Green Real Estate Appraiser

San Diego – here’s why millennials aren’t settling here

Posted on November 30, 2016 | Leave a comment

San Diego is beautiful, but if you’re a young person without a lot of cash, North Carolina doesn’t look half bad.

Despite hip locales, craft beer and a bike lanes, San Diego County had one of the smaller millennial population increases in the nation from 2005 to 2015, said a study from Apartment List Rentonomics released Tuesday.

The study looked at 345 metros using U.S. Census data and found the secret to attracting America’s largest population — wage growth and affordability.

Of the 50 largest metro areas, Houston had one of the biggest millennial population increases. In the decade studied, the Texas city saw its median income, adjusted for inflation, increase 8.4 percent while its millennial population increased 17.4 percent.

Largest millennial population growth from 2005-2015

Based on the 50 largest metro areas

1. Charlotte (30.7%)

2. Houston (17.4%)

3. Austin (16.4%)

4. Seattle (15.3%)

5. Omaha (14.3%)

6. Nashville (13.8%)

7. Indianapolis (12.5%)

8. Tulsa (11%)

9. Orlando (10.5%)

10. Columbus (9.7%)

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

2017 – SoCal housing forecast not rosy

Posted on November 28, 2016 | Leave a comment

Homeownership rates will rise across the nation in 2017 after years of declines as more millennials enter the market, Zillow predicted Tuesday in its look-ahead report.

But, the Southern California market is not expected to see the same gains experienced in the rest of the country because of a lack of inventory and other factors, the home listing website said.

“It’s not as likely . . . and not as obvious in the SoCal area. I’m more hesitant to say you’ll see a tremendous increase in the homeownership rate,” said Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist. “You could see a small uptick, but it’s not a given.”

She said if more inventory comes on the market, there is a chance Southern California could see a bump in homeownership. But, Gudell said it also depends on job and income growth.

The national homeownership rate was 63.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016, said the U.S. Census’ Housing Vacancies and Homeownership estimate. At the same time in San Diego County, the rate was 54.4 percent.

Zillow’s report predicted national home values to rise 3.6 percent next year. In San Diego County values will rise 2.1 percent.

Gudell said mortgage rates will be a major factor in slowing value growth, and it is more extreme in San Diego County where home prices outpace much of the rest of the nation. The higher costs mean substantially more money based on interest rate changes.

Zillow’s rental prices for San Diego County are up 5 percent so far this year. The website predicts rents will rise 4 percent in 2017, again bucking the national trend of more substantial reductions.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Reality TV Remodeling shows – Chicago experts discuss TV magic

Posted on November 25, 2016 | Leave a comment

It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to point out that entertainment doesn’t always imitate life.

Just as one might argue Bravo paints housewives the world over as, well, prickly, HGTV can make realty agents, contractors and interior designers look like time-defying, cost-erasing wizards, capable of finding cheap homes and cranking out remodels lickety-split.

Need to know if the remodel will add value to your home – contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your home value questions.

So we passed them the mic. Here are the myths real estate and design experts encounter, and the truths homebuyers and sellers should keep in mind.

Pray for patience, and put away the hard hat.

A 5-year-old can do the math: It takes longer than approximately 40 minutes to find, renovate and decorate a house. But some consumers do believe a bathroom or kitchen remodel can be carried out in a fantastically quick timespan.

David Roberts, owner of Roberts Architects and Construction in Evanston, has heard prospective clients sing this tune: “Well, a bathroom remodel might take a week, because when we see it on TV, you know, the carpenter shows up, they take the old stuff out, the tile guy comes the next day, he puts the new tile in, and then the next day the plumber comes in and hooks up the toilet and the lovely new sink and shower, and then we put some glass doors in the shower and some light fixtures and by Friday it’s all done.”

That simply ain’t so.

An extensive bathroom remodel, Roberts said, one where you toss the old tiles, tear out the tub, install a shower and rework the plumbing, can take six weeks to eight weeks. Involved kitchen remodels — moving the sink to the island, resizing windows, rearranging appliances — also take a couple of months.

San Diego – here’s why millennials aren’t settling here

2017 – SoCal housing forecast not rosy

Reality TV Remodeling shows – Chicago experts discuss TV magic

Follow Blog