4 Funky Odors In Your House Only Your Guests Can Smell
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5 Tips for Prepping a Lawn for the Winter
How homeowners treat a yard this autumn can determine the quality of their yard next spring and summer. Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, offers up the following checklist for homeowners who want to lay a strong groundwork for a great yard next spring:
Keep mowing. Grass still needs regular care to stay healthy. Grass that is too high may attract lawn-damaging field mice. Shorter grass is more resistant to diseases and traps fewer falling leaves. Cutting the grass low also allows more sun to reach the crown of the grass. However, cutting off too much at one time can be damaging, so never trim more than a third of the grass blades off in a single cutting, Kiser says. Put mower blades on the lowest settings for the last two cuts of the season.
NAR: Super-Low Mortgage Rates Have Yet to Jumpstart Sales
Contract signings fell in July, reversing course after two consecutive months of gains, the National Association of REALTORS® reported on Thursday. All four major regions of the U.S. posted declines in pending home sales last month, with the West leading in the greatest month-over-month drop in contract signings.
Overall, NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, fell 2.5% in July to a reading of 105.6. Still, it remains only 0.3% below year-ago levels.
“Super-low mortgage rates have not yet consistently pulled buyers back into the market,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Economic uncertainty is no doubt holding back some potential demand, but what is desperately needed is more supply of moderately priced homes.”
What Makes a Good Single-Family Rental
The share of single-family rentals is growing, and more builders are jumping in to build a home that can be rented out from the get-go.
But how are single-family rental homes different than your typical single-family home?
Single-family built-for-rent homes tend to be smaller than their for-sale counterparts. The median square footage of a single-family built-for-rent home was about 1,500 square feet in 2016, which is significantly smaller than the 2,419 median square feet for other new-home builds, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Eighty percent of single-family homes built for rent are under 2,000 square feet.
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/08/27/what-makes-a-good-single-family-rental
You only Think It’s True
You Only Think It’s True: 10 Myths Costing You Time and Money
Save your cash for more important things, like, you know, your mortgage.
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https://www.houselogic.com/organize-maintain/home-maintenance-tips/home-maintenance-myths/
Mortgage Rates Back to 2016 Territory
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.55% this week, the lowest average since November 2016, Freddie Mac reports. The lower mortgage rates are boding well for the housing market.
“The drop in mortgage rates continues to stimulate the real estate market and the economy,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Home purchase demand is up five percent from a year ago and has noticeably strengthened since the early summer months, while refinances surged to their highest share in three and a half years.”
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/08/23/mortgage-rates-back-to-2016-territory
Single-Family Homebuilding Shows Slight Uptick
New-home construction for single-family homes saw an improvement in July, despite builders’ concerns about affordability headwinds. Single-family housing starts rose 1.3% to 876,000 units last month, the Commerce Department reported. The largest regional increases in single-family homebuilding last month occurred in the South.
But a decline last month in multifamily production for condos and apartments led to an overall decrease in total housing starts by 4% in July. That marked the third consecutive month for overall decreases on the Commerce Department’s index. Still, “builders remain confident about the market, and this is reflected in recent modest gains in single-family starts,” says Greg Ugalde, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/08/19/single-family-homebuilding-shows-slight-uptick
Gen Z: They’re Not Too Young to Buy a Home
Generation Z is growing up. Those born in 1995 or after are taking out more credit and increasingly eyeing homeownership. About 14 million of Gen Z consumers who are 18 or older are taking out credit, and that includes those who are taking on mortgages, according to the latest Q2 2019 Industry Insights Report from TransUnion.
“Both the newest and oldest members of the credit-eligible Gen Z generation are beginning to enter the credit market for the very first time,” says Matt Komos, vice president of research and consulting at TransUnion. “The rapid growth in Gen Z credit activity is occurring despite many of these individuals having grown up during the Great Recession. Though the recession itself landed less than two years, its impact was felt for several years afterward. As we see more members of this group come of age, we naturally expect continued growth in credit activity by Gen Z.”
The Cheapest and Priciest Places to Live in the U.S.
The cheapest places to live in the U.S. are El Paso, Texas, and Lincoln, Neb., according to a new study by Move.org that ranks cities based on cost of living. In El Paso, the average cost of living is $1,182.96 per month and, in Lincoln, it’s $1,291.50. On the opposite end of the spectrum, San Francisco (at a $4,210.60 average cost of living per month) and New York (at $3,956.11) have the highest costs of living in the nation.
Move.org analyzed the living costs in 75 of the largest U.S. cities and ranked them based on affordability. In evaluating cost of living, they factored in rent for a one-bedroom apartment, average utility and internet costs, fuel prices, and food.
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/08/15/the-cheapest-and-priciest-places-to-live-in-the-us
Want total silence, peace and quiet?
Well, maybe a few birds chirping…. Check out MLS listing 137483, 11929 Luna Lake Road in Side Lake. $94,000. This lake property has a peaceful lake view, quiet 4.9 acres of woods. It already has a driveway, cleared site for cabin or home, drilled well, 1000/500 size septic new in 2015, and electricity. Additional 8 acres for sale next door. Call Patti Stoddard, 218-929-3214
