Homeownership under siege — and the world’s smallest cow
This week’s Top of the TweetsBy Camilla McLaughlin
In case you haven’t noticed, homeownership has been under siege in recent weeks. A couple of weeks ago the New York Times had a story questioning homeownership. Then Time published “The Case against Homeownership.” Forbes blogger, Joel Kotkin, takes exception with “Why Housing will Come Back” http://bit.ly/cR8GVm tweeted by @PCBC, one of the largest regional building shows. The Wall Street Journal commented over the weekend with “Ten Reasons to Buy a Home.” http://on.wsj.com/b8OVZ9
As foreclosures rise, the number of underwater homeowners looms over housing, raising the question of how many would strategically default by walking away from their homes and their mortgages. @USHUD pointed us to a report from the Pew Research Center showing 36 percent of American homeowners are OK with a strategic default. http://bit.ly/ckNcEz A peak at a report released yesterday by Lender Processing Services shows the national home loan delinquency rate has retreated while the foreclosure rate is on the rise. This finding aligns with other reports on foreclosures. Thanks @DSNewsDaily for the tip and the story. http://bit.ly/aKmTox
On the balance — add up the positives and the negatives and things seem to be in balance or limbo, depending on how you look at them. http://on.wsj.com/9b36Ma Home prices in many states continue to edge down but CoreLogic’s most recent home price index says prices in July were unchanged after a 2.4-percent gain in June. This came via @HousingWire, http://bit.ly/9enK4g. August sales data from NAR shows existing home sales up 7.6 percent in August, compared to July. Good signs for the economy included a gain in retail sales http://bit.ly/bbnCuw. The richest Americans saw an 8-percent boost in their total worth, according to Forbes. A negative for luxury on the horizon could be a change in FHA limits for jumbo loans. Lastly, from @Newsweek, Our Best Economic Minds Are Failing Us http://bit.ly/a5xjdK.
Two sales, two owners, one house! This was one of several stories I couldn’t resist tweeting this week. And it’s one of the few instances where I have heard of a house being sold accidentally to two different parties. The Mortgage Insider at The Orange County Register tells the story. http://bit.ly/cdCSRj
Making solar payoff financially has been a challenge with the initial outlay a huge deterrant. Prices are coming down, but Toll Brothers, through a deal with a solar power provider, makes it even easier for buyers at The Preserve in Orange County, where SunRun, a solar power provider, installs solar panels at no additional costs and owners pay $42 a month for solar service, saving as much as $58 on utility costs. http://bit.ly/dks0nx
Good to know! Already highly distractable and buffeted by Twitter, the Web and social media, I find staying focused a challenge, so I was happy to see this from @HarvardResearch: “Neuroscience research suggests easily distractable people are more creative.” http://ht.ly/2EB8t
This week, humor was in short supply, although I did come across the world’s smallest cow (who also has a taste for contemporary music) at 33 inches via the Boston Globe http://b.globe.com/ccmU1G And this from Reuter’s via @JoyceMarshHomes: “Shaken not stirred: 007′s Aston Martin goes up for auction http://bit.ly/awiD1z”
