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2001 Strong Year
For Real Estate
Despite
terrorist attacks, recession, rising unemployment, and hard
times on Wall Street, residential real estate did well in
2001.
According to the National Association of Realtors,
5.20 million homes were expected to be sold in 2001. The
record? 5.21 million in 1999. And this year, says NAR,
should be a repeat of 2001. NAR also says that the national
median existing-home price for 2001 was $146,600, an
increase of 5.5 percent over the year 2000. Not only were
existing home sales strong, new home
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Mortgage Rates
U.S. averages as of December 27, 2001:
30 yr. fixed: 7.16%
15 yr. fixed: 6.65%
1 yr. adj: 5.25%
Get today's rates
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New Or Old?
The Debate Continues
As
you embark on your venture to buy a home, one of the first
decisions to make is whether to buy new or to purchase an
existing home. Each choice has its advantages, and there is no
single answer which works for everyone.
Existing homes offer many considerations for potential
homebuyers, including:
Maintenance And Repair. If you're considering an existing
home, be sure you have a good handle on the working status of
all major systems. Hire a professional home inspector to check
out the house. As appliances and systems age they naturally
require repair and replacement, something which may be reflected
in a purchase price.
Existing Features. When you buy an existing home, you
typically don't have to worry about buying the extras, such as
blinds for the window, fences, built-in cabinets, a security
system, or a
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Questions Every
Contractor Wishes You Would Ask
You've
spent countless hours dreaming about the day when you would
finally transform your kitchen or bathroom to mirror the modern
display at your local home improvement store. Or perhaps the
time has come to launch a remodeling project with an eye toward
getting your home in top shape so you can place it on the
market.
If you're one of the 26 million homeowners who makes
improvements to their homes in a given year, then you should
heed the wisdom of professional contractors, who say that most
people who seek professional help ask the wrong questions in
their search for a contractor.
While it's important to known "when can you start," "when
will you finish," and "how much," there are other questions
homeowners should ask.
NARI -- the National Association of the Remodeling
Industry -- recommends that you ask these questions in your
search for a contractor:
How long have you been in business?
Who will be the project supervisor?
Will employees or subcontractors be working on the project?
Does the company carry workers
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Vacation Homes Get Hot
Despite
the recession, increased unemployment, and ups and downs on Wall
Street, second home sales have risen substantially in the past few
years.
Often purchased as vacation or retirement properties, second
homes clocked an estimated 415,000 sales in 2000, up 10 percent from
1999 according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The
year 2000 estimate is up 40 percent compared with the 296,000 second
homes sold in 1995. Why so many second-home purchases?
The economic expansion during the past decade has created
extraordinary equity growth in primary residences and bullish stock
market returns. Also, the Taxpayers Relief Act of 1997 allows
qualifying owners to keep more of their profit when they sell a
prime residence -- money often used to purchase a
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate
market today, find current interest rates, or browse the
extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some
of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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