Home Sales Still Didp .2 percent despite Tax Credits.

In May existing homes dipped 2.2% which shows that the home-buying tax credit is ending sooner than expected. The trend continued with last month’s sales falling from previous month to the adjusted annual rate or 5.66 million according to the National Association of Realtors. Most analysts who expected sales to rise expressed their concern that the real estate market could tumble even lower after the federal incentives is entirely gone.

Last months’ sales fell from the adjusted annual rate of 5 .6 6 million recorded the month before. During the lowest level of the recession which was at 4.5 million, sales did climb 25% but they’re still down 22 percent from the peak rate of 7.25 million in September 2005.The only time a report counts in home sales is when a deal closes.


Because of the slow process in closing many transactions like in short sales, Lawrence Yun, the Realtors chief economist, said delays in the mortgage-lending process put about 180,000 potential buyers in limbo. He's unsure if they will qualify by the June 30 deadline. The trade group is pushing Congress to extend the deadline for closing a sale until Sept. 30 and for those who were all ready under contract, those lucky few have been given an extension to get them closed.


According to Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. Economist at MFR Inc, and economic consulting firm in New York, he says the report is “a worrisome sign for what will occur in July and thereafter when the effect of the tax credit is behind us.”
It is well shared in belief that even government stimulus in the form of a tax credit isn’t enough,” to support the U.S. housing market according to Guy LeBas, an analyst with Hanney Montgomery Scott.


Here is a summary of the sales in the different markets:
The drop in May sales was led by a more than 18 percent decline in the Northeast. Sales were unchanged in the Midwest, but rose nearly 5 percent in the West and 0.5 percent in the South.
The inventory of unsold homes on the market dropped 3.4 percent to 3.9 million. That's an 8.3 month supply at the current sales pace, compared with a healthy level of about six months. The median sales price in May was $179,600, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier.
Foreclosures and short sales — in which the lender agrees to accept less than the total mortgage — made up 31 percent of sales in May. First-time buyers made up 46 percent.


This article was written by ShirLee McGarry and taken from parts of ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer, National Association of Realtors, and reports gathered by analysts and economists listed in reports

Great Tips and Tricks to Having a Cool Home This Summer

If the weather trend continues we might not have to worry as much this year about the costs of keeping our homes cooler but we still have many months ahead of us to experience our usual temperatures here in Utah. So if we get back to the norm, we all know as the temperatures start to rise during the summer, likewise the cost of keeping your home cool affects your utilities. I ran across a great article that will give you some good tips and tricks that I thought I would share.

Tricks to Keep Your House Cool this Summer
While homeowners across the country come to depend on air conditioners to keep the temperature down during the warm summer months, there are other options that will keep you cool while keeping your energy bill low.

Fans and ceiling fans
-If you’re looking for ways to beat the heat, a ceiling fan can be a great investment for your home. This one appliance can make a room feel 6 or 7 degrees cooler, and even the most power-hungry fan costs less than $10 a month to use if you keep it on for 12 hours a day. Good fans make it possible for you to raise your thermostat setting and save on air-conditioning costs. Fans don’t use much energy, but when air is circulating, it feels much cooler. Ceiling fans are best, but a good portable fan can be very effective as well.

-You should remember that even mild air movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees cooler. Also, make sure your ceiling fan is turned for summer – you should feel the air blown downward.

Shades, drapes or blinds
-Install white window shades, drapes or blinds to reflect heat away from the house. Close blinds, shades and draperies facing the sun (east-facing windows in the morning and west-facing windows in the afternoon) to keep the sun’s heat out and help fans or air conditioners cool more efficiently. Always remember that the best way to keep your home cool is to keep the heat out.

Internal Heat
-The most common sources of internal heat gain are; appliances, electronic devices and lighting. Be aware of devices in your home that are generating heat and if you have air conditioning, use it wisely.

Don’t put lamps, televisions or other heat-generating appliances next to your air-conditioning thermostat, because the heat from these appliances will cause the air conditioner to run longer. The heat they produce will make the thermostat think your house is warmer than it really is, and your system will run harder than it needs to.

-Unless you absolutely need them, turn off incandescent lights and heat-generating appliances. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents; they produce the same light but use a fifth the energy and heat.

-You should also try to avoid heat-generating activities such as cooking on hot days or during the hottest part of the day. If you are cooking, use your range fan to vent the hot air out of your house. By reducing the amount of heat in your home, you will use less energy to cool it.

Plants
-Plant trees or shrubs to shade air conditioning units, but not block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses less electricity. Deciduous trees planted on the south and west sides will keep your house cool in the summer and allow the sunlight to warm the house during the winter.

Roof and Walls
-Paint your roof white – If you’ve got a flat roof, paint it with a specially formulated reflective paint or just paint it white. The reflective effect will help to keep the rooms under the flat roof much cooler.

Other things to remember
-Humidity makes room air feel warmer, so reduce indoor humidity. Minimize mid-day washing and drying clothes, showering and cooking. When you must do these things, turn on ventilating fans to help extract warm, moist air.

-Avoid landscaping with lots of unshaded rock, cement, or asphalt on the south or west sides of your home because it increases the temperature around the house and radiates heat to the house after the sun has set.

-If the attic isn’t already insulated or is under-insulated, insulate it now. Upgrading from 3 inches to 12 inches can cut cooling costs by 10%.


From article by Paige Tepping
eRISMEDIA, June 17, 2010

Utah Ranks Ninth Nationally for Foreclosures

Utah Foreclosures

According to RealtyTrac’s Monthly Foreclosure Report, Utah Ranked 9th Nationally in terms of the percentage of Foreclosure Filings.

In total the state had 833 new Notices of Default, 990 new Notices of Trustee Sales, and 800 New Utah REO Homes. This represents some sort of foreclosure notice from 1 in every 360 properties. The national average is one foreclosure filing for every 400 homes.

The good news is that the rate of total foreclosures was actually down from April by 38.5%, and was down 10.3% compared with May of 2009.

Setting Your Score Goal

Here is a great video put together by by Linda Ferrari who is a national credit expert and President of Credit Resource Corporation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tBW_Fg94Dw

FIVE WAYS TO ACHIEVE A GORGEOUS LAWN

Here are five great ways to keep a gorgeous lawn all summer long:

1. Water = Green: Water is one ingredient that your lawn cannot live without, so make sure that you've got a great routine in place for keeping the lawn damp. If you have a good sprinkler system installed, you're already a step ahead of the game! If not, make sure that you're reaching all areas of the lawn if watering by hand or by moveable sprinkler. Water in the evening or very early morning for best results, but don't overdo it!

2. Know how to mow: Make sure your lawn mower has sharp blades; mowing with dull blades can tear the grass, altering its healthy appearance. Also, the more often you mow, the healthier your grass will be! Mow the lawn at least once per week for optimal results.

3. Fertilize and vitalize: Invest in a good fertilizer and use it regularly for the thickest, greenest grass. Ever wonder why the fairways and greens on a golf course manage to look beautiful throughout the year? Fertilizer is the key to the greens keeper's success. For the greenest grass possible, purchase a fertilizer with iron content.

4. Weed it out: Weeds are an obvious eyesore when it comes to the care of your lawn, and you've probably noticed how quickly they can grow. With a good fertilizer program in place, you'll get a step ahead of weeds in no time. For the pesky, hardier plants, manage the growth with a little weed spray (or dig them out by hand for best results).

5. Don't get bugged: Lawn pests are not just annoying; they are bad for the grass. If you're properly watering, fertilizing, and mowing your lawn, but still have an insect or pest problem, try aerating the lawn; this should help to eliminate the little buggers!

Why Did This Happen?

We have no right to ask when sorrow comes,
"Why did this happen to me?"
unless we ask the same question for every
moment of happiness that comes our way.
Author Unknown

Baby Boomers Retiring May Create Worker Shortage

As we experience the millions of people all across the US struggling to find work, as unbelievable as it may seem, there could be more jobs than workers to fill them and according to an new report published Monday by the MetLife Foundation and san Francisco-based Civic Ventures, a think tank focusing on baby boomers, work and social purpose, the report reveals that a worker shortage could develop within 10-years with the baby boomers reaching traditional retirement age.

According to the report, “When the nation comes out of the current jobs recessions,” which is estimated it may take two to three years, “we will begin to see spot shortages in labor markets. If the economy continues to improve, the spot shortages will become more general, and we will experience the shortages our research projects.”

One might wonder how the report’s authors arrived at this conclusion. However according the government’s analysis, it is expected that 14.6 of new nonfarm payroll jobs will be created between 2008-2018. This figure will hit 15.3 million new jobs including self-employed workers, and family members working in family businesses and workers in farming.

Then if your follow the government’s projected population growth and current labor force participation rates – assuming no major changes in immigration – there will be about 9.1 million additional workers over the same time period. Allowing adding to the picture multiple job holders, the total number of jobs expected to be filled is 9.6 million.

Subtracting the numbers of filled jobs from the expected numbers of new jobs, the results range 5 to 5.7 million vacant jobs. However the labor force predicts that baby boomers will not retire at as high a rate as earlier cohorts of older workers – so it is believed that there would be 3.3 to 4 million vacant jobs, according to the report.

The targeted fields that are believed to feel the shortages are HEALTH, according the reports co-author Barry Bluestone, an economist and founding director of Northeastern University Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy.
“And if we get projected growth, there could be pretty broad shortages, and we need to find a way to fill those jobs,” he said.
According Bluestone, it is thought that older workers may be the answer since not only are people living longer, but they are much healthier, and most want to continue working, even if there is no financial reason.

As with any report put out for informational purposes, not everyone agrees to this projected shortage. One such skeptic is Harry Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University and the Urban Institute. He believes that the combination of new technology and globalization could constrain job growth.
“I’m willing to acknowledge that you can have shortages for short periods of time. At the occupational level, there are some areas, especially health care, where demand is outstripping supply of workers, but an economy-wide shortage of workers?  I don’t think so,” Holzer said.

“Labor markets adjust – if more workers are needed then wages will increase,” Holzer said.  He also believes that part of the adjustment will require workers retiring later, and that such a trend has already started, in part because of better health and more workers in white-collar jobs.  This is mainly attributed to insufficient retirement savings and losses in stock and housing markets. “All those factors would lead people to delay retirement,” Holzer said.

Here is a list of job categories that the Government projects will see the largest employment growth between 2008-2018:
—Registered nurses will add 582,000 jobs;
—Home health aides will add 461,000;
—Customer services representatives will add 400,000;
—Food preparation and serving workers (including fast food) will add 394,000;
—Personal and home care aides will add 376,000;
—Retail salespeople will gain 375,000;
—Office clerks, general will gain 359,000;
—Accountants and auditors will gain 279,000;
—Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants will gain 276,000;
—Postsecondary teachers will gain 257,000.

In this report, Social Sector jobs, which includes those industries covering health care and social assistance, educational services, nonprofit community and religions organizations, the performing arts, museums, libraries and government, is where the MetLife/Civic Ventures report specifically picks out the 6.9 million new jobs in the ‘Social sector,” which represents 47 percent of the total projected nonfarm payroll employment growth, according to the report.

Bluestone suggested that older workers may be particularly well suited to many of these jobs. “One thing that’s true is that many of these jobs do not require enormous physical effort,” Bluestone said. “Many of the jobs in the social sector are ones that require less physical exertion, but require people with common sense and experience.”

Heather Boushey, senior economist at the Center of American Progress states that younger workers will need open spots too. “We probably need to do more to make sure folks can retire so that we can increase the availability of jobs for younger workers,” Boushey said. “There is a crisis for young people who are graduating and not getting their foot in the door.


Report highlights taken from MarketWatch.com Inc. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services and rismedia.com.