09/17/2012: WarmlyYours Weekly Remodeling and Radiant Heating News

September 17 2012

Here is the latest news from the WarmlyYours Weekly Radiant News for this week! We are your one-stop source for all things radiant and the home remodeling industry!

radiant and remodeling news from WarmlyYours

This week's featured articles:

"Industry Alert: Home Prices Are Increasing"

YThe Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index has shown a sharp increase in home prices for the nation’s biggest cities from April through May of this year, the second gain after seven months of declines! June’s data for the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices has also shown positive for the housing market. The 10-City Composite was up 2.2% and 20-City Composites also increased 2.3% in June over May. The 2.2% rise was also the strongest month-over-month percentage gain in more than a decade. The Case-Shiller index, created by economists Karl E. Case and Robert J. Shiller, is widely considered the most reliable read on home values. The housing index compares the latest sales of detached houses with previous sales and accounts for factors, such as remodeling that could affect a house's sale price over time. Read More

"Foreclosures Down 15% from Year Earlier"

RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com) released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for August 2012 on September 13th, showing foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 193,508 U.S. properties in August, an increase of 1 percent from July but down 15 percent from August 2011. The report also shows one in every 681 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month. Read More

"Renovating Your Guest Room for a Comfy Fall"

While there won't be as many vacationers swinging by to visit over the fall months, plenty of friends and family will be coming your way during the holidays. Whether you're putting up a few old college friends for a Columbus Day weekend party or looking ahead to all the guests you're sure to have at Thanksgiving, there's no time like the present for renovating your guest room. Keep the new season in mind however - you'll want to plan ahead for colder mornings and evenings, while also giving the décor a little autumnal pizazz. Consider these tips to help you out along the way. Read More

"Custom Home Building Market Share Remains Elevated"

The onset of the housing crisis and the Great Recession interrupted a 15-year long increasing trend toward a growing share for spec home building. As housing production slowed in 2006 and 2007, the share of non-spec building, particularly custom home building, increased. This not-for sale single-family housing construction is classified in Census housing starts data as either owner- or contractor-built.

The share increased because the credit crunch made it more difficult for builders to obtain AD&C credit and more difficult for buyers to obtain mortgage financing due to falling prices. Thus, the market share of custom home building rose because such construction does not require a sale of real estate from a builder to a homebuyer. Read More

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