Blog – Lori Maser Jones

U.S. Home Construction Rose 9.7% in January

February 20, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Housing construction got off to a strong start in 2018, which could help boost economic growth and ease home-price increases in the coming months.

The number of new housing units under construction rose 9.7% from a month earlier to an annual rate of 1.326 million, the Commerce Department said Friday. That marked the third increase in four months.

Builders also showed signs they are planning to ramp up construction later this year. The number of permits they lined up to build units rose 7.4% last month to an annual pace of 1.396 million.

Nonetheless, economists said the numbers suggest that 2018 will continue a trend of gradual improvement in new-home construction that will remain well below normal levels.

“This is a generational issue because we’ve fallen so far behind in supply that we’re still playing catch up,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union. “We’ve still got years to go before we see these numbers improve to normal levels.”

Housing starts numbers are volatile and can be subject to big revisions. The margin of error for the January rise of 9.7% was plus or minus 16.8 percentage points.

Economists said the report was encouraging because starts rose despite frigid January weather across many parts of the country.

More disappointing was that last month’s gains were overwhelmingly driven by an increase in multifamily starts, which tend to be especially volatile and are unlikely to remain at such high levels, economists said.

Apartment starts surged 24% in January, while construction of single-family homes rose just 3.7%. Permits for buildings with five units or more likewise were up more than 25%, while permits for single-family homes fell 1.7%.

Over the longer-term, new-home construction is picking up. Total starts rose 7.3% in the 12 months through January, while single-family starts rose 7.6% during that period.

January’s numbers offer the first glimpse into the impact of a tax overhaul bill passed in late December that reduced incentives for homeownership that are especially important in higher cost markets. The bill also cut individual tax rates and slashed the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, along with other changes benefiting small businesses.

Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at LendingTree, said the tax code changes could boost builder margins by 10% to 15%, which could in turn encourage them to build more homes at the low end, where profit margins are thinnest.

“Home builders are able to be a little more aggressive in terms of getting out there and building homes,” he said.

credit Realtor.com

Relocating Help: 8 Tips for a Happier Long-Distance Move

September 9, 2015 by jessica 10 Comments

We all know about turning on the utilities at the new place and filling out the change-of-address form for the postal service, but when you make a long-distance move, some other things come into play that can make getting from here to there a bit trickier. Here are eight tips pulled from my recent experience of moving from the East Coast to the West Coast — from packing the moving van to handling the inevitable meltdowns.

1. Maximize space in the moving van. Moving cross-country is not cheap (I can only imagine the cost of moving overseas), so I did a lot of reading and asking around for tips before we packed up our house, to make sure we made the most of the space in our truck. Now that we’ve made it to the other side, I can say with confidence that these are the top three packing steps I would do again in a heartbeat:

Declutter before you pack. If you don’t love it or need it, there’s no sense in bringing it with you — that space in the truck is money!
Leave dresser drawers filled. For the first time ever, rather than emptying the dresser drawers, I simply left the clothes and linens folded inside and wrapped up the furniture. Does this make them heavier? Yes. But as long as the drawers are filled with lightweight items (definitely not books), it should be fine. And if not, you (or your helpers) can carry the drawers out separately. The benefit is twofold: You need fewer boxes, and it will be easier to find stuff when you move in.
Pack soft items in black trash bags. Glamorous? Not in the least. But this has to be the smartest packing idea we tried. Fill heavy-duty black garbage bags with soft items (duvets, pillows, stuffed animals), then use the bags as space fillers and cushioning inside the truck. To keep items clean and protected, we doubled the bags and tied, then taped, them shut. Use a permanent marker on sticky labels applied to the outside to note the contents.

2. Paint before you move in. If you plan to give your new space a fresh coat of paint, it makes a lot of sense to do this before moving all of your stuff in.

Aside from the obvious (it’s easier to paint an empty house than one full of furniture), you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment having “paint” ticked off your to-do list before the first box is even unpacked.

While you’re at it, if there are other messy, disruptive items on your list (anything to do with the floors definitely qualifies), getting to as many of them as possible before moving day will be a big help.

Modern Bedroom by Lindye Galloway Design

3. Ask around before signing up for services. Depending on where you’re moving, there may be many or very few choices of service providers for things like phone and cable. If you have some options, take the time to ask around before committing to one — you may find that the company that served you so well back at your old place doesn’t have much infrastructure in the new area. Or you might find, as we did, that (thanks to lousy cellphone reception) a landline is a necessity at the new place, even though using only cellphones worked fine at the old house.

4. Put ‘Buy houseplants’ at the top of your to-do list. One of the unexpectedly sad moments of our move was when I realized we couldn’t bring our houseplants along. This may not sound like a big deal, but when you’ve lovingly nurtured a houseful of plants for years, the thought of starting back at zero is kind of depressing. We gave away all of our plants but ended up keeping some of our favorite pots — something that has made picking plants for the new space much easier (and cheaper).

Once you’re in your new place, you might be tempted to put off buying new houseplants, but I urge you to make it a priority. Why? Houseplants clean the air (especially important if you’ve used paint or flooring that has volatile organic compounds, or VOCs), but most important, they will make your house feel like home.

Contemporary Living Room by Touch Interiors

5. Give yourself time to get used to a new climate, time zone and culture. After moving from New England back to the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve been amazed at how long it’s taken to feel “settled” — even though I’ve moved back to my hometown! Building in extra time to handle that adjustment period can be a relief, especially for families with kids. A week or two to catch your breath (and track down the best local ice cream parlor — priorities, you know) will put everyone in better spirits.

6. Expect some meltdowns — from children and adults. Moving is hard, there’s just no way around it, but moving long-distance is especially hard. It means leaving behind friends, schools, jobs and perhaps family and entering a great unknown, new place.
Even if the new place sounds great (and is great!) meltdowns and emotional moments are a totally natural reaction to such a big shakeup in life.
So when the moment comes (and it will) that someone (or more than one someone) in the house needs a good cry, roll with it. Then get yourselves up and find something fun to explore or do in your new town.

7. Expect to shed some more stuff after you move. No matter how much decluttering you do before moving, it seems to be a law of nature that there will be items that simply don’t fit in the new space.

Even if everything physically fits, there’s bound to be something that just doesn’t work like you thought it would. Try not to hold on to these things purely out of frustration.

Sell them, gift them to a dear friend or (if you truly love the items) keep them — but only if you have the storage space.

8. Also expect to buy some stuff after you move. But we just gave so much stuff away! It’s not fair! I know. But each home has its quirks, and those quirks demand new stuff. For instance, perhaps your old kitchen had a huge island with plenty of space for cooking prep and for stools to pull up for breakfast, but the new kitchen has a big empty spot right in the middle of the room that requires a portable island or a kitchen table and chairs. Earmarking a bit of money for these kinds of things can help you set and stick to a budget.

Boost Your Home’s Curb Appeal!

August 20, 2015 by jessica 1 Comment

Even if you’re not considering putting your home on the market soon, it never hurts to enhance and improve your property. Make your home the envy of the neighborhood with these simple tips:

The Lawn & Landscaping

Mow your lawn twice a week, pull weeds and rake up your leaves.
Trim hedges and shrubs, as well as tree limbs that are located near the roof.
Sweep your walkways.
Plant a variety of colorful flowers that compliment one another and bloom throughout the growing season.

The Home

Clean your windows and gutters, and pressure wash your siding and decks.
Freshen up the exterior of your home with a coat of paint.
Get a new front door. If this isn’t possible, replace the hardware and stain or paint the door.
Install new accents like house numbers, kick plates, doorbell buttons or mail slots.
Replace your roof, if necessary. To keep the growth of moss and fungus at bay, place a strip of zinc underneath the shingles along the roofline of your house.
Add an awning over your deck or patio to enjoy the outdoors for more of the year.

Tips for Making Your Home Unique

December 15, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

When you are in the market for a home in Grand Junction, you have to look at the potential of the property rather than what you see in front of you. Instead of focusing on the orange walls and green carpeting, think about the things that the house could become in your hands. You can change the paint, the flooring, and plenty of other things to make your home unique and perfect for you.

The colors of the home can do a lot for it. You can change a person’s mood with color, and you can make a space seem more open or cozier. Don’t look at the paint in the house now as permanent. It is something you can change, and you can even do it yourself to save some money.

The cabinets, counters, and the flooring do not have to be permanent either. You can always put in your own when you buy the property. Sometimes, to sweeten the deal, the homeowners will even redo their floors or kitchen. You can also do some simple things such as changing the hardware on the cabinetry to make your home unique.

Perhaps the house looks a little cluttered on your walkthrough at the open house. Again, try not to see the previous owner’s belongings. Instead, imagine how you will reorganize the house to work for your needs.

Of course, when you are buying a home, you have to consider the cost of making these changes and renovations. Make sure it does not add too much to the overall price of the home.

As you can see, the home you see does not need to be the home that you eventually own. Once you get into the property, you can make your own changes and tweaks so that it really matches your personality.

Resource: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/never-want-to-leave-10-tips-for-making-your-home-the-most-inviting-yet-201733