Top 5 Recovering and Sinking Markets

All statistics are pulled from CNN Money and Bankrate.com. These two topics are regarding the comparision of 2009's and 2010's fourth quarters in reference to the sinking home prices and the estimated gain in recovering markets by September of 2012.

Top sinking

Cumberland, MD: Median home price of $87,000 with a decrease of 20.2%
Kankee-Bradley, Ill: Median home price of $109,500 with a decrease of 14.39%
Ocala, FL: Median home price of $80,200 with a decrease of 13.95%
Toledo, OH: Median home price of $74,500 with a decrease of 13.87%
Youngstown/Warren/Boardman, OH/PA: Median home price of $62,800 with a decrease of 13.62%

Top Recovering

Tacoma, WA: Median home price of $240,000 with an estimated gain of 11.8%
Palm Bay, FL: Median home price of $141,000 with an estimated gain of 9.4%
Memphis, TN: Median home price of $280,000 with an estimated gain of 7.5%
Rochester, NY: Median home price of $125,000 with an estimated gain of 5.3%
Pittsburgh, PA: Median Home price of $133,000 with an estimated gain of 4.6%

“Worst Case Housing” Rises 20 Percent

 

“Worst case housing” can be described as the following: Any household that spends 50 percent or more of their monthly income on rent and/or lives in severely substandard conditions. There is now estimated to be 7.1 million low-income “worst case housing” scenarios in the US. There was a 20 percent rise from 2007 to 2009, the largest rise in any two year span since 1985. Unemployment has contributed 410,000 households in 2009 to the situation in alliance with rising rent due to the increase in demand for rentals because of the housing crisis.

Hispanics and families with children have suffered the most from “worst case housing.” Hispanics make up 45 percent and families with hildren make up 39 percent of the low income, worst case scenarios. These numbers do not even include the 550,000 households in 2007 that were not considered to be in the “direst housing needs.”

Valentine's Day Presents to Avoid Like the Plague

In a New Relationship

Something that initiates long term

            Anything like a couple’s massage certificate, a pet for you both to share, or a large purchase for a home/apartment indicates you are ready for the long haul and could scare off a new love interest.

Spending too much money

            Expensive weekend getaways and lavish jewelry are things that should be saved for once your relationship matures because the risk of spending all that money when you barely know if your relationship is going anywhere does not make much sense.

Food options

            Food gifts can be very tricky as you may not know all their preferences just yet and they could have an allergy you don’t know about, making the gift useless. When the gift is for a woman, it becomes even sketchier. The woman may be watching her weight and will feel sabotaged by a gift of sweets and worse yet, just complain to the man relentlessly later about why it is their fault she gained weight. Going the other way is even more dangerous as offering a woman anything to help her lose weight, such as a gym membership, will only set you up for complete failure and resentment by the woman. 

Sending gifts to a work place

            Some people become embarrassed by all the attention and you may not know their position’s rank in the business enough to understand if it is appropriate to be receiving outrageous flowers and balloons.

In a Long Term Relationship

Traditional Flowers

            Roses and carnations are pretty but your significant other will probably enjoy you taking the time to find their favorite flower for a more personal touch.

Weight loss options

            This goes the same as in a new relationship: no significant other will take a gym membership the right way. Just avoid these types of gifts.

Practical items

            Your dwelling may need some touchups or additions but Valentine’s Day is not the time for practical gifts. Save the blenders, vacuums, and bedroom sets for Christmas.

No lingerie

            This will most likely be disastrous either way you pitch it. If you buy a size too big, she will believe you think she is fat. If you buy a size too small, she will believe you want her to be smaller and therefore; you think she is fat.

Cards

            If a card is given for Valentine’s Day, there should be a present with it. Just a card indicates you are a non-creative procrastinator. Even if there is a very limited budget, there are many other ways to show your affection. If anything, even make your own card as this at least shows you made the effort and didn’t wait until the last minute.

Census Bureau’s Residential Vacancies and Home Ownership Statistic

 The home ownership and vacancy rate statistics just came out this Monday for the fourth quarter of 2010. Some of it is expected and not so surprising while some stats are interesting to look into to further understand the current housing market and its consumers. Rental vacancies were put at 9.4 percent, a 1.3 point decrease from 2009’s fourth quarter, and home vacancies were set at 2.7 percent, relatively the same as in 2009. Since 1996, both rental and home vacancies have been on a slow but steady up-climb.

 Rental vacancies were about the same for suburbs and metropolitan areas while home vacancies were higher in the suburbs and outside metro areas than the central metro areas. The Northeast holds the lowest rate of vacancies for both home and rental while the South is a leader in both.

Total US housing inventory has increased since 2009’s fourth quarter but only by about 650 units. The amount of those units occupied has actually increased but more by renters than actual owners. Units that were held off the market increased from 2009 to 2010 at 6,765 to 7,236, respectively.

Home ownership in the fourth quarter by region can be summed up by the following:

• Northeast: 64.1%
• Midwest: 70.5%
• South: 68.5%
• West: 61%

As seen above, the Midwest holds the highest amount of homeowners while, not too surprisingly, the West is at the bottom. All four regions have declines since 2009’s fourth quarter.

Families that have higher or equal to average income levels have seen a slight decrease in home ownership while families that have a lower than average income have actually seen a rise in home ownership. The thing to keep in mind when interpreting these statistics is that the Census Bureau imputed missing values from their income question of sent surveys to calculate this data. They configured the results using previous similar procedures and without this configuration, families with lower than average incomes would have also seen a drop in home ownership from 2009 to 2010.

All details and further statics can be viewed on the Census Bureau’s press release HERE

2011 Saver’s Credit for Retirement Plans

There is a tax credit many American’s are unaware of. We all knew about the First Time Home Buyers credit and the Cash for Clunkers plan but what about the Saver’s credit? This credit is specifically for low to middle income people who contribute to retirement plans such as IRAs and 401Ks. These people can claim up to $2,000 per couple if they contribute to a retirement plan and the credit is equal to the credit rate times the amount of contributions up to $2,000.

As any tax credit, there are limitations and this one is actually a bit complicated. Couples who file jointly must have adjusted gross income of less than $55,500, head of house less than $41,625, and other tax payers less than $27,750. Among some of the other limitations include that filers may not use a 1040 EZ, which most low income people do, and may not be claimed as a dependent or student under any other tax payer. This tax credit is also nonrefundable which proves it to have limited value for little to no income tax liability but people who do qualify for the saver’s credit can get in addition to tax deductions. 

This is a tax credit that can be beneficial to many qualifying people who don’t even know it exists as it hasn’t had much of any promotion. In 2008, only 4% of Federal tax returns claims the Saver’s credit, a total that amounts to just under $1 billion compared to the $4.4 billion for the First Time Home Buyer’s credit. In addition, a study found that only 12% of Americans with income less than $50,000 are aware of the credit! So let’s spread the word to our clients, referrals, friends and family to help out someone who may need it.