Gen Y Lux Favs, Second Home Bargains & Brains of Steel
This week’s Top of the Tweets
By Camilla McLaughlin
The beginning of the end? “Don’t be too quick to dismiss the possibility,” says financial columnist Mark Hurlbert. Several real estate index funds recently traded at 52 week highs. And Gary Cardiff and Steve Horwitz at Sound Advice point to the steady decline of foreclosure rates as a good, fundamental reason for not dismissing the real estate market out of hand. As usual, @reallyearllee brings us the story. http://t.co/VnTXksm
Home improvement fizzles! A brief upswing earlier this year made home improvement one of the bright spots for construction, but a recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard projects a 4 percent decline in spending on home improvements through the first quarter of 2012. http://bit.ly/35JvKk
Home starts rise! Good news for construction finally came this week from Census Bureau data showing housing starts up 14.6 percent in June over May and 16.7 percent above June 2010. http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst.pdf
Bright spots for luxury continue to surface on Twitter! Hamptons home sales surge in the second quarter, up 63 percent over the first, tweets @mclaughlinchris and others. http://dld.bz/ah9fx San Francisco luxury sales hit the highest levels in three years, tweets @LiveinLuxurySF. “Naples, Fla. multi-million dollar sales up 20 percent” blurbs @DavidNaplesFl and @Joan_Franklin reports, “Naples Real Estate Inventory Declines 18.5 percent over last 12 months.” The Hamptons is one of several upscale second-home locations The Wall Street Journal describes as “Blue Chips” places, where prices are stabilizing or even beginning to rise. Others include Santa Monica, Aspen and Hilton Head. Still struggling, but offering great bargains are Martha’s Vineyard, Vail, Palm Beach and Miami. No matter what category a location falls into, prices have undergone big corrections, which translates into buying opportunities. @NickTimiraos tweets “Vacation Homes: Why It May Be Time to Buy” with a link to the story. wsj.com/qe0u9z
Green returns? New sustainable buildings in Europe incorporate solar power and rainwater recovery, but doubt over whether going green pays off still prevails among investors. The two main green certifications in Europe are U. K.’s Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard. RE/MAX agent Bruce Swedal, @swedal, tweets the link to this WSJ article. http://on.wsj.com/o7tHyv
Gen Y luxury favs are highlighted in a recent study conducted by Milo.com. Gen Y, those born
between 1977 and 1994, make up 25 percent of the U.S. population. By 2017 the group’s spending will eclipse that of the Baby Boomers. Apple is the luxury brand Gen Y will most likely purchase next. Top brands for Gen Y women include Chanel, Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, while men tend to relate luxury to cars. Their top ten include BMW, Ferrari and Porsche. A tip of the tweets hat to @LuxurySociety for the report. http://luxurysociety.com/news/18601
Brains of Steel! Boomers should take notice of a recent Time, @TIME, story showing “more proof that exercise is good for your brain.” http://ti.me/qFu85a
What do Aerosmith front man Steve Tyler and the National Bureau of Economic Research have in common from @GreenBarAmerica is one tweet I couldn’t resist following up. Evidently they both think we are living on the edge. http://bit.ly/pt08lP
