Phi Vo

Evergreen, Colorado - At a per square foot price, green certified energy efficient homes are selling for more than conventional homes according to Earth Advantage Institute, a non-profit green building organization. In a study of certified green homes in Oregon, the institute discovered that they sold for 12% more than conventional homes and were also on the market for a shorter amount of time. A Washington study had even better results, where green certified homes sold at 25% more than others and also sold about 12% faster.

Many people are attracted to green homes because they consume less resources, even drastically lowering their utility bills in some cases. They also use safer and more environmentally friendly materials versus toxic materials sometimes present in conventional homes. There seems to be a growing demand for these types of homes despite one of the worst housing market downturns in history.

I remember a time when people laughed at the treehuggers and their green homes, but it looks like they're really getting the last laugh. This unpredictable economy has brought about some surprising developments. Namely, that green homes are now desirable and being frugal is in. It's amazing how much exuberance is now shunned. Getting a green certification for a home is hard work however, and it may take you a while to experience the cost benefits of converting your property to meet government standards. Instead, you can take steps to improve insulation, install water-saving devices and energy efficient bulbs to start the process immediately. It's a fun and economical way to use our resources, and you could always point it out when selling your home.

I recommend Evergreen Insurance Rates for all your home insurance coverage needs.

[source: PR Web]

The city of Escondido recently announced two new projects that would help to revamp the city's image by focusing on older structures being deemed as eyesores. As in any city, old buildings can drastically reduce the image of a neighborhood or city, bringing down property values and hurting nearby businesses. Up for repairs include a Habitat for Humanity town house community and a 27 unit apartment complex.

Escondido will build the two structures in vacant lots where illegal dumping and other activities have occurred in the past, making the area less desireable. The city hopes the new buildings will be the first step in helping the city revamp its image. So far, the effort has already caused 2 other projects to begin construction. Most of the efforts focus on affordable housing for citizens of Escondido. Estimates are slightly above $11 million for the completion of both projects.

I recommend Escondido Insurance Rates for all your home insurance needs.

I recommend Escondido Banking Rates for all your home loan and financing needs.

[source: istock analyst]

El Cajon has approved a measure to spend $881,100 to improve several structures in the city. Scheduled renovations include the installation of energy efficient lighting in city hall and other buildings in the city. About 1,000 streetlights at intersections will also be retrofitted with more efficient equipment.

City Traffic Engineer Mario Sanchez expects the work to be completed within about 6 to 8 months after a start date is determined. El Cajon received the funds from the federal government to do the work.

City projects are a great way to renovate an area and establish more energy in an area. While the El Cajon projects are small, bigger plans may be under way that could hopefully revitalize the area.

I recommend El Cajon Insurance Rates for all your home insurance and other insurance needs.

[source: sign on sandiego]

Durham, NC - The Toll Brothers, builders of luxury homes stated that they saw a "notable improvement" in the North Carolina housing market. The company owns a slew of homes and other development projects in the state and the rest of the country. They focus mostly on high end luxury homes, a segment of the housing market that has been in decline since the housing bust.

The Toll Brothers believe that the market is finally recovering, and are even looking for more developable land. Only 91 homes above $500,000 sold in the first quarter of 2010, down 32% from the year before. The company spent $130 million recently to purchase new lands, and note that a large number of their sales are from people moving into the state from other parts of the country. That number has dropped about half, indicating that people are having difficulties selling their existing homes amidst the market turmoil.

Here are some good quotes:

"We are seeing solid activity in many markets," Douglas C. Yearley Jr., 50, who will take over as CEO on June 16, said in a prepared statement.

"It appears our business has finally emerged from the tunnel and into a bit of daylight," Toll said. "We don't expect housing to roar back right away."

"We believe the past few months' activity has been driven by an increase in confidence among our buyers in their job security, their ability to sell their existing homes and general trends in home prices," Toll said.

The company has managed to reduce half of its losses to about $40 million compared to the prior year. Earnings for the company are down 22%.

Do you think housing is really going to improve, or are the Toll Brothers hoping to create their own market buying stir?

I recommend Durham Insurance Rates for all your home insurance needs.

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Congratulations to those who live in the state are in order as Oklahoma has the highest levels of home equity compared to any other state in the U.S. according to the Tulsa World. Tulsa and the state as a whole have some of the lowest levels of negative equity, a situation where a homeowner owes more on a property than the home is worth. The state has a 5.9% negative equity level compared to the 23.7% numbers for the rest of the country.

John Hausam, president of ERA John Hausam Realtors in Tulsa remarked that the state did not see the tremendous appreciation in home prices that other states witnessed, so they may have skipped the housing bubble altogether. The median price of a home was $126,000 in March, up only 5% from a year earlier.

“We’ve never had the strong appreciation,” Hausam tells the World. “We’ve averaged a 3% increase each year since 1981 up until the last year or so.”

Nevada had the highest rate of negative equity borrowers of any state at an astounding 69.9%.

Just goes to show that slow and steady beats out all other strategies. Just to share, our house was appraised at over $1 million in 2006 at the height of the buying frenzy and we had several offers on it. Since we were happy, we stayed put, but our current appraised value is only at $675,000. What a difference a few years makes. Thank goodness most of our home's value is equity.

We can all learn a lot from Oklahoma. It's a shame that they will be impacted by the Great Recession despite not taking part in it. No man is an island as they say...

I recommend Tulsa Banking Rates for all your home loan financing and personal finance needs.