Monthly Archives: March 2015

WaterNest Floating Home | Katonah Real Estate

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WaterNest 100 eco-friendly floating home

Meet the WaterNest 100 floating home. Designed by architect Giancarlo Zema and developed by EcoFloLife after years of research, the WaterNest is intended for use on any calm body of water and is built from materials that are 98% recyclable.

The 1000-square-foot floating pod-shaped home measures 40 feet in diameter and 14 feet tall. Its curved body is constructed from recycled glued laminated timber atop a recycled aluminum hull. It is self=powered by a roof mounted, 600 square foot solar display that generates 4 kW of electricity. The solar panels are framed by generously sized skylights on either side. Large windows and balconies wrap around the unit to give users to unobstructed views of the water. The glazing also lets in plenty of sunshine to light the interior. If you want to use solar power for your home, you have options, taking advantage of clean energy doesn’t need be complicated. As a full-service electrical contractor and solar energy specialist, Artisan makes the entire process seamless and easy for you, for more about Artisan Electric. You may be able to buy or lease a system or sign a power purchase agreement. Your choice can affect how much you spend up front and over the life of the system, whether you get certain tax breaks or not, and your responsibilities when you sell your home. Evaluate the company, product, costs and your obligations before you make a commitment.

WaterNest 2The developers created a “sophisticated system of internal natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning” to classify the building as a “low-consumption residential habitat.” The WaterNest 100 also features a flexible interior design that can be changed to suit different uses. If the owner doesn’t intend to use the unit as a home, the floating ecological pod could easily be reconfigured into an office space, lounge bar, restaurant, shop, or exhibition space.

On its website, EcoFloLife describes its mission as follows:

The world around us is becoming increasingly chaotic and conformist, requiring fully eco-friendly and recyclable housing units which allow us to live in complete independence and in harmony with nature while respecting and admiring it.

The ongoing climate changes and the resulting sea- and river-level rises force us to ponder on the eco-sustainability of our housing choices. EcoFloLife is committed on the topic of environmental sustainability with its floating and eco-friendly residential units.

The WaterNest 100 seems to embody that philosophy perfectly and is a truly inspired representation of what an environmentally friendly home of the future could look like.

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http://greenbuildingelements.com/2015/03/16/

Feb. housing starts plunge 17% | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Builders broke ground on fewer new homes last month as starts plunged 17% from January, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Amid of harsh winter weather, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home construction fell to 897,000 from 1.08 million the month before, the government said. February was the first month since August when home building fell below an annual rate of 1 million units or better.

January’s rate was revised to 1.08 million from the previously reported figure of 1.06 million, the government said Tuesday.

Economists had expected a small decline in starts for February to an annual rate of 1.045 million units, according to Action Economics’ survey.

Snowstorms in parts of the country were presumed to have slowed construction. Commerce reported starts in the Northeast fell 56.5% and they were down 37% in the Midwest. The South was down 2.5% while starts in the Midwest slumped 9%.

Tuesday’s report shows single-family homes were started at an annual rate of 593,000, down 14.9% from January.

Permits, a gauge of future building activity, rose 3% to a rate of 1.09 million.

Just over 1 million housing units were started last year, the most since the recession. The National Association of Home Builders predicts builders will begin slightly more units this year and that new home starts will pick up this year as the weather and the economy continue to improve.

Home builders’ optimism is flagging slightly as the peak spring home buying season is nearing. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo home builders index for March dropped two points to 53, the NAHB said Monday. It was the third straight monthly decline. The index is seasonally adjusted.

 

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/03/17/feb-housing-starts/24890299/

Snow and Housing Starts | #Bedford Real Estate

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Construction on new homes in the United States slumped 17% in February, mostly because of heavy snowfall that sidelined builders in the Northeast and Midwest. But nationwide permits for future construction rose to the second highest level since the end of the Great Recession, suggesting construction will pick up in the spring.

So-called housing starts sank to an annual rate of 897,000 in February from a revised 1.08 million in January, the government said Tuesday. That was well below the estimate of analysts polled by MarketWatch, who predicted that starts would total a seasonally adjusted 1.03 million.

New construction in the Northeast tumbled 56% to mark the lowest rate since 2009, with the number of single-family houses being built slipping to a record low, the Commerce Department reported. Builders were frozen out in many major markets such as the Boston that was buried beneath a record nine feet of snow during the winter.

Starts also sank 37% in the frigid Midwest and 18.2% in the West, but just 2.5% in the South, where almost 50% of all new construction takes place.

At the same time, though, permits for new construction, a sign of future demand, rose 3% to an annual rate of 1.09 million. That’s the highest level since October and the second strongest increase since the end of the recession in mid-2009.

Permits rose in all major regions except for the Northeast, where they dropped 17.4%.

The biggest increase in applications for new construction once again involved multi-dwelling projects such as apartment buildings and townhouse rows. Permits for projects of five units or more jumped nearly 20%, reflecting a postrecession trend in which more people are renting instead of owning, especially younger people.

Permits for single-family homes, which make up three-quarters of the housing market, fell 6.2% compared to the prior month. They were up 2.8% from a year earlier, however.

 

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-starts-slump-on-winter-weather-2015-03-17?link=MW_Nav_NV

Most renters are not ready (or willing) to buy | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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The rent may be too damn high, but it’s not enough to turn most renters into buyers.

The gap between rental costs and household income is widening to “unsustainable levels” in many parts of the country, new research published Monday by the National Association of Realtors found, “and the situation could worsen unless new home construction meaningfully rises.” In the last five years, a typical rent rose 15% while the income of renters grew by only 11%, the study found. The top markets where renters have seen the highest increase in rents since 2009 are New York (51%), Seattle, (32%), San Jose, Calif., (26%), Denver, (24%) and St. Louis. (22%).

“Many of the metro areas that have experienced the highest rent increases are popular to millennials because of their employment opportunities,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said in a statement. “With a stronger economy and labor market, it’s critical to increase housing starts for entry-level buyers or else many will face affordability issues if their incomes aren’t compensating for the gains in home prices.”

But most renters are reluctant to buy. Only 12% of current renters say they plan to buy a home within the next year, according to the latest “Housing Confidence Index” published last week by real-estate company Zillow, although this was up 25% on the previous year. On a scale of 1 to 100, with a reading of more than 50 indicating general confidence, the housing confidence index rose to 70.6 in January 2015, up 4.4 points over the previous year.

 

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-renters-are-not-ready-or-willing-to-buy-2015-03-14

Builders Sentiment Weakens Slightly | Chappaqua Real Estate

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The March NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped two points to 53 from February, the third consecutive monthly decline in the index. While softening during the winter months, the index has remained above 50 since July 2014. Furthermore, of the three components to the index, the expectations for future sales remained steady at 59 (from the downwardly revised February of 59).

The HMI decline was primarily driven by a decline in builders’ judgment of current sales where the index fell three points from 61 to 58. While a reading of 58 is well above the tipping point of 50 where more builders rate the market as good rather than poor, it is the lowest reading in that component since June 2014. New home sales up through January have been moving up.

New Home Sales & HMI Current Sales Component
Builders continue to face challenges finding labor and lots. Lot prices are rising and making it more difficult to remain within buyers’ expectations for the final new home price. Adding labor also means forcing up wage rates while potential buyers remain very price sensitive. Appraisals have also hindered sales particularly at lower price points where supply cost increases have the greatest impact on the final price. A number of comments in this month’s survey mentioned buyers’ desire for bargaining in the face of rising home prices.

Regional changes were in both directions. The three month moving average was down in the Northeast, South and West two, two and seven points respectively but up two points in the Midwest. Monthly regional indicators, often more erratic, were up 13 points in the Midwest but down seven points in the Northeast, two points in the South and 11 points in the West. The more dramatic declines in the Northeast and West align with the larger negative changes in existing home sales in January.

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/03/builders-sentiment-weakens-slightly/

Producer Prices in February – Falling Prices, Except for Gypsum | North Salem Real Estate

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for February. Inflation in prices received by producers (prior to sales to consumers) declined 0.5% in February. The decline was dominated by a decline in prices for services and within services prices for trade, transportation and warehousing. Prices for goods also declined led by falling food prices. Energy prices leveled off in February after declines accelerated through the second half of last year and reached -10.3% in January.

Softwood lumber prices declined 1.6% in February. The Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Index points to further declines in March. Analysts point to softer than expected US single family construction in 2014, inventory management on the part of distributors, and softening overseas markets as factors. Additional declines will be tempered going forward by possible log shortages and continuing transportation bottlenecks.

Prices for OSB declined 2.9% after modest upticks in the prior three months. The return of mothballed capacity since 2013 has supply outpacing demand. Random Lengths indicates additional declines in March. The PPI for OSB indicates a 46% decline from the price peak in March 2013.

Prices for gypsum jumped 3.9% in February after a 4.3% increase in January reaching an all-time high. Gypsum prices are now 5.4% higher than their 2006 housing boom peak while single family housing starts remain depressed at roughly half the normal level of production.

blog ppi 2015_03

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/03/producer-prices-in-february-falling-prices-except-for-gypsum/

Mega-Treehouse is an Entire Apartment Building | Cross River Real Estate

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Whoever designed this delightful apartment complex in Turin, Italy, really must have loved building tree houses in their backyard as a kid. The housing development features a bold, tree-heavy design that turns the typical urban jungle into a unique-looking urban forest.

Called “25 Verde,” the site includes 150 mature trees, plus another 40 in the courtyard, and a roof garden on the building’s top floor. According to 25 Verde’s website, the trees aren’t there just for decoration: they clean the air of pollutants, muffle the city street noise, and help keep the apartments cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

The 63-unit complex is designed to be as close to a living, breathing forest as possible. It even harvests rainwater to irrigate the trees.

Designed by Italian architect Luciano Pia, 25 Verde aims to “combine architectural innovation, environmental quality, and energy performance.” It’s described as “the houses children dream of.” It’s also the dream of anyone who wants to live in an environmentally-friendly forest environment without sacrificing the comforts and conveniences of the city.

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https://www.yahoo.com/makers/mega-treehouse-is-an-entire-c1426187466613.html