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Energy Prices Seriously Impact Home Buying

Energy prices have begun to seriously impact the home buying decision process. People shopping homes for sale in Spokane WA have many new considerations than in the very recent past. Energy price increases have impacted the Spokane real estate market in more ways than is immediately obvious. Throughout this article I will be discussing the situation in Spokane Washington; however energy costs have dramatically increased all across the United States and these observations are likely to be a common experience for more than just Spokane Realtors.

Can You Believe Those Prices: Gasoline

A web site that measures, tracks and charts the historical price of gasoline reports that unleaded regular gasoline prices in Spokane have risen from the most recent nadir of $2.19 per gallon in January 2007 to a new high point this week of $4.13 per gallon, and nobody is calling this new peak price a zenith. Prices are expected to increase perhaps over $5.00 per gallon. Where will gasoline prices top out at?

Can You Believe Those Prices 2: Natural Gas and Electric

Most people already were complaining about their utility bills last winter. Spokane experienced what many people called a fifty-year winter in snowfall levels and cold weather. In the July 3, 2008 edition of the Spokesman-Review newspaper the top story was an announcement from the local utility company for Spokane County residents to expect major price increases in their utility bills this fall and winter. Quote, "Avista Utilities warned consumers Wednesday that the pain they're suffering at the pumps could spread to their parlors next winter." According to Avista's gas supply director, the wholesale price of natural gas has increased 73 percent from Jun 2007. This summer people should consider ways to limit their use of gas and electric to heat their homes and water this winter.

Less Open House Visits

I have noticed a measurable drop in open house visitors from this time last year. I can only guess that it is at least partially due to the high price of gasoline.

Online Home Shopping

People today want to shop homes for sale in Spokane Washington spending an entire day and burning up a bunch of gasoline. They don't like to spend money for gas and they don't want to waste their time. Most people are even considerate of burning their Realtor's gas unnecessarily. People are going green and reducing their carbon footprint. That means not wasting gas unnecessarily regardless of who is paying for the gas to drive around themselves or their Realtor. This is where the internet and browsing the homes for sale online comes into factor. The Internet Data Exchange or IDX has revolutionized the way people search for homes. Searching the data base by exact needs criteria and viewing photographs of properties at home saves time and fossil fuels. Previously the main motivations was convenience and to avoid dealing with sales people until they were ready to buy; now the cost of driving around to view homes is forcing people to view them online. At least it adds the preliminary step of at first to narrowing down the list of homes for sale to their top viable candidates.

Energy Efficient Homes

These days, people want to know how much it will cost to heat the home next winter. They often ask for copies of utility bills or that the seller discloses what they pay for heating costs. They ask their inspector to pay close attention to insulation and potential for drafts and heat loss. They want to know how old the appliances, furnace and water heater are. Replacing or upgrading these items represents a future expense that could be beyond their budget. Spokane properties with excellent insulation and newer energy efficient appliances have an enormous advantage over those that do not in the mind of the energy efficient conscious home shopper. I advise my home sellers to prepare for these types of questions and perhaps upgrade the energy efficiency of their home to address some of these concerns as a selling advantage.

Closer to Work

Home shoppers in Spokane are tending to look for homes closer to their place of employment. Previously I have found that the location of next home was exclusively based on price and neighborhood desirability. Now I see that people factor in an annual cost of their commute. For example, very nice homes tend to cost less the further you are from the city of Spokane. Land is less expensive the further you get from town. However, the cost of driving the extra distance may exceed the monthly increase in the mortgage payment of a home closer to work and town. It's not always cheaper to live further out when you factor in the cost of commuting. Additionally, people see an advantage of more time for their family or hobbies if they don't spend as much time commuting in the car.

Public Transportation Routes

These days, people occasionally ask about public transportation. They ask, "Where is the closest bus route?" and "Does this route go near where I work?" I have found a need to post Spokane Transit information and links on my own web site for some home shoppers to compare with the locations of homes they are interested in buying.

Your Perspective

Think about energy prices and they way you drive and shop for a home. Are you a Realtor or perhaps someone shopping for a new home? Do any of these considerations factor in to your home search or the searches of your clients? Has the price of gasoline affected the way you run your real estate business? Are your clients shopping differently this year than last? What you think?

Gasoline Prices and Home Values

I recently wrote and article on my Realtor web site about the price of energy is affecting the way people shop for Spokane Homes and what they are looking for. This is not unique to Spokane.

There is an interesting index that examines the cost of both transportation and housing, the way they affect each other and the impact they have on consumers and city planners. The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, developed by CNT and its collaborative partners, the Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD), is an innovative tool that measures the true affordability of housing.

CEOs for Cities is putting out some interesting information on the subject as well. They have published white paper and a video describing how the price of gasoline and the overall cost of commuting is affecting home buyers. The paper and video is entitled: "Driven to the Brink."

When a Resale Home Just Doesn't Fit

The Predicament – Resale Homes Often Lack Required Features

You know what you want. The picture in your mind's eye is crystal clear. You envision the perfect layout and design of your next home. You're certain that this design will suit you and your family flawlessly. It boasts an ideal kitchen arrangement; the living spaces complement each other with effortless traffic flow. This home has just the right amount of bedrooms, baths, work areas and parking works well for your lifestyle. It is everything you've dreamed for in a home. 

There's just one problem, you've been searching for this home on the resale market for months and it is simply not available, you can't find this house anywhere. It simply doesn't exist. I live in Spokane Washington and we have over four thousand resale homes on the market in all price ranges, still the older designs show their age and many find the old floor plans and building materials a bit obsolete. 

You may feel unique as if you're the only one who's ever felt this way, but believe me this predicament is quite common. You’re not alone, many home shoppers have felt this way but there is a solution.

If this describes the predicament that you find yourself in don't despair. Keep your dreams and plans of the ideal home, now you understand that home designs have evolved over time. The design of years gone by may have been fresh and up to date when it was built but now it just doesn't seem to fit your family.

The Solution – Purchase a New Home

To enjoy all the benefits common in current design you need to be looking at new homes. New homes feature more open spaces, kitchens as living spaces, more bathrooms, private master suites and much more. 

Many times home shoppers aren't looking for a long "honey-do" list. Even with the promise of possible sweat equity, the prospect of weeks and months of remodeling, repairs or simply repainting or re-roofing a home dissuades the staunches weekend warrior fix-it person.

New homes offer fresh neutral paint, inside and out. New carpets, fixtures, plumbing, water heaters, furnace, etc, etc. New homes are more energy efficient with extra insulation, double pane windows, forced air heating and air-conditioning. New homes in Spokane come with radon mitigation systems. New homes frequently are built in areas with a rising tax base and thus newer schools.

There are many advantages to buying a new home over a used home. Most all new homes are listed in the local MLS and your Realtor can schedule a showing for you. Why not ask your Realtor to see if a new home will work for you?

Cool New Stuff

Not quite George Jetson, but I'd like one.

clipped from www.homes101.net New Homes: Radio-Controlled Lighting Hits the U.S. Market It's night and you pull into your driveway and reach for the remote -- no, not the remote control for the garage door -- the remote for your home's lighting system. One click turns operates a radio-controlled network that makes the lights both inside and outside your home respond to your command. Sound like the house of the future? This is just one cutting edge product introduced for the first time at this year's Pacific Coast Builder's Conference for homes being built from the ground up. It's the Verve Living system, Masco Corporation's innovative product for lighting control.

Green Lawns and Water Conservation

Keeping your lawn green while selling might run you into trouble.

clipped from www.pwcn.org Spokane residents face watering regulations Jonathan Brunt Spokesman-Review staff writer Spokane likes green lawns. And to keep them that way, the average Spokane County resident uses twice the amount of water as the average person statewide. To help change that trend, Spokane Mayor Mary Verner, following the lead of Post Falls, has proposed new watering regulations that would come with fines up to $125. The ordinance would outlaw the use of sprinklers from noon to 6 p.m. from May through September – Some City Council members have voiced concerns about the proposal since it was unveiled at a meeting last month. “We don’t have any kind of water shortage and don’t in the future see one,” said Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin. “We should be educating, not regulating.” “For most yards, that will save a ton of money and make a lot better yard,” said Aron Heartburg, who owns Add A Lawn Quality Hydroseeding. “People just really overwater a lot in Spokane. It’s just become a habit.”

Spokane River Upper Falls

River still runs full from the heavy snows runoff.

clipped from www.trekearth.com

Iraq and PTSD

Unbelievably sad! Puts other problems in perspective.

clipped from spokanevalleyinsider.com clipped from www.newsday.com The sad saga of a soldier from Long Island The March 2003 image became one of the most iconic of the U.S. invasion of Iraq: that of a bespectacled American soldier carrying an Iraqi child to safety. The photograph of Army Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, who was raised in Mount Sinai, was used by news outlets around the world. After being lionized by many as the human face of the U.S. effort to rebuild a troubled Iraq, Dwyer brought the battlefield home with him, often grappling violently with delusions that he was being hunted by Iraqi killers. The war that made him a hero at 26 haunted him to the last moments of his life. "He loved the picture, don't get me wrong, but he just couldn't get over the war," his mother, Maureen Dwyer, said by telephone from her home in Sunset Beach, N.C. "He wasn't Joseph anymore. Joseph never came home." "Talking to him, he knew he was going to die," Maureen Dwyer said.

The Mortgage Professor

Answers to frequently asked questons.

clipped from finance.yahoo.com Jack M. Guttentag The Mortgage Professor Some Answers to Frequently Asked Mortgage Questions Does mortgage insurance protect me if I'm disabled or lose my job? No, mortgage insurance protects the lender against loss in the event that you default. You pay the premium, but the lender receives the protection. The sole benefit to you is that, with mortgage insurance, lenders are willing to make loans with down payments smaller than 20 percent of the purchase price or appraised value. I should add that a few mortgage insurers have experimented with programs that provide the kind of protection to borrowers that you are asking about, but they have never caught on. What is the best type of loan to take if I know I will be paying it off within two years? When your time horizon is very short, you want to minimize your upfront cost. The best way to do this is with a no-cost three-year or five-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Should Congress Prop Up Real Estate Prices

Here's someone who asserts that free markets should be free to let real estate prices drop without interference from the Federal government.

clipped from bigpicture.typepad.com Should Congress Let Home Prices Fall ? Sunday, June 29, 2008 | 05:30 PM Stark housing numbers are coloring the debate in Congress regarding the impending Housing bailout. As of the most recent data, there are more than three million borrowers in "distress" -- typically, 60 days late in mortgage payments -- and analysts forecast a couple of million more will fall behind on their payments in the coming year. Let's ballpark it as 3 million people in some stage of delinquency, default or foreclosure -- and that number may likely go to 4 - 5 million over the next 24 months. What I find astonishing is that Congress somehow believes they need to do something to help prop up housing prices. When it comes to free markets, the quadrennial Socialists in Washington talk a good game, but push comes to shove, they don't really believe it.

Will Spokane Loose Bragging Rights

Will Tacoma overtake Spokane as the 2nd largest city in Washington State? Each city's population is fairly close. Just think of all the people in Spokane bragging about living in Washington's 2nd largest city. We might all have to hang our heads in shame if we're number 3.

clipped from depts.washington.edu University of Washington State Relations More on the State Population Forecast: Spokane or Tacoma … Who’s Really No. 2? July 5th, 2007 One of the things that caught my eye in the recent state population figures released by the Governor’s budget office was that Tacoma is really gaining on Spokane for status as the state’s second largest city.  Both cities have populations just over the 200,000 mark, separated by less than 2,000 residents. According to the Tacoma News Tribune “inside the editorial page” blog, Tacoma lobbyist Randy Lewis says Spokane cheated and that Tacoma should rightfully be in the number two city slot.  Lewis apparently issued a memo pointing out that due to a large annexation in 2005, Spokane’s population is 1,469 residents higher than Tacoma which picked up only three residents through such changes.  Take annexation out of the picture and Tacoma surges ahead of Spokane by 1,266 residents by counting only births and in-migration.

Men's Health Gives Spokane a B- for Air Quality

Check out this issue of Men's Health. Do you think this is accurate?

clipped from www.menshealth.com Towns That Breathe Easy How clean is the air in your town? Finally, because the best gauge of a city's air quality is the lungs of the people who live there, we tracked asthma rates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. 39.  Spokane, WA      B-

Has anyone here traded real estate?

clipped from www.domuswap.com Trade your Real Estate for Free On DomuSwap.com Domuswap is Easy Post your house on DomuSwap (land too) Enter your swap criteria (price, location, more) Get matched with others who want your property Domuswap is for Realtors Keep your commission (maybe get two) Control your listing (modify or remove any time) Link to your web site (get additional traffic)

Looks like our bragging rights are diminishing.

If Spokane slips into 3rd largest city, just think of all the encyclopedias that will have to be revised.

clipped from depts.washington.edu More on the State Population Forecast: Spokane or Tacoma … Who’s Really No. 2? One of the things that caught my eye in the recent state population figures released by the Governor’s budget office was that Tacoma is really gaining on Spokane for status as the state’s second largest city.  Both cities have populations just over the 200,000 mark, separated by less than 2,000 residents.

Spokane Realtors and Washington State New Cell Phone Law

On July 1, 2008 Washington State's new ban on cell phone use went into effect. Anyone who has experienced an accident or near accident with someone who was talking on a cell phone while driving is likely to be please. It is also illegal to text while driving. Apparently it is difficult to watch the road and the little buttons on a phone at the same time. With this new law Washington has joined four other states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York) in banning their use while driving. Now, Washingtonians must use an ear piece if they must drive and talk on the phone. It is permissible to press the answer button, but that's all.

While California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York all have driving and talking on a cell phone as a primary offense, it is only a secondary offense in Washington. A police officer must observe some other driving infraction to give a citation and then may add the cell phone use as an additional charge.

As an interesting coincidence, I was walking my Airedale Terrier for her three mile walk along the river road the other day, two days into the new law becoming effective, and was nearly hit by hit by three different drivers who all happened to be talking on the phone. I had to laugh to myself and say, well if I don't like their driving I can stay off the sidewalk.

Realtors and other sales people who spend a lot of time driving will feel the effect of this law. The cell phone has become ubiquitous and essential for those who must stay in communication at all times in order to earn a living. Customers do not want to have to wait for information in this day and age.

Cell phone kiosks and wireless stores have been doing blockbuster business in wireless Blue Tooth headsets. Many people wonder what took so long. Why did it take an act of legislature to drive safely and respectfully of other people on the road. I know my wife said I could drive and text a long time ago.

To all of you sales people and realtors, especially you who drive in Spokane Washington selling all that real estate get a wireless headset soon. Otherwise you may have a $101 additional fine to your otherwise ignorable driving offenses. Now all we have to worry about is the cancer causing radio frequencies looped over the ear all day.

Jim Grapes is a Realtor and represents homebuyers looking for homes for sale in Spokane, Washington. Before his career selling Spokane real estate he served in the US Navy as a Supply Officer on many ships and stations around the globe.