Market Report
SPRING SURGE Seller confidence is surging: the number of home sellers who say now is a good time to sell doubled in the second quarter, according to a new survey of nearly 2,000 owners conducted by real estate brokerage Redfin. In the first quarter of 2013, 22 percent surveyed said it was a good time to sell compared to 45 percent in the second quarter. “More folks who bought before the bubble burst are now above water and listing their homes,” says Chad Dierick, a real estate practitioner with Redfin. “When sellers see their neighbors’ homes selling quickly and for prices they never would have imagined a couple of years ago, they can’t help but be optimistic about the market.”
Home flippers return
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More Americans are once again on the hunt to snag a home at bargain prices, fix it up, and then try to resell it for a quick profit. Home flippers mostly vanished from the market during the housing downturn a few years ago. But with home values inching up, flipping is coming back, Realtor Magazine reported. Citing a RealtyTrac survey, the NAR says flipping increased for the second year in row, rising a slight 0.33 percent in 2012 from 12 percent in 2011. The company defines flipping as buying and selling a property within six months.
Smart home upgrades The hottest trend in homes and home improvement these days is not necessarily structural. It’s automated controls of a home’s systems: temperature, security, electronics, lighting, and more through a single device, even from an iPhone, iPad or iPod. This can eliminate multiple controls and make it easy for home owners to manage things around the house, whether they’re at home or not. These systems also make it easy to conserve energy and, consequently, money. What’s more, the cost of the various systems on the market is hardly astronomical, with starter kits going for as low as $199. Obviously, the more components you add, the more the project is going to cost. Saving energy makes more sense, for instance, than automating a home theater.