Rocky Mount Telegram n SaTuRday, JanuaRy 4, 2014
Rocky Mount TELEGRAM
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Open HOuses – page 6
Market stabilizes for year’s end cent last week, from 4.47 percent the previous week. Associated Press Rates jumped about 1.25 percentage points from WASHINGTON – The May through September, number of Americans who peaking at 4.6 percent. signed contracts to buy exThat increase occurred isting homes in November after Federal Reserve was essentially unchanged Chairman Ben Bernanke infrom October, suggesting dicated that the Fed would sales are stabilizing after start to slow its bond-buyseveral months of declines. ing program before the end The National Association of the year. of Realtors said last week Earlier this month, the that its seasonally adjusted Fed announced it will pending home sales index reduce its $85 billion in ticked up to 101.7 from monthly bond purchases by 101.5 in October. The $10 billion a month starting October figure was revised in January. lower from an initial readThe bond purchases are ing of 102.1. intended to push down lonHigher mortgage rates ger-term interest rates and and strong price gains over encourage more borrowing the past two years have and spending. slowed sales. Robert Kavcic, an The pending home sales economist at BMO Capital index had fallen for five Markets, said that recent straight months before housing market indicators November. And completed have been mixed. sales of existing homes fell Applications for mortfor three straight months, gages to purchase homes the Realtors said earlier fell to a nearly two-year this month. low last week, he said. There is generally a oneStill, “we continue to to two-month lag between believe that the U.S. housa signed contract and a ing market will absorb the completed sale. upward move in mortgage The average interest rates and push higher in rate on a 30-year mortgage 2014, helped by still-attracedged higher to 4.48 pertive affordability, better By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
AP Photo
The National Association of Realtors released a report last week that showed the home sales index ticked up slightly after falling for five straight months. Realtors hope this is a sign the real estate market is stabilizing from some wild highs and lows in 2013.
job growth and improved confidence in the recovery,” Kavcic said. Despite the recent declines, home re-sales should reach 5.1 million in 2013, the best total in
seven years, the Realtors forecast. That’s 10 percent higher than 2012’s total of almost 4.7 million. But it’s still below the 5.5 million that is consistent with a healthy housing
market. The Realtors forecast that sales will remain largely flat in 2014 and then rise to 5.3 million in 2015. Steady job gains should make it easier for more
people to buy homes. And mortgage rates remain low by historical standards. Signed contracts rose in the South and West last month, while falling in the Northeast and Midwest.
Climate of change ahead for those in the garden By DEAN FOSDICK Associated Press
While many gardeners scan the newly arrived seed catalogs to plan their next growing season, the industry’s visionaries are pouring talent and resources into products and ideas they hope will be sown in years to come. Evolutionary biology is just one aspect of flora development; plant resiliency, landscape design and education also are part of the creative mix. So what are the prospects for gardening in the year 2020 and beyond? Some responses from the long-term thinkers:
ORGANICS
Coach Mark Smallwood, executive director, Rodale Institute, Kutztown, Pa.: O “Organic gardening won’t be simply a niche market. It’s a $31 billion industry now and growing in double digits every year. O “There will be more food and fewer lawns. Urban food production will be up because a lot of open space is becoming available. With all the empty homes, you can create parks; you can create food production. Detroit is rebounding using not only open land but creating vertical hydroponic food production in abandoned industrial buildings.”
HOUSEPLANTS Jose Smith, chief executive officer, Costa Farms, Miami: “We’re trying hard to bring more color to houseplants. Green is not a color. We’re also trying to create plants so they’re more of a lifestyle – a living home decor.”
TREES Greg Ina, vice president, The Davey Institute, Kent, Ohio: O “We’re working to quantify the benefits of trees. People are beginning to go beyond the anecdotal understanding that trees are good – beyond beautification
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GARDEN to natural functions like pollution and wellness. O “Another big scientific topic is resiliency. Improving early detection. Dealing with the invasion of exotic pests. Building resistance to climate change. That impacts what we plant and where we plant trees.”
FLOWERS Anthony Tesselaar, president and co-founder, Anthony Tesselaar Plants, Silvan, Australia: O “The gardening industry has been looking at plant size and multi-use aspects with increasing urbanization, and also such factors as increased disease resistance to reduce the needs for pesticides and other chemicals in a closed urban environment. O “Dwarf and clump plants are being developed for smaller-space gardening. There is also work on establishing more fastigiated (slender) trees and shrubs.”
AP PhotoS
Above, George Ball, Chairman and CEO of W. Atlee Burpee & Co. predicts that American gardeners will be doing their growing in smaller spaces in the years just ahead because of increasingly urban lifestyles and to protect their crops from an exploding deer population. Plants will be smaller but their yields will be higher.
VEGETABLES/HERBS George Ball, chairman and chief executive officer, W. Atlee Burpee & Co., Warminster, Pa.: O “All roads lead to the garden. Almost everybody is into gardening and vegetable gardening is the focus. Flowers are almost on the sidelines. O “Gardening feeds spinoff hobbies like cooking. People who grow things tend to become amateur cooks. If you cook at home, look at how much money you save. O “Gardening also impacts health. If you go to any clinic and talk to any dietician, the effects of vegetables are obvious. Choosing a diet high in vegetables makes you a lot healthier.” O “Parents of newborns are increasingly shying away from processed foods and are forcing
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companies such as Burpee to research high-yielding, relatively bland-tasting – still retaining all nutritious elements – soft-fruited elements. O “More than just an accent, herbs will soon occupy a more prominent role in American home-cooked cuisine, with far more flavorful leaves that will change recipes and food for the table. We see this happening at top-tier restaurants in major cities. O “Spurred by less space and the need to protect gardens from exploding populations of deer, every major home gardening company is working on developing a portfolio of vegetables for cultivation on patios and limited areas. Plants will be smaller but their yields higher.”
These ears of sweet-tasting, bi-color corn were grown from seed in containers inside a hobby greenhouse near Langley, Wash. The Burpee’s ‘On Deck’ corn matured in a little more than two months.
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