus ranged from $70,000 to $110,000. Monthly payments, including insurance and maintenance, on an $88,000 mortgage (20% down on the $110,000 property) come to only about $750 a month. So renting both units at the low end of the market would result in a positive after-tax cash flow of more than $100 a month. Upgrade the units, and you can charge top-of-the-market rents of $800 a month.

Good deals on smaller buildings can be found throughout the country, even in some of the hottest markets. In trendy Pasadena, Calif., where even modest homes can sell for $400 to $600 a square foot, two-, three- or four-unit rental buildings can be bought in the $250 to $350 range.

New real estate player set to shake up Invercargill market

Southland's property scene could be in for a shake-up this year as a new player moves into the market in Invercargill, with a system which could save vendors thousands of dollars in commission.

Former Gore man Ewen McLeod is set to challenge conventional thinking with Website Properties Limited, a website based company.

Website Properties Limited was a user pays system whereby the vendor paid a flat rate of $150 per week for access to advertising.

Included in the package are two newspaper ads per week, a website listing, flyers of the property and a for sale sign.

The vendor conducted their own open homes, but the company vetted all potential buyers.

While new to New Zealand, the sell by owner (SBO) method had already caught on overseas, taking the market share in both the United States and Scotland, Mr McLeod said.

He believed the same could happen in New Zealand in time.

While Website Properties was a listing agency, rather than a real estate company, it offered people an alternative, he said.

"Three years ago real estate agents were charging 4 percent commission on average.

"Properties prices had doubled in that time, and so have real estate agents salaries."

Many real estate agents were also wanting an advertising fee up front, he said.

Based on a property worth $150,000, and with an average selling time of 34 days, the system could save vendors thousands of dollars, he said.

Mr McLeod established Website Properties Limited out of Christchurch in October.

His experience includes 26 years in the real estate industry in Christchurch. He plans to have a franchise in Invercargill in the coming weeks and 60 across New Zealand before the end of June.

"The Joneses started reinventing real estate, we are saying we have reinvented it," he said.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand president Murray Cleland said many "fly by nighters" had come and gone from the industry in his 25 years in real estate.

The fact that many of them had gone again told him people wanted the security of dealing with a licensed agent, he said.

Mr McLeod was the founder of No Commission Property in New Zealand.

8 Real Estate Negotiation Tips

When buying a real estate investment property you need to be aware that negotiation plays a big part on your bottom line, or the potential profit you could make. Below are 8 great negotiation strategies that you can use when buying real estate.

1. Check if the seller is motivated to sell the property
In real estate investing, dealing with someone who does not really want to sell their property is a waste of time - you should forget about them and move on, no matter how promising the deal might look like. How to check the seller's motivation level? It's relatively simple: try to make an appointment. If he or she puts it off (especially if it happens a few times in a row), there is a 90% chance that the seller is not motivated to sell.

2. Inspect a property before making your first offer
Never, ever make an offer before a close inspection of a property. This will put you on the back foot throughout whole negotiation process! Also, don't let the seller force you into making your offer RIGHT AFTER the inspection. You will need at least a few hours to prepare your final offer. It's best to inspect the property and then make an appointment for the following day. Do not make any offers before that time!

3. Prepare more than a single offer
Do not enter negotiations with only a single offer. Even if you don't have any aces in your sleeve, make sure that you can make at least three offers - and that your final one is still profitable enough to enter the deal!

4. Talk to the seller while leaving
If you and the seller can't reach an agreement, try this simple trick: make your final offer standing at the door. First off, this way you give a clear sign that the seller can't hope for a better deal. Then, this puts the seller on notice that you are about to walk away from the deal - he or she may not like your offer, but there is no guarantee that the next real estate investor will give the seller better terms. This can often make the seller more receptive and accept your proposition.

Selling your investment property:

1. Be sure that you really want to sell the property
Before you tell anyone that your property is on sale, think if it is really the case. If you deeply hate the idea of selling the property, it is generally a good idea to try to keep it. Every real estate deal has pluses and minuses. If you sell, you get instant cash profits, but sacrifice long term capital growth. If you decide to hold, the opposite applies.

2. Be reasonable
When it comes to negotiations, don't be ridiculous. You can demand high prices, but make sure that they are reasonable (certainly not twice the average). You will only be left with an overpriced property that will be difficult to sell. Moreover, making such high offers may cause some real estate investors to back out from the negotiations. You usually can hope for more than the buyer's first offer though, so it is always worth to haggle a little.

3. Read through all the clauses and contingencies before signing anything
There's an old saying: "The devil's in the details." Nowhere is it truer than in real estate deals. Before you sign anything, read the contract (especially the small print). Such things as being held responsible for making all necessary repairs requested by the buyer or agreeing for waiting six or seven months for the money may spoil even the best-looking deal.

4. "There's always another buyer around the corner"
If the purchaser does not seem to be able to meet your price expectations or offers you terms you cannot really accept, don't waste your time. There is always another purchaser around the corner - and even if there won't be anyone else, you can always call the buyer later, can't you?

Real estate on the run

After a prolonged downturn, the Asian property market is once again red-hot, with rents and valuations soaring in virtually all major cities around the region. This means there’s rarely been a better, or busier, time to be part of the real estate industry. But as buyers, sellers and investors flock to property companies in droves and the pace of deals moves into overdrive, many firms and agents struggle to keep up with the latest market developments. The ability to receive and transmit information quickly, and to do so just about anywhere, have become some of the industry’s most precious commodities.

This has translated into good business for SISV Services, a subsidiary of the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers that provides market data and technology to the city-state’s burgeoning network of realtors. SISV Services chief technical officer Henry Tan recognised the value of empowering employees to work on the move early and has been a staunch advocate of mobility ever since, a strategy that has proved a source of competitive advantage to the company but also introduced risks.

Early adopter
As the host of Singapore’s leading online property portal and a series of real estate transaction databases, SISV Services had to buy in to relatively high-end network infrastructure early, signing up for high-speed broadband and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) when these were relatively untested. This created a platform for the implementation of mobile broadband, outsourced network, and corporate messaging solutions that make sure clients and employees can stay in constant contact with the main office regardless of physical location. This means databases are constantly updated and the information that SISV feeds to clients is as current as possible. Up-to-date facts and figures on the property market are the company’s bread and butter, so Tan says SISV Services’ investments – around US$1.9 million (S$2.9 million) since 1999, most of it going to Singapore-based communications provider LGA – have proven more than worthwhile. Mobility infrastructure allows realtors and valuers to trade data with the firm instantaneously through a range of portable devices like smartphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), while VoIP can substantially cut communications costs, especially as the industry grows more international and staff are required to file reports or stage presentations in overseas markets.

But for any firm considering similar deployments Tan has a few words of caution. The first is to choose your provider carefully – SISV Services, for instance, found Singapore incumbent SingTel too costly but wasn’t prepared to put up with the technical and support issues that frequently accompany implementations done on the cheap.

Tan says LGA hit the right price-service balance and, importantly, has proven ready to go the extra mile for its customer base by adjusting its prices for services like leased lines as market rates drop.

Stay safe
Security is also a major issue for the heavily connected enterprise, a fact that became only too apparent a few years ago when a rival firm attempted to hack into SISV Services’ databases. Tan says this was when a good relationship with its main vendor became crucial; LGA helped the firm pick out odd network traffic patterns and track down the suspect. SISV Services has since made defence one of its top priorities.

“We’ve carefully controlled the data sets we have, and instead of holding everything in one server we’ve split it across four – even if someone hacks into one, they can’t hack into all of them,” Tan explains.

“In 2004, when we began to implement a wireless LAN and remote dial-up solutions, due to the associated security issues we implemented a (virtual private network) and firewall right away, even for people using PDAs. It’s important to resolve (security) issues at the implementation stage.”

But Tan says the biggest mobility-related challenges facing the IT director have little to do with technology. “The problem is basically the end-users,” he says. He stresses the need for regular training to not only acquaint them with how to use tools like wireless broadband or smart phones, but to make sure these are used in a way that doesn’t jeopardise corporate information. This can be as simple as avoiding open-access wireless networks and setting up authentication mechanisms for PDAs or laptops.

Sharing the wealth
SISV Services’ experiences with mobility have proven so successful that the company now markets the solutions to real estate firms. “I’m no longer desk-bound, which has nearly doubled my business and productivity,” says Veron Real Estate agent Francis Chew, who uses mobile broadband to access SISV Services’ market database and VoIP to connect with customers and the office on road trips. “The ZIPdial (VoIP) service has also cut the cost of overseas calls to my customers – the only down side is that sometimes the sound quality isn’t as good as a standard IDD line, but given the price it’s still reasonable.”

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Don’t forget the users


Rolling out a new BI tool involves a change in mindset, Hitachi Asia finds out.
Think you’ve done a good job putting in the latest tools that are able to generate the prettiest spreadsheets and multi-layered analysis? Even if you have all the infrastructure in place for the “perfect” business intelligence (BI) implementation, some things might still stand in your way—the user—as electronics manufacturer Hitachi Asia has learnt.

For years, managers at its Malaysian air-conditioning products plant were inputting business data by hand from hard copy to Excel spreadsheets. The process was slow and tedious, with sales and expenses needing to be summarised and consolidated into the spreadsheet, or printed for management reviewing and analysis.
Also, data was unstructured and lumped together in one category, due to the format in which they were saved, as cells in one spreadsheet. Not only was this difficult to classify, this made data analysis a muddy affair.

With final reports reaching Hitachi Asia’s headquarters in Singapore a week later, efficiency along the entire supply chain was also hampered.

Upper management then decided to introduce a BI system, targeted at middle managers, in the hope of easing data analysis by providing a dashboard from which to access and manage crucial business information. Management thought that since users were already familiar with Excel, it should also buy BI tools from Microsoft. Hitachi later paid for making the wrong assumption.

For one, ProClarity, a BI tool from Microsoft, wasn’t developed by the software giant. ProClarity was acquired to “boost sales”, Chris Caren, a Microsoft Office general manager, reportedly says.

Zainuddin Anang, Hitachi Asia’s business solutions manager, who oversaw the implementation, admits: “Using a new tool—ProClarity—created some difficulty and discontent to some users.”

According to him, most users at the plant were expecting a completely automated system where one push of a button would generate the required analysis. Instead, the tool presented them options, which with the appropriate training would have enabled them to manipulate data powerfully. But Hitachi over-estimated middle managers’ ability to master the tool, allocating only two days for training. Zainuddin says the learning curve was fairly steep for managers.

“If I’ve to do it all over again, I would definitely concentrate more on the user experience.”

Thankfully, he says with a laugh, the middle managers were given sufficient pressure from their bosses at the plant as well as regional headquarters to use the system. IT personnel from the headquarters were sent to the Malaysian plant to give users individual attention and additional training.

Through this experience, Zainuddin says he has learnt that “BI isn’t something you just roll out and wait for results from. The process to fruition is tedious, and mostly you have to combat mindsets, because this is relatively new to the mainstream.
“End-users need to see BI as a useful tool, not just another input process.”

Global Real Estate Prices to Drop: SERI

An economic think tank in Korea says global real estate prices will enter a correction phase this year. The Samsung Economic Research Institute says that's due to a drop in global liquidity stemming from interest-rate hikes in the Eurozone and Japan.

Low interest rates in those regions have led more people to take out loans to buy real estate. The U.S., which was among the earliest to drop interest rates, should be the first to see real estate prices drop.

2006 was real estate 'wow' year

San Antonio real estate had a jaw-dropping year in 2006, with San Antonio builders starting more homes than there are residents in Alamo Heights, Boerne, Castroville and Lytle combined.

Builders started 19,092 new single-family homes, 15 percent more than in 2005, according to Metrostudy, a housing research firm. (There were 18,554 residents in those cities in 2000, based on U.S. Census numbers.)

It marked the sixth consecutive year of record-breaking building, and was an impressive enough number to cause a roomful of 750 real estate professionals to gasp collectively at Wednesday's 2007 Housing Forecast event.

The exuberant building pace and shocking statistics are unlikely to make repeat appearances this year, however.

San Antonio housing has seen a significant shift, and the market for new and existing homes isn't as strong as it was at this time last year, said Jack Inselmann, a new-housing analyst with Metrostudy.

Home-buyer traffic has slowed in new neighborhoods and builders are having a harder time closing sales — a change many builders started noticing during the summer.

But don't cry for the builders.

They'll still start construction on 17,000 homes this year. It's an anticipated decline of 10 percent to 15 percent, but would still be the second-best year on record — after 2006.

"The housing bubble has burst, right?" Inselmann said. "All is lost, right? Absolutely not."

A continuing healthy job market and the arrival of new residents will continue to fuel the need for new homes, he said.

Home buyers closed on 16,988 new single-family homes last year, up 17 percent from 2005.

But housing starts peaked from late 2005 until October 2006, when San Antonio builders reached 19,527 annual starts, a 30 percent increase over the comparable period the year before.

Since then, in the fourth quarter of 2006, the pace of annual housing starts dipped 2.2 percent, Inselmann said.

An abundance of investor interest in San Antonio last year — driven by a December 2005 Fortune magazine article — should be coming to an end.

Fortune projected that the Alamo City would be the nation's best real estate market in 2006, and out-of-state investors who had cashed out on the East or West coasts headed to Texas.

In the end, however, San Antonio ranked 95th nationally in price appreciation, with the median price of existing homes rising more than 7 percent and average sales prices rising 9 percent, Inselmann said.

Out-of-town investors created an artificial market when they made down payments on homes and then canceled their contracts when they figured out they would be able to flip a property for a double-digit gain.

"It's probably the worst thing that affected our market this year," Inselmann said. "I think we've gotten most of those people out of here."

San Antonio's inventory of new homes for sale rose as a result of the investor interest, but builders were lucky.

San Antonio was left with a 1.7-month supply of new homes for sale, still the lowest in Texas.

"We came close to making an error in our housing market," Inselmann said.

San Antonio real estate has been on an upward trend since 1990, when builders started just 2,000 homes.

"This market is on a 17-year run," Inselmann said. "Ladies and gentlemen, it can't go on forever."

San Antonio's market for existing homes has also been on the rise, with prices and sales volume rising in virtually every part of the metropolitan area.

"When we thought things couldn't get any better in the real estate industry in 2005, we were wrong," said Tom Patterson, chairman of the San Antonio Board of Realtors.

While several boom markets around the country have faltered in the past year, San Antonio residents and real estate professionals can be thankful for growth that traditionally moves at a steadier pace, Patterson said.

More than 24,000 single-family homes changed hands in 2006, up 6.6 percent over 2005.

As long as interest rates remain low and San Antonio's job growth continues, the real estate market should remain healthy, Patterson said.

Top 25 Market Forecast Shows Real Estate Stabilizing

The annual Top 25 U.S. Housing Market Forecast for 2007 shows a growing trend of real estate markets that are stabilizing with 13 states represented.


The Top 25 Housing Predictor U.S. Market Forecast for 2007 shows a growing trend of local real estate markets that are stabilizing with thirteen states represented in the annual forecast. Housing Predictor is an information driven website, providing independent local housing market forecasts for all 50 U.S. States.

Battling back from the headlines New Orleans, Louisiana is Housing Predictor’s # 1 pick to appreciate the most in 2007. Despite the loss of nearly half of its residents, the Big Easy has a booming real estate market that is growing almost daily and is forecast to appreciate 8.4% in 2007.

The fixer-upper has become the new major commodity in New Orleans real estate as investors move into the market to repair homes and apartments damaged in the wake of Hurricane Katrina more than at any other time in a natural disaster in the U.S. More than 150,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by Katrina, which hit in August of 2005.

The spirt of the people in New Orleans is becoming less tarnished in the aftermath of the storm. New Orleans has always had a spirit of revelry and showmanship, especially during Mardi Gras. It may have also been given a boost in the form of the New Orleans Saints football team, which has had its best season in years.

Houston, Texas, a city which has been besieged by scandals with Enron and other companies is transforming into a strong real estate market for the first time in more than a decade. Houston is forecast by Housing Predictor to appreciate 7.3% in 2007 to place second in the forecast.

The nation’s southern states are under going the largest growth in history as a migration from colder northern states to the sun-belt quietly reaches near fever pitch. Arkansas, Alabama, Texas and Tennessee are adding more new residents than ever before. Little Rock, which was once a slumbering community has more new businesses moving into the area than ever before and will hit 7.0% in home appreciation in 2007, according to Housing Predictor.

Nashville, Tennessee, recognized as the Music City is playing on its good fortunes as a growing metropolitan area, which along with Odessa, Texas has some of the most affordable housing in the nation and will both hit 6.9% in appreciation by year’s end.

The Top 25 markets represent slightly more than a quarter of the nation’s states. All 13 states have local real estate markets that are appreciating strongly.

In the west, Washington state and Utah have real estate markets that are showing appreciation, which demonstrates how real estate unlike other investments is effected by local regional market economic and political factors.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico the sales of homes and condos had slowed for a few months only to pick back up again as more and more new employers moved to the area. Albuquerque is a growing urban center, which is forecast to appreciate another 6.5% in 2007.

But of all the places that made the annual Top 25 markets list Brownsville and Austin, Texas are two of the strongest U.S. real estate markets. Just a few short years ago after a high tech boom went bust Austin lost population, but a renewed economy and more computer companies moving into the area have pushed the city into a booming economy again and it will score a forecasted 6.1% in appreciation in 2007. Brownsville, which is in seventh place on the list is perhaps the best place to find the least expensive housing in an urban center in the U.S.

Beijing real estate prices to keep rocketing

An 11% increase on real estate prices in any year is considered more than healthy. But, on top of several years of increases and despite government action to tone it down the forecast is that the strong demand for new housing and office space in Beijing will real estate prices up by 11% in 2007. This according to a market report which predicts a slightly lower increase than in 2006.

The report was released by Jones Lang LaSalle, an international property consultant and investor, which is serious expert in this area. It said prices of newly built houses will rise between 11% and 14% this year, while the cost of renting property will remain stable or decline slightly.

According to the report, real estate prices will maintain their years-long upward momentum in the first half of 2007, and then become more stable in the latter half of the year. Predicted price increases are the result of surging economic development, rising individual incomes and the Beijing Olympic Games.

A report released by the website Sina.com and New Real Estate Magazine shows real estate prices in Beijing have increased by 42% over the past three years. The report states that in 2004 new homes sold at an average price of RMB6,178 per square meter. By 2006 that figure had soared to RMB8,792 ($976.9), a jump of 42% in three years.

Another report, by the national real estate company Homelink shows that the average cost of a home was 9.4 times greater than the average annual disposable income of Beijing families in 2005.

According to the World Bank, the cost of housing should not be more than five time sgreater than a buyer’s annual disposable income. The United Nations puts the figure at three times.

Municipal statistics show that the average family’s disposable income in Beijing was RMB51,193.7 ($6,399) in 2005, while the average price of a new home was RMB 480,000.

Real Estate Blogger Meetup at Hudson Hotel

Blogging Systems staff were invited to a real estate blogger meetup at the Hudson Hotel tonight to give us an opportunity to get acquainted and do some networking before the Inman Real Estate Connect conference, which starts tomorrow (Monday). I was the only one of our staff who made it, but was sure glad I did. These are a great group of people!

Among the attendees were John and Mary from RSS Pieces, Joe from Sellsius, Joel from Future of Real Estate Marketing, Steve from Agency Logic, Phil from Wellcomemat.com, and a few others. (Sorry, but I’m terrible with names. If I left you out it wasn’t on purpose. Consider the fact that I didn’t even bring business cards to this gathering!)

The Hudson is a New York original. If you’ve never been, you ought to go, but maybe not for the rooms, which I’m told are cracker boxes. But, the rooms are not what the Hudson is about anyway. (I’m sure my wife will tell me the Hudson is one of the places frequented by the gals from Sex and the City.)

Anyway, we kick off the conference tomorrow. If you’re attending, please drop by our booth (#306)…and take some time to meet these and other real estate bloggers. You’ll recognize them. They’ll be the ones looking for something to write in their next blog post!

PS: I don’t know how I missed getting a photo of her, but I notice that though I got John, I have none of Mary McKnight. Sorry Mary!