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January 2008 |
A Publication of ELLIOTT®
& Company Appraisers |
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HOME
BUILDERS CUTTING BACK
ON OPTIONS OFFERED TO BUYERS |
 In an effort to survive the slump in the housing construction market,
homebuilders are offering fewer options to buyers. This simplifies the
builders’ businesses and saves money.
Pulte Homes, for example, had over 2,000 floor plans, but now that
figure is down to 400. Centex Corp. has already discontinued half of its
4,500 floor plans and continues to get rid of more. Beazer Homes USA
eliminated 85% of its carpet offerings.
"Reduction of options brings better value to the ultimate price for a
home," said Stuart Miller, CEO of Lennar Corp. "That’s going to work
well in the declining market."
Eric Landry, a Morningstar analyst, does not feel this will work well
for everybody, as he said, "If you don’t like cookie-cutter housing,
you’re not going to like the next several years."
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BIG APPLE TOPS
U.S. CITIES IN AVERAGE RENT PRICES |
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 According to Marcus & Millichap, a real estate investment services firm,
the average rental price for a home in New York is over $1,000 per month
higher than that of any other city in the United States. New Yorkers pay
an average of $2,922 per month to rent where they live.
The other top 10 U.S. cities in average rent prices, as ranked by Marcus &
Millichap, are (2) San Francisco ($1,904), (3) Boston ($1,658), (4) San
Jose ($1,612), (5) Los Angeles ($1,452), (6) San Diego ($1,304), (7)
Washington ($1,302), (8) Miami ($1,080), (9) Philadelphia ($1,014) and
(10) Chicago ($1,010). |
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EXPENSIVE COASTAL HOMES
MORE
LIKELY TO BE OFFERED INSURANCE |
In coastal areas, where there is high risk of hurricanes and/or
earthquakes, insurance companies are more apt to offer extensive
insurance to owners of high-priced homes rather than to owners of
less expensive ones. That’s because the higher priced homes tend
to have features that could protect them during a natural
disaster.
"Along the coast, newer homes tend to be of higher value, but
they’re also better constructed," said Robert Hartwig, president
of the Insurance Information Institute. "The fact of the matter
is [expensive homes on the coast] are built like bunkers." |
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 QUOTES OF WIT &
WISDOM
"Far and away the best price
that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth
doing." -- Theodore Roosevelt
"The way to win an atomic war is to make sure it never
starts."
-- Omar Bradley
"Boyhood, like measles, is one of those complaints, which a
man should catch young and have done with, for when it comes
in middle life, it is apt to be serious." -- P.G. Wodehouse
"The moment of victory is much too short to live for that
and nothing else." -- Martina Navratilova
"Mistrust the man who finds everything good, the man who
finds everything evil and still more the man who is
indifferent to everything." -- Johann Lavater
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." -- Oscar Wilde
"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we know
what to do with it." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately,
no one knows what they are."
-- Somerset Maugham
"In spite of the cost of living, it’s still popular." --
Laurence Peter
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