Items of Interest - April 1, 2006
SALES OF NEWLY BUILT HOMES SINK: A 10.5 percent decline in sales of newly built single-family homes in February was reported by the U.S. Commerce Department. The reported decline primarily reflected a sharp shortfall in the West region and was the biggest in nine years. 'This is what the Fed wants; they want housing to slow,' Robert B. MacIntosh, chief economist at Eaton Vance Management in Boston told Reuters. 'That is the place where they can most affect wealth creation and spending. The Fed is that much closer to being done.' Added Chief Economist David Seiders of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 'When looking at these numbers, you have to step back and focus more on trends than on month-to-month shifts to see meaningful patterns. This government report traditionally has lots of month-to-month volatility and is subject to substantial revision.' Referring to a 29.4 percent decline in new-home sales reported for the West region, he said, 'It would not be unusual for that number to be revised upward or to show some rebound in the next report.' Sales of new single-family homes remained above the million-unit mark, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.08 million in February. Sales improved in both the Northeast and Midwest (by 12.7 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively), but fell 6.4 percent in the South - in addition to the nearly 30 percent decline in the West. The inventory of unsold homes rose to 548,000 units in February, which is a 6.3-month supply at the current sales pace. This was the highest month's supply number since January of 1996. 'One factor in the inventory situation is the substantial housing starts activity that took place in the January-February period as builders took advantage of unseasonably warm weather to get a jump on production schedules,' noted Seiders. 'That month's supply number will most likely come down as housing starts taper off and if the sales pace picks up - as we expect it to.'
DON'T GIVE YOUR HYDRANGEAS A BREAK: Resist the temptation to prune ragged-looking hydrangeas in the garden. Most bloom on old wood – cut now and they won't. Check out hydrangeashydrangeas.com for more specific information.
YOU CAN BET ON IT: Investors who think there is a housing bubble about to burst will soon be able to bet not only on when it will happen, but where, reports the Wall Street Journal. Standard & Poor's is rolling out 10 indexes that will track housing prices in various regions of the U.S., as well as a composite index. The indexes, which are planned to launch this month, will serve as the basis for futures and options contracts that will trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The contracts will allow investors to go long or short on a specific housing market - that is, bet on it rising or falling in value. Dubbed the S&P/Case-Shiller Metro Area Home Price Indices, they will include the cities of Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and D.C. The composite index will be weighted, with New York, for instance, carrying more influence than Miami because the Big Apple has higher housing values and more homes. 'Obviously all this talk about housing bubbles is going to enhance interest in the product,' says David Blitzer, chairman of Standard & Poor's Index Committee. But he adds that the indexes are also meant to serve as a reliable source of information about what is many consumers' most valuable asset. Futures contracts obligate an investor to buy or sell an underlying asset on a certain expiration date at a fixed price, unless the investor makes an offsetting trade beforehand. Options grant the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price anytime before expiration.
GO SOUTH, OLD MAN: Retiring baby boomers, hoping to avoid the high cost of living - and aging - at home, are going south, according to Time magazine in Realtor magazine. They are passing up Mexican retirement locales such as Playa del Carmen and Cancun in favor of spots deeper in Central America. Costa Rica alone, according to the foreign-retiree association Casa Canada in San Jose, plays host to 50,000 Americans. That migration has spawned a real estate boom in scenic coastal and mountain towns from Honduras to Panama. As emigration grows by North Americans grows, so do real estate prices. Ocean-view lots and houses in Costa Rica start at $200,000 today and range up to seven figures. To find cheaper properties, retirees are moving to Guatemala and Nicaragua, the latest frontier, where homes go for $20,000.
KATRINA IS GOING TO AFFECT YOUR OWN INSURANCE: The hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast last summer are beginning to wreak havoc with homeowners' insurance coverage in states far removed from where the storms hit, says the Wall Street Journal. Major insurers are dropping policies or not writing new ones in coastal areas from Texas to Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard as far north as Massachusetts. They have left homeowners in a number of states scrambling to find new coverage, often at higher cost. Reinsurance companies, whose business it is to insure the insurers, have begun charging sharply higher prices in anticipation that hurricanes will become more frequent and more intense, and some primary insurers say they will try to recoup these added costs from consumers. Allstate, the nation's second biggest home insurer, after State Farm Insurance, says it plans to seek premium increases in a 'majority' of the 49 states in which it does business to help offset higher reinsurance costs. The company recently raised home-insurance premiums by 8.5 percent in New York State and says it plans soon to ask regulators in Connecticut and New Jersey to approve rate increases. Following the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes, the reinsurance industry, including such global players as Swiss Reinsurance Co. and Munich Re AG, drew up new projections of potential losses from future storms. The projections, citing natural weather cycles as well as global warming resulting from human activity, point to more frequent and more intense tropical storms and hurricanes over wider areas of the U.S. for the next 10-20 years. The financial cost of the potential disasters also was ratcheted sharply higher. As a result, reinsurers, which don't need regulatory approval to boost rates, are jacking up the prices they charge primary insurers by 30-125 percent nationwide, and more in some storm-hit areas. As premiums rise and insurers look to cut risk exposure, industry experts advise consumers to keep a low profile. Self-insure as much as possible by carrying as high a deductible as you can afford to keep premiums low and remain attractive to insurers, they say. Also, avoid filing small or petty claims. Never file a claim for maintenance-related damages such as a chronic water leak: Even one such claim could cause you to be dropped by your insurer. When purchasing home insurance, buy from a company with a high financial rating from such ratings firms as A.M. Best and Weiss Group to minimize the chance that your insurer will drop you because of its own financial problems or fail to pay a claim.
EVERYONE'S MOVING UP, EVEN THE CAT: The very latest in cat boxes, notes the current issue of Renovation Style, includes boxes hidden in potted palms or wooden trunks which match living room décor. But there's more – carpet-covered boxes that look like gifts and others pretending to be dollhouses, barns, and that potent symbol of early Americana, the log cabin. Low-tech solutions include a heavy-weight cardboard English Tudor house that fits over a standard litter box and includes a paw-cleaning doormat. Others are more complicated, including the Out of Sight white or maple Melamine units that disappear into a row of base cabinets. Postmodern Pets features sleek Italian designs. For these and other cat habitations, visit catcottages.com, hidnlitter.com, litterlofts.com and postmodernpets.com.
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED, AS HAVE WE: A central New Jersey real estate practitioner has been accused of stealing $50,000 worth of jewelry, a $2,000 camcorder and camera, and nearly $3,000 in cash and coins from four different houses, according to the Record in Realtor magazine. Susan Silok, who was formerly employed by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Mahwah, turned herself into the Mahwah police. She was accused after home owners in several communities complained that they were missing items after their open houses. Police from seven departments formed an ad hoc task force. Detectives followed Silok as she visited six open houses last Friday. Officers planted items such as a detective's Movado watch in several of the homes. Police said they later searched Silok's home and recovered most of the planted items, including the detective's watch. No watches for us!
COMPANIES ARE SHEDDING NEW LIGHT ON AN OLD PROBLEM: For the homeowner who has everything, a growing industry of boutique firms and architects is collecting, hoarding and taming the daylight that shines into your home, according to the Wall Street Journal. Called 'daylighting,' the practice involves gizmos from melon-shaped 'skylights' that capture and funnel sun through roofs to software programs that command shades to retract depending on the time of year. In January, Velux America, a skylight company in Greenwood, S.C., introduced technology that electrifies glass panels, clouding them up to block the sun. Each 2-foot by 4-foot panel costs $2,000. In the past two years, business has been so strong at one Seattle lighting lab that the backers launched three satellite offices in the region. MechoShade in New York has a new $25,000 software program for the home that adjusts lighting and shades depending on each room's location and exposures. The tagline: 'Integrate the sun.' Of course, there can be too much of a good thing. Pat Trowbridge recently paid $450 for a tubular skylight that bounces sun into his San Diego kitchen. But the 8-foot-long pipe floods in so much light, the retiree says he has to look away. 'I feel like I could get a suntan,' says Trowbridge. His solution: Maybe buying a shade to cover the skylight.
TO REDECORATE, LET YOUR COMPUTER DO THE WALKING: This month's House & Garden suggests that you have a look at the interactive Design-a-Room website (ndm.si.edu) created by MFA students from Parsons. Players decorate with wallpapers and furniture from the Cooper-Hewitt's historic design collection.
WHEN DO YOU NEED 'EXTENDED' TITLE INSURANCE: According to John Martin, general counsel of the All New York Title Insurance Agency in Manhattan told the New York Times that such a policy provides protection for contingencies that a standard policy does not cover - certain zoning problems, for example. Say someone buys a house that has an addition that was not approved by the municipality and later finds out that the addition must be torn down. An extended policy would cover that expense. In most cases, Martin said, extended policies cost 20 percent more than standard policies and carry deductibles of $1,500 to $4,000. He said that most people were adequately protected by a standard policy. But for those who are buying a newly built house, particularly in a new subdivision, he added, extra protection might be a good idea because there is a greater likelihood of title claims for any number of reasons. And those who want the most insurance money can buy might not mind spending the extra 10 or 20 percent for greater peace of mind.
MAYBE THEY'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO REDUCE EATING TIME TOO: Lately, kitchenware manufacturers have started pushing customers to go high-tech, with mechanized vacuum marinators, says the Wall Street Journal. These gadgets, some big enough to hold a five-pound roast, come with an electric or hand-pump and create a vacuum seal. Makers say the seal cuts off air and opens up the food's fibers, allowing the flavors to absorb in less than 30 minutes. Traditional marinating can take hours, often requiring overnight soaking. Think of it! Retailer Williams-Sonoma introduced a hand-pump marinator in January for $70, and Netherlands-based Vacu Vin, manufacturer of wine pumps, is coming out with a similar product for $40 in June. Last year, Rival began selling the $20 Minute Marinating Canister, an attachment for its $70 Seal-a-Meal Vacuum Food Storage System. A $200 version from Eastman Outdoors: The Reveo MariVac Food Tumbler, which tosses food around so the marinade can penetrate more deeply, according to manufacturer. Some manufacturers may see the new marinators as a way to pump up the slowing home vacuum-sealer category. Since 2003, total sales for vacuum sealers dropped 10.4 percent, falling to $38.6 million last year, according to market researcher NPD Group. Other makers see the products as a way to capitalize on the popularity of grilling, both indoors and out. One caveat is that the meat can gain about one-fifth of its weight in liquid, so cooking times need to be adjusted, as do seasonings. When Jon Buckland mixed tilapia, oil and herbs in the device, the marinade overwhelmed the fish. 'I was overdoing it,' says the corporate-communications specialist in Chicago. 'The marinator works great, but it works too quickly.'
THAT WALL SMELLS GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: It's one thing to banish the toxic VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in paints as a number of manufacturers are doing. But the April issue of This Old House features Anna Sova products; they can include essentials oils to mix with your paint to make your walls smell like cookies or orange and cloves. If you get tired of the fragrance, too bad: You'll have to wait a year for the scents to wear off.
THEY'RE LIVING LARGE: The number of American households with a net worth of $1 million or more, excluding their principal residence, grew to a record 8.9 million last year, the British market research firm TNS Financial Services said in a report. More than one in seven of the households were in just 13 of the nation's 3,140 counties, TNS said. The number of millionaire families rose to 7.1 million in 1999, and then, after the Internet bubble burst, dropped steadily to 5.5 million by 2002, said Jeanette Luhr, a TNS manager who directed the survey. The ranks of millionaire households rose to 6.2 million in 2003 and 8.2 million in 2004, she continued. The households had an average net worth, excluding principal residence, of nearly $2.2 million. Half of the heads of millionaire households were 58 or older, Luhr said, and 45 percent were retired. According to Inman News, the survey ranked Los Angeles County, Calif., the wealthiest county in the United States, based on the number of millionaire households. The survey found that Los Angeles County has 262,800 millionaire households. Second was Cook County, Ill. with 167,873 millionaire households, followed by Orange County, Calif., Maricopa County, Ariz., San Diego County, Calif., Harris County, Tex., Nassau County, N.Y., Santa Clara County, Calif., Palm Beach County, Fla., and Middlesex County, Mass.
REMODELING PASSES A BIG ROUND NUMBER FOR THE FIRST TIME: Americans spent an estimated $210 billion on residential remodeling in 2005, based on the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) analysis of recently released third-quarter remodeling spending from the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, the NAHB Remodelors Council forecasts the largest increase in spending during 2006 in more than 10 years to a record $238 billion, a 13.2 percent jump. The record industry growth forecast for 2006 is more than double the pace of growth in 2005, when remodeling spending grew by 5.8 percent, in line with average annual growth of 5.3 percent from 1994 to 2004. The previous growth record was posted in 2004, when spending jumped 12.2 percent owing to a strong increase in the real estate market. The 2005 record was largely attributable to low refinancing and equity loan interest rates, as well the effects of Katrina and other storms.
DEMOGRAPHICS IN THE SUBURBS ARE CHANGING: First-ring suburbs used to be characterized by their uniformity and consistency, especially when compared with neighboring cities, notes Realtor magazine. Some even inspired the term 'cookie-cutter community.' Home to nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population, first-ring suburbs were developed before and during the post World War II expansion. 'First-ring suburbs have largely retained their position as home to some of the most highly educated and wealthy residents, the highest share of residents with white collar jobs, and the highest housing values,' according to a Brookings Institution report. Today, first-ring suburbs are a study in contrasts. The report describes those suburbs as 'unique in that overall poverty continues to grow as does the number of neighborhoods of high poverty.' Three-quarters of the first-ring suburbs saw an increase in the number of areas with at least a 20 percent poverty rate from 1970 to 2000, according to Brookings' analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Described as 'the front lines of a diversifying national population,' the first-ring suburbs are experiencing more population change than either metropolitan areas or newer suburbs. 'First-ring suburbs were once far less racially diverse than the nation, but rapid demographic changes over the last 20 years now make them more so, with racial and ethnic minority populations doubling between 1980 and 2000,' the report said.
LIVE AND LEARN: 'More and more colleges are getting interested in the 55-plus active-adult community,' Gerard Badler of Campus Continuum - a two-year-old company hoping to build such communities on or near college campuses - tells Inman News. 'As aging baby boomers come into the marketplace, you'll see the trend accelerating.' By 2020, there will be some 55 million people over 65 in the country, according to U.S. Census projections, providing a larger market for such communities. The rationale is simple: Living on a college campus affords seniors easy access to sporting and cultural events, not to mention classes. And there's a quid pro quo for the college kids, too: They get unofficial mentoring, a different perspective and, in many instances, home-cooked meals out of the deal. Approximately 20 formally linked communities exist nationwide, Badler said, including Penn State University and The Village at Penn State; the University of Florida, Gainesville, and Oak Hammock; The Forest at Duke in North Carolina; and Longview and Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y.
MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS EDGE UP: For the week ended March 24, volume increased by 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the increase was 1.0 percent compared with the previous week but was down 15.0 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. Purchase applications went up by 2.7 percent seasonally adjusted from the prior week, refinancings slipped by 1.0 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.3 percent of total applications from 38.1 percent the previous week, and the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share swelled to 28.7 percent of total applications from 28.3.
HIGH APPRECIATION CAN LEAD TO A BIG TAX BILL: A growing number of homeowners, riding the crest of the real-estate boom, are getting hit by an unpleasant surprise when they sell: a hefty tax bill, the Wall Street Journal observes. This development stems from a 1997 law that Treasury Department officials said at the time would eliminate capital-gains taxes for nearly everyone selling their primary residence. Under that law, most married couples who file jointly can exclude as much as $500,000 of their gain. For most singles, the limit is $250,000. But as home prices have surged, more people have been selling their home for bigger gains than the exclusion amount - and thus are facing unexpectedly big tax bills. Besides getting hit by the top 15 percent rate on capital gains, some also are facing the loss of deductions, exemptions and credits. In some cases, they may even be drawn into the rapidly expanding web of the alternative minimum tax. Many sellers are startled to hear they owe any tax at all because they didn't realize the 1997 law erased a popular provision that had allowed them to avoid taxes. That provision generally allowed sellers to defer or eliminate capital-gains taxes by rolling over their proceeds within a specified time period into a new home costing as much or more than the old one. The law also deleted another provision that generally offered a once-in-a-lifetime $125,000 exclusion for people age 55 or older.
D.C. IS LOSING MONEY ON ILLEGAL TAX DEDUCTIONS: The city's Office of Tax and Revenue does not have adequate controls to catch residents ineligible for homestead deductions or senior citizen tax relief programs, according to D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby, reports the Washington Post. The result is the loss of as much as $3.4 million in taxes.
MORTGAGES RATES MOVE UP AGAIN: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.35 percent for the week, up from last week's of 6.32 percent and 6.04 percent last year, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year FRM this week was 6.00 percent in comparison with 5.97 percent last week and 5.58 percent a year ago. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.02 percent this week, up from last week's 5.96 percent and last year's 5.43 percent. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.51 percent this week versus 5.41 percent the week before. At this time last year, it was 4.33 percent. 'The Fed raised rates this week, as was expected, but the market was a little surprised at the Committee's comments, which implied more tightening in the future,' said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. 'That raised the expectation that inflation may be more of a threat than was previously thought, and that kind of thinking promotes upward pressure on mortgage rates like we saw across the board this week.'
IT'S A FESTIVAL AND IT'S FREE: The Arlington Artists Alliance is mounting a week-long ArtFest at Fort C. F. Smith featuring art in all media for show and sale, plus workshops. The opening reception is March 31 6-8 p.m., and hours vary through April 7. Admission is free. More info: arlingtonartistalliance.org or 703-528-5740.
DON'T GIVE YOUR HYDRANGEAS A BREAK: Resist the temptation to prune ragged-looking hydrangeas in the garden. Most bloom on old wood – cut now and they won't. Check out hydrangeashydrangeas.com for more specific information.
YOU CAN BET ON IT: Investors who think there is a housing bubble about to burst will soon be able to bet not only on when it will happen, but where, reports the Wall Street Journal. Standard & Poor's is rolling out 10 indexes that will track housing prices in various regions of the U.S., as well as a composite index. The indexes, which are planned to launch this month, will serve as the basis for futures and options contracts that will trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The contracts will allow investors to go long or short on a specific housing market - that is, bet on it rising or falling in value. Dubbed the S&P/Case-Shiller Metro Area Home Price Indices, they will include the cities of Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and D.C. The composite index will be weighted, with New York, for instance, carrying more influence than Miami because the Big Apple has higher housing values and more homes. 'Obviously all this talk about housing bubbles is going to enhance interest in the product,' says David Blitzer, chairman of Standard & Poor's Index Committee. But he adds that the indexes are also meant to serve as a reliable source of information about what is many consumers' most valuable asset. Futures contracts obligate an investor to buy or sell an underlying asset on a certain expiration date at a fixed price, unless the investor makes an offsetting trade beforehand. Options grant the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price anytime before expiration.
GO SOUTH, OLD MAN: Retiring baby boomers, hoping to avoid the high cost of living - and aging - at home, are going south, according to Time magazine in Realtor magazine. They are passing up Mexican retirement locales such as Playa del Carmen and Cancun in favor of spots deeper in Central America. Costa Rica alone, according to the foreign-retiree association Casa Canada in San Jose, plays host to 50,000 Americans. That migration has spawned a real estate boom in scenic coastal and mountain towns from Honduras to Panama. As emigration grows by North Americans grows, so do real estate prices. Ocean-view lots and houses in Costa Rica start at $200,000 today and range up to seven figures. To find cheaper properties, retirees are moving to Guatemala and Nicaragua, the latest frontier, where homes go for $20,000.
KATRINA IS GOING TO AFFECT YOUR OWN INSURANCE: The hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast last summer are beginning to wreak havoc with homeowners' insurance coverage in states far removed from where the storms hit, says the Wall Street Journal. Major insurers are dropping policies or not writing new ones in coastal areas from Texas to Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard as far north as Massachusetts. They have left homeowners in a number of states scrambling to find new coverage, often at higher cost. Reinsurance companies, whose business it is to insure the insurers, have begun charging sharply higher prices in anticipation that hurricanes will become more frequent and more intense, and some primary insurers say they will try to recoup these added costs from consumers. Allstate, the nation's second biggest home insurer, after State Farm Insurance, says it plans to seek premium increases in a 'majority' of the 49 states in which it does business to help offset higher reinsurance costs. The company recently raised home-insurance premiums by 8.5 percent in New York State and says it plans soon to ask regulators in Connecticut and New Jersey to approve rate increases. Following the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes, the reinsurance industry, including such global players as Swiss Reinsurance Co. and Munich Re AG, drew up new projections of potential losses from future storms. The projections, citing natural weather cycles as well as global warming resulting from human activity, point to more frequent and more intense tropical storms and hurricanes over wider areas of the U.S. for the next 10-20 years. The financial cost of the potential disasters also was ratcheted sharply higher. As a result, reinsurers, which don't need regulatory approval to boost rates, are jacking up the prices they charge primary insurers by 30-125 percent nationwide, and more in some storm-hit areas. As premiums rise and insurers look to cut risk exposure, industry experts advise consumers to keep a low profile. Self-insure as much as possible by carrying as high a deductible as you can afford to keep premiums low and remain attractive to insurers, they say. Also, avoid filing small or petty claims. Never file a claim for maintenance-related damages such as a chronic water leak: Even one such claim could cause you to be dropped by your insurer. When purchasing home insurance, buy from a company with a high financial rating from such ratings firms as A.M. Best and Weiss Group to minimize the chance that your insurer will drop you because of its own financial problems or fail to pay a claim.
EVERYONE'S MOVING UP, EVEN THE CAT: The very latest in cat boxes, notes the current issue of Renovation Style, includes boxes hidden in potted palms or wooden trunks which match living room décor. But there's more – carpet-covered boxes that look like gifts and others pretending to be dollhouses, barns, and that potent symbol of early Americana, the log cabin. Low-tech solutions include a heavy-weight cardboard English Tudor house that fits over a standard litter box and includes a paw-cleaning doormat. Others are more complicated, including the Out of Sight white or maple Melamine units that disappear into a row of base cabinets. Postmodern Pets features sleek Italian designs. For these and other cat habitations, visit catcottages.com, hidnlitter.com, litterlofts.com and postmodernpets.com.
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED, AS HAVE WE: A central New Jersey real estate practitioner has been accused of stealing $50,000 worth of jewelry, a $2,000 camcorder and camera, and nearly $3,000 in cash and coins from four different houses, according to the Record in Realtor magazine. Susan Silok, who was formerly employed by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Mahwah, turned herself into the Mahwah police. She was accused after home owners in several communities complained that they were missing items after their open houses. Police from seven departments formed an ad hoc task force. Detectives followed Silok as she visited six open houses last Friday. Officers planted items such as a detective's Movado watch in several of the homes. Police said they later searched Silok's home and recovered most of the planted items, including the detective's watch. No watches for us!
COMPANIES ARE SHEDDING NEW LIGHT ON AN OLD PROBLEM: For the homeowner who has everything, a growing industry of boutique firms and architects is collecting, hoarding and taming the daylight that shines into your home, according to the Wall Street Journal. Called 'daylighting,' the practice involves gizmos from melon-shaped 'skylights' that capture and funnel sun through roofs to software programs that command shades to retract depending on the time of year. In January, Velux America, a skylight company in Greenwood, S.C., introduced technology that electrifies glass panels, clouding them up to block the sun. Each 2-foot by 4-foot panel costs $2,000. In the past two years, business has been so strong at one Seattle lighting lab that the backers launched three satellite offices in the region. MechoShade in New York has a new $25,000 software program for the home that adjusts lighting and shades depending on each room's location and exposures. The tagline: 'Integrate the sun.' Of course, there can be too much of a good thing. Pat Trowbridge recently paid $450 for a tubular skylight that bounces sun into his San Diego kitchen. But the 8-foot-long pipe floods in so much light, the retiree says he has to look away. 'I feel like I could get a suntan,' says Trowbridge. His solution: Maybe buying a shade to cover the skylight.
TO REDECORATE, LET YOUR COMPUTER DO THE WALKING: This month's House & Garden suggests that you have a look at the interactive Design-a-Room website (ndm.si.edu) created by MFA students from Parsons. Players decorate with wallpapers and furniture from the Cooper-Hewitt's historic design collection.
WHEN DO YOU NEED 'EXTENDED' TITLE INSURANCE: According to John Martin, general counsel of the All New York Title Insurance Agency in Manhattan told the New York Times that such a policy provides protection for contingencies that a standard policy does not cover - certain zoning problems, for example. Say someone buys a house that has an addition that was not approved by the municipality and later finds out that the addition must be torn down. An extended policy would cover that expense. In most cases, Martin said, extended policies cost 20 percent more than standard policies and carry deductibles of $1,500 to $4,000. He said that most people were adequately protected by a standard policy. But for those who are buying a newly built house, particularly in a new subdivision, he added, extra protection might be a good idea because there is a greater likelihood of title claims for any number of reasons. And those who want the most insurance money can buy might not mind spending the extra 10 or 20 percent for greater peace of mind.
MAYBE THEY'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO REDUCE EATING TIME TOO: Lately, kitchenware manufacturers have started pushing customers to go high-tech, with mechanized vacuum marinators, says the Wall Street Journal. These gadgets, some big enough to hold a five-pound roast, come with an electric or hand-pump and create a vacuum seal. Makers say the seal cuts off air and opens up the food's fibers, allowing the flavors to absorb in less than 30 minutes. Traditional marinating can take hours, often requiring overnight soaking. Think of it! Retailer Williams-Sonoma introduced a hand-pump marinator in January for $70, and Netherlands-based Vacu Vin, manufacturer of wine pumps, is coming out with a similar product for $40 in June. Last year, Rival began selling the $20 Minute Marinating Canister, an attachment for its $70 Seal-a-Meal Vacuum Food Storage System. A $200 version from Eastman Outdoors: The Reveo MariVac Food Tumbler, which tosses food around so the marinade can penetrate more deeply, according to manufacturer. Some manufacturers may see the new marinators as a way to pump up the slowing home vacuum-sealer category. Since 2003, total sales for vacuum sealers dropped 10.4 percent, falling to $38.6 million last year, according to market researcher NPD Group. Other makers see the products as a way to capitalize on the popularity of grilling, both indoors and out. One caveat is that the meat can gain about one-fifth of its weight in liquid, so cooking times need to be adjusted, as do seasonings. When Jon Buckland mixed tilapia, oil and herbs in the device, the marinade overwhelmed the fish. 'I was overdoing it,' says the corporate-communications specialist in Chicago. 'The marinator works great, but it works too quickly.'
THAT WALL SMELLS GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: It's one thing to banish the toxic VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in paints as a number of manufacturers are doing. But the April issue of This Old House features Anna Sova products; they can include essentials oils to mix with your paint to make your walls smell like cookies or orange and cloves. If you get tired of the fragrance, too bad: You'll have to wait a year for the scents to wear off.
THEY'RE LIVING LARGE: The number of American households with a net worth of $1 million or more, excluding their principal residence, grew to a record 8.9 million last year, the British market research firm TNS Financial Services said in a report. More than one in seven of the households were in just 13 of the nation's 3,140 counties, TNS said. The number of millionaire families rose to 7.1 million in 1999, and then, after the Internet bubble burst, dropped steadily to 5.5 million by 2002, said Jeanette Luhr, a TNS manager who directed the survey. The ranks of millionaire households rose to 6.2 million in 2003 and 8.2 million in 2004, she continued. The households had an average net worth, excluding principal residence, of nearly $2.2 million. Half of the heads of millionaire households were 58 or older, Luhr said, and 45 percent were retired. According to Inman News, the survey ranked Los Angeles County, Calif., the wealthiest county in the United States, based on the number of millionaire households. The survey found that Los Angeles County has 262,800 millionaire households. Second was Cook County, Ill. with 167,873 millionaire households, followed by Orange County, Calif., Maricopa County, Ariz., San Diego County, Calif., Harris County, Tex., Nassau County, N.Y., Santa Clara County, Calif., Palm Beach County, Fla., and Middlesex County, Mass.
REMODELING PASSES A BIG ROUND NUMBER FOR THE FIRST TIME: Americans spent an estimated $210 billion on residential remodeling in 2005, based on the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) analysis of recently released third-quarter remodeling spending from the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, the NAHB Remodelors Council forecasts the largest increase in spending during 2006 in more than 10 years to a record $238 billion, a 13.2 percent jump. The record industry growth forecast for 2006 is more than double the pace of growth in 2005, when remodeling spending grew by 5.8 percent, in line with average annual growth of 5.3 percent from 1994 to 2004. The previous growth record was posted in 2004, when spending jumped 12.2 percent owing to a strong increase in the real estate market. The 2005 record was largely attributable to low refinancing and equity loan interest rates, as well the effects of Katrina and other storms.
DEMOGRAPHICS IN THE SUBURBS ARE CHANGING: First-ring suburbs used to be characterized by their uniformity and consistency, especially when compared with neighboring cities, notes Realtor magazine. Some even inspired the term 'cookie-cutter community.' Home to nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population, first-ring suburbs were developed before and during the post World War II expansion. 'First-ring suburbs have largely retained their position as home to some of the most highly educated and wealthy residents, the highest share of residents with white collar jobs, and the highest housing values,' according to a Brookings Institution report. Today, first-ring suburbs are a study in contrasts. The report describes those suburbs as 'unique in that overall poverty continues to grow as does the number of neighborhoods of high poverty.' Three-quarters of the first-ring suburbs saw an increase in the number of areas with at least a 20 percent poverty rate from 1970 to 2000, according to Brookings' analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Described as 'the front lines of a diversifying national population,' the first-ring suburbs are experiencing more population change than either metropolitan areas or newer suburbs. 'First-ring suburbs were once far less racially diverse than the nation, but rapid demographic changes over the last 20 years now make them more so, with racial and ethnic minority populations doubling between 1980 and 2000,' the report said.
LIVE AND LEARN: 'More and more colleges are getting interested in the 55-plus active-adult community,' Gerard Badler of Campus Continuum - a two-year-old company hoping to build such communities on or near college campuses - tells Inman News. 'As aging baby boomers come into the marketplace, you'll see the trend accelerating.' By 2020, there will be some 55 million people over 65 in the country, according to U.S. Census projections, providing a larger market for such communities. The rationale is simple: Living on a college campus affords seniors easy access to sporting and cultural events, not to mention classes. And there's a quid pro quo for the college kids, too: They get unofficial mentoring, a different perspective and, in many instances, home-cooked meals out of the deal. Approximately 20 formally linked communities exist nationwide, Badler said, including Penn State University and The Village at Penn State; the University of Florida, Gainesville, and Oak Hammock; The Forest at Duke in North Carolina; and Longview and Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y.
MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS EDGE UP: For the week ended March 24, volume increased by 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the increase was 1.0 percent compared with the previous week but was down 15.0 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. Purchase applications went up by 2.7 percent seasonally adjusted from the prior week, refinancings slipped by 1.0 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.3 percent of total applications from 38.1 percent the previous week, and the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share swelled to 28.7 percent of total applications from 28.3.
HIGH APPRECIATION CAN LEAD TO A BIG TAX BILL: A growing number of homeowners, riding the crest of the real-estate boom, are getting hit by an unpleasant surprise when they sell: a hefty tax bill, the Wall Street Journal observes. This development stems from a 1997 law that Treasury Department officials said at the time would eliminate capital-gains taxes for nearly everyone selling their primary residence. Under that law, most married couples who file jointly can exclude as much as $500,000 of their gain. For most singles, the limit is $250,000. But as home prices have surged, more people have been selling their home for bigger gains than the exclusion amount - and thus are facing unexpectedly big tax bills. Besides getting hit by the top 15 percent rate on capital gains, some also are facing the loss of deductions, exemptions and credits. In some cases, they may even be drawn into the rapidly expanding web of the alternative minimum tax. Many sellers are startled to hear they owe any tax at all because they didn't realize the 1997 law erased a popular provision that had allowed them to avoid taxes. That provision generally allowed sellers to defer or eliminate capital-gains taxes by rolling over their proceeds within a specified time period into a new home costing as much or more than the old one. The law also deleted another provision that generally offered a once-in-a-lifetime $125,000 exclusion for people age 55 or older.
D.C. IS LOSING MONEY ON ILLEGAL TAX DEDUCTIONS: The city's Office of Tax and Revenue does not have adequate controls to catch residents ineligible for homestead deductions or senior citizen tax relief programs, according to D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby, reports the Washington Post. The result is the loss of as much as $3.4 million in taxes.
MORTGAGES RATES MOVE UP AGAIN: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.35 percent for the week, up from last week's of 6.32 percent and 6.04 percent last year, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year FRM this week was 6.00 percent in comparison with 5.97 percent last week and 5.58 percent a year ago. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.02 percent this week, up from last week's 5.96 percent and last year's 5.43 percent. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.51 percent this week versus 5.41 percent the week before. At this time last year, it was 4.33 percent. 'The Fed raised rates this week, as was expected, but the market was a little surprised at the Committee's comments, which implied more tightening in the future,' said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. 'That raised the expectation that inflation may be more of a threat than was previously thought, and that kind of thinking promotes upward pressure on mortgage rates like we saw across the board this week.'
IT'S A FESTIVAL AND IT'S FREE: The Arlington Artists Alliance is mounting a week-long ArtFest at Fort C. F. Smith featuring art in all media for show and sale, plus workshops. The opening reception is March 31 6-8 p.m., and hours vary through April 7. Admission is free. More info: arlingtonartistalliance.org or 703-528-5740.
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