Home prices will see steady increases through 2016 starting this year, according to a quarterly survey of more than 100 economists, real estate experts and investment strategists.

The survey, conducted by research and consulting firm Pulsenomics LLC on behalf of real estate search and valuation portal Zillow between Aug. 30-Sept. 14, 2012, asked 113 participants to project the path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index over the next five years.

The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which include data through June, show national home prices up 1.2 percent from a year ago during the second quarter. All of the markets in the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite posted annual gains for the second month in a row, and all but two — Charlotte and Dallas — posted better annual returns in June compared to May.

This quarter’s survey results show optimism has increased among the participants, who in the second quarter had predicted a 0.4 percent dip in home prices this year, followed by modest increases starting in 2013 and through 2016.

Economists now forecast home prices will rise 2.3 percent in 2012 from fourth-quarter 2011, and see further cumulative rises of 4.7 percent in 2013, 8 percent in 2014, 11.4 percent in 2015, and 15.2 percent in 2016.

 
Source: Pulsenomics LLC  

Article continues below

Advertise with Inman

That’s an expected annual growth rate of 2.9 percent between 2012 and 2016, slightly under the 3.6 percent annual growth rate experienced in the prebubble years between 1987 and 1999.

The most pessimistic quartile of survey respondents expect home prices to rise 0.3 percent this year; the most optimistic, 4.4 percent. 

“This is further evidence that we’re seeing a true recovery in the housing market,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, in a statement.

“Not since mid-2010 — in the midst of the homebuyer tax credits — have we seen this group so bullish on housing. It’s refreshing to see this optimism at a time when the market seems to be making an organic recovery, in the absence of an artificial stimulant like the tax credits.”

Source: Pulsenomics LLC 

The survey also revealed that, of the 94 respondents who expressed an opinion, 60 percent favored getting rid of the mortgage interest tax deduction, with 10 percent saying it should be eliminated immediately and 50 percent saying it should be phased out gradually. Thirty percent of respondents said the deduction should remain, but that there should be more restrictions on eligibility. Only 11 percent said the deduction should remain as is.

 
Source: Pulsenomics LLC  

Some Congress members have proposed eliminating or changing the mortgage interest deduction as one way to help address the nation’s $15 trillion debt.

“Although the mortgage interest deduction remains enormously popular with existing and aspiring homeowners, it costs the federal government about $90 billion a year,” said Terry Loebs, founder of Pulsenomics, in a statement. 

“Time will tell whether the unprecedented fiscal challenges facing the U.S. coupled with a housing market now on the mend will embolden more policymakers to touch this lightning rod.”

Respondents also weighed in on how the policies of the two presidential candidates might affect the housing recovery. Just over half of respondents, 52 percent, indicated they were planning to vote for Gov. Mitt Romney or were undecided but leaning in favor of Romney. Just under half, 47 percent, indicated they would vote for President Barack Obama, or were undecided but leaning in favor of Obama.

When asked which candidate they thought would promote more significant housing policy changes, 47 percent said Obama, while 21 percent said Romney. Nearly a third of the respondents, 32 percent, said there would be “no material difference” in the housing policy changes proposed by either candidate.

Inbound marketing has become popularized largely by HubSpot and supported by inbound marketing agencies across the globe that specialize in creating online marketing strategies to attract prospective buyers to a business. At Find and Convert we perform inbound marketing services, but we call ourselves a digital marketing agency. Here’s why.

 

Digital Marketing Begins With Strategy

It’s important to begin new digital marketing initiatives with a strategy that starts by asking questions like; “what business are we in,? “what is our brand strategy,?” “who is our target customer,?” “what are our target personas,?” “who are our competitors,?” “what are our strengths/weaknesses,?” “which marketing programs have produced results in the past,?” “what is our sales process,?” “what is our customer service strategy,?” and other questions that cause executives to reflect on the big picture. Asking these questions usually results in detailed conversations about the business with executives. The outcome of these discussions allows us to build a digital marketing plan that includes brand strategy, inbound marketing strategy (which includes content marketing, SEO, social media and PPC plans) and an outbound marketing strategy. Yes, outbound marketing too…

Inbound Marketing Inherently Has No Outbound Elements

One philosophical difference I have with inbound marketing purists is that I consider email marketing outbound marketing, not inbound marketing. And, I’m way okay with outbound marketing as an element of an integrated digital marketing plan. We’ve had many clients in our 10 year history who sell a product or service with a very defined universe of target customers. Reaching out to them through outbound marketing tactics using online and offline channels can produce viable leads and brand preference. This integrated marketing approach is pivotal to a digital marketing strategy. The tactics vary widely depending in part on B2B or B2C factors.

Multiple Touch Points

Let’s face it, we live in a noisy world in terms of marketing messages. Most of us are exposed to over 5,000 marketing messages each day. A marketer needs to create multiple message touch points to create brand awareness, or differentiation. Touch points may include PR communications, direct marketing, email marketing, live events, webinars, online paid advertising, sponsorships, endorsements, content marketing, social media and SEO. Throw in this mix the fact that 50% of all online touch points are mobile, requiring a distinct approach to engage buyers on mobile devices, and we have a digital marketing environment that requires multi-touch attribution.

Social Media is Not Inbound Marketing

In fact, social media is not a strategy. This is a pet peeve of mine. Social media is a channel where a marketer has potential to engage with customers and future customers. A marketer can use social media as an outbound marketing channel as well as an inbound marketing channel. For example, you can send a direct marketing message to a consumer via an ad, direct mail or email, drive the recipient to a landing page that has an offer, and ask the recipient to share the offer with their network through social media. When the recipient shares the offer on Facebook or Twitter with their network, is that inbound marketing? Frankly, I don’t care to split hairs over this. This is integrated digital marketing with multiple touch points. The recipient may visit your website or Facebook page before even going to the landing page and proceeding with the offer. As people share your offer through social media, if you can measure their influence as shown in the image below, you can effectively leverage digital marketing channels across multiple touchpoints.

Integrated Digital Marketing is King

The purpose of this blog post is not to open up a debate with inbound marketing purists. My purpose is to acknowledge that marketers have a difficult job reaching their target customer because the lines are blurred between online and offline channels. When someone sees a marketer’s message in any channel, be it online or offline, eventually there is usually an online touch point. Because there are multiple touchpoints, I characterize this as integrated marketing. And, I characterize the online touchpoints as digital marketing because whether it was an article, a blog post, an email, a banner, a print advertisement, a radio or TV ad (let’s include Pandora in this) or an organic search listing the catalyst is not always attributable to one online touch point. Therefore, integrated digital marketing is the most effective way to execute marketing plans that deliver measurable results.

I recently bought a 6½ acre parcel of land that has a pond on it. However, my new water hole has a leak at the base of the dam, which causes the water to seep out at the bottom on the back side of the barrier. I want to stock the pond, but can’t do so because of the fluctuating water level. Is there anything I can do to seal this leak, short of draining the pond and reworking the whole dam with a bulldozer? 

RELATED CONTENT

How to Repair a Leaking Roof

By learning a few simple tricks and techniques, you can fix a leaking roof. It’s easy and inexpensi…

How to Fix a Leaking Faucet

Fixing a leaking faucet is easy. And doing it yourself will save you money. Most models are designe…

Israel’s 150kw Solar Pond

In 1980, one Israeli turbine manufacturer was using temperature differentials in a solar pond to ge…

Water Level Monitor

Building this remote water level monitor will allow you to keep tabsthe water in your cistern witho…

Leaky ponds are like most ailments, in that preventing the problem is a lot less expensive, and easier, than curing it. There are three types of remedies, however. The surest, but most expensive and time consuming, method is to drain the pond and repair the dam. This could involve complete reconstruction, remarking the case (a good dam should have a central core of impervious soil extending from the waterline to below the bottom of the pond), or simply compacting the existing structure with a seeps-foot roller. Less costly, but still requiring pond drainage, is the application of dispersants or a clay blanket to the dry pond bottom. (Dispersants are chemicals that break down the bottom soil into tiny particles that will plug any seepage points when the pond is refilled. The most common one is plain old sodium chloride.) Finally, the simplest but least certain way to seal a leaky pond, and perhaps the method you’re after, is to add bentonite clay to the water.

Bentonite is technically described as a “hydrous silicate of sodium composed chiefly of montmorillonite.” It’s the montmorillonite that counts, as this type of clay has the ability to absorb several times its own weight in water, swelling to as much as 20 times its original volume! Consult an agricultural supply store for your closest source of the material. The clay isn’t expensive, but you may need a lot of it, and freight costs can be prohibitive if it isn’t available nearby.

The generally recommended dosage of bentonite is about one pound per square foot of pond surface, but as much as twice that amount should be used on very porous soil or in extremely deep ponds. The best way to apply the clay without draining the pond is to mix it with water to form a slurry, which is then spread over the pond surface from a boat. Because of the weight of the material and the labor involved, though, bentonite is commonly spread directly on the water in granular (not powdered) form. In any case, the grains will sink, and the force of the escaping water will draw the expanding material into the leaks, sealing them.

Page: 1 | 2 | Next >>

Read our privacy policy.

0

3

0

0

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

MY COMMUNITY

—>