Category Archives: Real Estate

Make your home less of a health hazard

Posted on July 2, 2018 | Leave a comment

These tips aren’t medical; they’re environmental. What’s in your house, condo or apartment can impact how healthy you feel.

Essential indoor air quality

Energy-efficient home building codes can have a big impact by keeping air (and pollutants) locked inside.

“WWYW coined the term Tight Box Syndrome to describe the ventilation issue,” says Cooke. Harmful toxins are in products like paint, furniture finishes, carpeting, flooring, mattresses and even appliances and TVs, she adds. Cleaning products, pesticides and synthetic air fresheners can also adversely affect indoor air quality.

Kitchens and baths

Both of these well-used spaces can create IAQ issues, Cooke and Kreuzinger agree. And both require excellent ventilation systems. In the kitchen, “Recirculating hoods do not remove enough contaminants from the air,” WWYW’s founder advises. Not cleaning them regularly is another problem. “I personally think the solution is as simple as using a hood that supports disposable wool filters. They are compostable and are a natural fire retardant,” Cooke says. They are also easy to change and maintain, she adds. (If you’re not purchasing a new vent hood for your kitchen, check with the manufacturer or appliance instructions to make sure the one currently installed will work properly with disposable wool filters before purchasing them.)

Sleeping areas

“Allergens in bedrooms have the greatest effect on allergies because of the amount of time one tends to spend there,” the doctor says. “The most common indoor allergens are dust mites, pets and molds. Dust mites are very prevalent in beds, so we recommend covering mattresses, box springs and pillows with special casings and washing all bedding in hot water every two weeks.”

“Natural bedding made of cotton, linen, hemp or bamboo should be considered for comfort,” Cooke says. “Mattresses made of quilted or tufted all-natural materials including wool and cotton batting should be your first choice in achieving a healthy bedroom.” The others can include toxins, she says, and should be stored in a garage during their off-gassing period.

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San Diego County’s home prices in March up 7.7%

Posted on May 30, 2018 | Leave a comment

The San Diego County median home price reached $515,000 in March, its highest point in a decade and a 7.7 percent increase in a year, real estate tracker CoreLogic reported Tuesday.

The median price had been below half a million dollars since October last year, which had some analysts surmising costs had hit an affordability wall. But, the March numbers show some buyers are willing to go higher to get homes.

While the new price might seem historically high, it is still below the nominal 2005 peak of $517,500, the equivalent of $644,487 in 2016 dollars after adjusting for inflation.

Analysts say a lack of available homes for sale is probably the biggest factor in March’s numbers, but there are other reasons, too.

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San Diego home price hits (another) record high $570,000

Posted on May 24, 2018 | Leave a comment

San Diego County’s median home price hit an all-time high of $570,000 in April, increasing 8.6 percent in a year, said real estate tracker CoreLogic. It surpases the previous peak of $550,000 from the month before.

The increase was largely led by the rising price of resale condos, going up 11.7 percent in a year to a record high median of $430,000 with 1,102 sales.

While the rising prices are notable, they still technically lower than prices at the height of the housing boom. In November 2005, the median hit $517,500, which would be more than $655,000 today after adjusting for inflation. Some economists argue comparing the current market to the last housing boom is faulty because the runup was based on unrealistic access to loans, and that’s not the case now.

In April, 3,717 homes sold, about the same as April 2017 when 3,640 sold.

It was not just condos that hit a record price in April, but resale homes. The highly desired resale home reached a record median of $610,500 with 2,258 sales.