NAR: April pending home sales 'disappointing'

Index shows homes under contract down 26.5% from year ago

By Inman News, Friday, May 27, 2011.

Inman News™

Flickr image courtesy of Ian Muttoo.

Pending home sales fell 11.6 percent from March to April and were down 26.5 percent from a year ago, when homebuyers were rushing to beat the expiration of federal homebuyer tax credits, according to the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index.

The index, which tracks homes under contract, is a leading indicator, and the latest data suggest home sales will drop off in May and June.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the trend in pending home sales is "disappointing," implying a slower-than-expected market recovery in coming months.

Yun said rising oil prices slowed the economy in April — a view shared by other analysts — and he also blamed bad weather.

more…

To continue reading sign in to your Premium Member account.

Premium Members have full access to all news archives.

Buy Now Purchase 1-year Premium Membership – $149.95

Copyright 2011 Inman News

All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.

• Comments
• Email
• Reprint Rights
• Community Guidelines

•   Tweet This

    Tweet This Page

• 

    Facebook

• 

    LinkedIn

• 

   Digg This

Short-sale agents, buyers get short end of stick

Letter to the Editor

By Inman News, Friday, May 27, 2011.

Inman News™

Re: ‘Rising rents and the real estate recovery‘ May 25

Dear Editor:

There’s one BIG change that would make the recovery faster, smoother and more vigorous. All short sales should be at preapproved prices. They shouldn’t be allowed to go into the multiple listing service until the banks have agreed to the price, terms and conditions — including and especially how deficiencies and seller contributions will be handled.

Why? Because we have too many willing and able buyers who get their hopes up and then are trapped in a short-sale contract, with slim chances of successfully owning the house. Unless the buyer is in contract on multiple houses, they’re out of the market waiting for something that probably won’t happen.

Having multiple contracts hurts the sellers, as these buyers are going to drop out as soon as one of their "deals" comes together. Massive time and energy is being spent by real estate agents, with little chance of success.

The strategic default problem would be reduced if the sellers knew that they’d be foreclosed on quickly. They’re taking advantage of the prospect of making out better by doing a short sale. They’re the most likely to have the banks requesting funds from the seller, or refusal to waive deficiency judgment — terms that the seller will probably turn down, anyway.

If we knew in advance that the seller was truly qualified for a short sale, that the bank didn’t have some other agenda, and was motivated to not get the property back in foreclosure, then I’d be happy to bring my strongest buyers to the short-sale deal. Meanwhile, the real buyers are fighting over the REOs (bank-owned properties), flips and equity transactions, of which there are actually too few.

Prices keep falling because the short-sale agents are listing at 5 to 10 percent below comps in order to try to get an offer, and often are accepting offers at even less. The banks come back at a higher price, and then the buyer walks. The downward momentum has been coming from the short sales, not from the REO listings.

It would be nice if the banks would just do as I suggested, or the government forces them to do it. The reality is that the real estate community is going to have to tell the banks that we’re not going to facilitate their craziness any longer.

We’ll take the listings, we’ll process the short sale to approval or denial, but we won’t put it on the MLS or tie up a buyer, or spend money to advertize and promote it until we know there’s actually a huge chance that a closing could take place.

That was the premise, and the promise of the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA), but HAFA has been just as big of a joke as the way we do it now.

Let’s only sell houses that can actually, really, truly be bought. If the banks can dictate to us that they won’t even consider a short sale till there’s an offer, then we ought to be able to dictate to them that we won’t look for an offer without a preapproval of the sale.

Jack LeVine
Realtor
Bella Vegas Homes
Las Vegas

Contact Inman News:
Email	Letter to the Editor

Copyright 2011 Inman News

All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.

• Comments
• Email
• Reprint Rights
• Community Guidelines

•   Tweet This

    Tweet This Page

• 

    Facebook

• 

    LinkedIn

• 

   Digg This

Why do we burn so much coal for power generation? Supposedly because it’s cheap. However, the true price of coal is far, far more than what it’s bought and sold for per tonne. The real cost to the USA’s economy through the human health and environmental damage it wreaks has been calculated – and it is mind-boggling.
 
Greenpeace recently hosted a preview of a soon to be published study by Dr. Paul Epstein, Director of Harvard Medical School Center for Health and the Global Environment. 
 
The study looks beyond the already very thorny issues such as subsidies and examines human health and environmental impacts of coal throughout its entire life cycle; based on peer-reviewed studies already published.
 
The result: the impact of coal in the USA costs a third to over half a trillion dollars annually. Not billion, trillion. Each year.
 
Breaking that down, based on the 500 billion dollar mark, that amounts to a debt of $1,515 per man, woman and child in the USA, every year in relation to the impacts fossil fuel has on the nation’s bottom line.
 
This figure is based on damages due to climate change; public health damages from nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, mercury and other toxins and emissions; accidents during coal transport; the public health cost in regions such as Appalachia in relation to coal mining; government subsidies and lost value of the land around abandoned mines.
 
That incredible financial impact makes clean, renewable electricity generating technologies like solar power seem a heck of a lot cheaper – and just the subsidies component of fossil fuels is one of the reasons why solar energy isn’t cheaper than what it is today. 
 
If the subsidies that had gone into fossil fuel had been redirected to renewables years ago – after all, the oil and coal companies have been doing quite well for themselves for decades – solar would be far more affordable. Even so, it does show the strength and potential of solar power given that it has come so far already in the face of such competition from fossil fuel.
 
As mentioned in my post in regard to President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union speech, perhaps fossil fuels may finally be approaching a final stop on the coal black gravy train ride, as the President wants to divert a big chunk of subsidy cash from coal to clean energy.
 
However, while that “clean energy” includes solar power, President Obama said it also includes “clean coal“. There is no such thing. Clean coal technologies require more energy, therefore more coal, to be mined and burned. Carbon sequestration is still unproven. Filters and scrubbers don’t get rid of mercury emissions. Toxic fly ash will be produced in even greater quantities.
 
Back to the study – the true cost of coal is so great that the study found it conservatively doubles to triples the price of electricity from the filthy fossil fuel per kilowatt hour generated. This real cost makes renewables such as wind energy and solar power along with energy efficiency and electricity conservation, economically competitive *right now*.
 
It’s often argued that fossil fuels are a major employer and so many jobs will be lost if subsidies were cut back and removed. They don’t have to be lost as such, they will just change and people in those industries will need support to re-skill (an industry in itself). 

It’s not a case of killing off fossil fuels and replacing them with nothing; it’s about replacing it with greener technologies – and with those will come an abundance of green jobs. Like the computer revolution that created similar unfounded fears, the real clean energy revolution can provide employment for many.

Let’s start hammering a few more nails in fossil fuel’s coffin very soon – aside from saving money, the environment that sustains us depends on it.

First published August 2007, updated March 2011

Lemons – a fruit with a wonderful fragrance, great in food and beverages, but also very handy for multiple purposes around the home!

Lemons have been cultivated by humans for over a thousand years. The fruit is mentioned in tenth century Arabic literature, but was probably first grown in Assam, India.

Lemons are high in vitamin C, have an anti-bacterial effect and are thought to possess antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. The juice consists of about 5% acid, which  also makes them useful for a variety of household purposes. Lemons and/or lemon juice are a popular addition in environmentally friendly cleaning applications.

Selecting and storing lemons

The best lemons are those that have smooth, oily skins and are heavy for their size. They should be bright yellow with no green tinges. Lemons will keep for up to a week at room temperature, two to three weeks refrigerated. Lemon zest (peel) can be frozen for months.

Juicing lemons

To get the most juice from a lemon, it should be allowed to reach room temperature, or microwaved for a few seconds prior to juicing. Using your palm to roll the lemon on a hard surface can also help improve juice yields. If you only need a little juice, some people pierce the end with a fork, squeeze the amount needed, cover the holes with tape and then store in the fridge.

There’s so much more to lemons than just using them in cooking and making lemonade! Here’s a selection of handy tips. Remember to test in inconspicuous areas first.

Ant deterrent

Pouring lemon juice around areas that ants frequent is said to repel them.

Air freshener

An equal amount of lemon juice and water added to an atomizer will create a wonderful synthetic chemical-free green air freshener for your home.

All purpose cleaner

Again, an equal amount of lemon juice and water added to a spray bottle is an effective kitchen and bathroom cleaner and can also be used on walls (spot test first).

A small amount of lemon juice can also be added to vinegar based cleaning solutions to help neutralize the smell of the vinegar.

Microwave

Heat a bowl of water and lemon slices in your microwave for 30 seconds to a minute; then wipe out the oven. Stains will be easier to remove and old food odors will be neutralized. 

Fridge

Half a lemon stored in your fridge will help control and eliminate unpleasant smells.

Chrome/copper/brass

Rub a lemon juice and baking soda paste onto chrome or copper, rinse and then wipe/buff with a soft cloth or paper towel.

Toilet

Mix 1/2 cup borax and a cup of lemon juice for a powerful toilet cleaner that will leave it smelling extra clean!

Lime scale

Use a half lemon to clean the lime scale off a sink or taps/faucets; rinse well.

Laundry

For bleaching purposes, add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to your washing machine’s rinse cycle and hang clothes outside to dry.

A teaspoon of lemon juice thrown into your wash can also help your clothes to smell fresher.

Dishes

A teaspoon of lemon juice added to your dishwashing detergent can help boost grease cutting power

Drains

Hot lemon juice and baking soda is a good drain cleaner that is safe to use in septic systems.

If you have a garbage disposal unit, throw in some lemon peel from time to time while it’s working in order to keep it smelling fresh.

Chopping boards

Rub lemon juice into your wooden chopping board, leave overnight and then rinse. Wood chopping boards appear to have anti-bacterial properties anyway, but the lemon will help kill off any remaining nasties and neutralize odors.

Glass and mirrors

4 tablespoons of lemon juice mixed with half a gallon of water makes an effective window cleaner.

Degreaser 

Straight lemon juice can be used as a general degreaser.

Furniture

2 parts olive oil or cooking oil mixed with 1 part lemon juice makes for an excellent furniture polish!

Hair

To lighten hair, dampen it with lemon juice and sit out in the sun for an hour. This does work, I tried it myself. Hey, it was the 80’s!

I’ve read that the juice of a lemon mixed with one cup warm water makes for a great hair conditioner. It should be allowed to stay in your hair for a few minutes then washed off. Exercise caution if you have a sensitive scalp.

Cuts, stings and itches

A small amount of lemon juice dripped onto minor wounds can help stop bleeding and disinfect the injury (it will sting a bit). Lemon juice applied to itches, poison ivy rashes and wasp stings is said to relieve discomfort.

Hands

The smell of fish can linger on your hands, even after scrubbing with soap – rubbing your hands with lemon juice will neutralize the smell and leave your hands smelling wonderful.

Isn’t it incredible how we have so many environmentally harsh cleaning chemicals in our homes when nature already offers most of what we need! Have some helpful hints for using lemons in and around the home? Please add them below!