windermere tri-cities

S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index shows prices rose in June in 19 of 20 cities

Breaking News

WASHINGTON – Spring buying pushed home prices up for a third straight month in most major U.S. cities in June.  But the housing market remains shaky, a further price declines are expected this year.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index, released Tuesday, shows prices increased in June from May in 19 of 20 cities tracked.  A separate figure shows prices rose 3.6 percent in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter.  Those numbers aren’t adjusted for seasonal factors.

“Part of what we’re seeing here is seasonal, but not all of it,” David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’s Index Committee, told CNBC. “So this is a pretty thin river of hope.”

Over the past 12 months, home prices have declined in all 20 cities after adjusting for seasonal factors.

Chicago, Minneapolis, Washington and Boston posted the biggest monthly increases.  Metro areas hit hardest by the housing crisis, including Las Vegas and Phoenix, reported small seasonal increases.

“Broadly it looks like home prices have flattened out,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities in Stamford, St. “That’s good news. Earlier this year, it had looked like we were looking for another leg down. You would like to see prices to go up, but we take what we can get.”

Stanley pointed to an interesting bifurcation in the market:  Distressed property values remain depressed–a drag on home prices.  But non-distressed home sales are starting to rise.

S&P’s Blitzer noted that he expects housing to remain subdued for the foreseeable future with no big upswings in prices.

There was a big pickup in consumer spending in July, which means people are willing to make big purchases, he explained. But, home buyers are finding it’s more difficult to get a mortgage or home financing, and that is likely to temper any gains in the housing market.

Article courtesy of:  MSNBC.com

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to the report.

windermere tri-cities

Homeownership: Still the American Dreamby The KCM Crew on August 16, 2011 · 6 comments
Yesterday, Fannie Mae released their National Housing Survey for the second quarter of 2011. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. Each quarter, we like to pull out some of the findings we deem most interesting. Here they are for the most recent report:

Most Important Reasons to Buy a Home

When we talk about homeownership today, it seems that the financial aspects always jump to the front of the discussion. However, the study shows that the four major reasons a person buys a home have nothing to do with money. The top four reasons, in order, are:

• It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
• You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
• It allows you to have more space for your family
• It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates)

The Home as an Investment

Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:

• 65% of the general population (and 67% of homeowners) believe that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
• 56% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.
• 69% think that now is a good time to buy a home (this number has increased in each of the last two quarters)

Rent vs. Buy

We are always interested in the difference people see in renting vs. owning.

• 63% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home
• 72% of renters think that owning is superior to renting
• 95% of homeowners see homeownership as a positive experience (4% see it as a negative experience) while 82% of renters see renting as a positive experience (17% see it as a negative experience)
• 96% of homeowners live in a single family residence while 46% of renters live in a multi-unit building

Bottom Line

Even in difficult times, Americans still realize the value of homeownership.

windermere tri-cities

Kimberly Camp, CEO of the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center, was in a Public Facilities District meeting when Steve Lee, the center’s communications director, gave her a thumbs-up sign.

She checked her email on her Blackberry.

Nothing.

She gave Lee a questioning look across the table.

The entire office had been anxiously waiting for word from Army Corps of Engineers to hear if it had approved a sublease between Richland and the Richland Public Facilities District that would allow the center to build its interpretive center at the west end of Columbia Park.

She checked the email again.

The approval was there.

The following day Camp, the center staff, city officials, volunteers and board members gathered to toast the success.

It has been a long, arduous road for the group, which hopes to start construction on the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center museum late this summer.

“This will be a huge economic boom for the area,” said Camp.

Camp said more than $25 million has been raised for the $40.5 million project, which organizers originally planned to build on federal land at Columbia Point South in Richland.

The project underwent scrutiny from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and others. After years of planning for that site, the project was forced to find a new home.

They have chosen a 20-acre site at Columbia Park West, near Cash & Carry and Cost Less Carpet on Fowler Street in Richland. The site, which is part of Columbia Park West, is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, but leased by the city of Richland.

The Richland Public Facilities District and the City of Richland signed a memorandum of understanding to sublease the site for the Interpretive Center.

But that also required approval from the Corps, which did a review that included National Environmental Policy Act compliance and approval of a proposal for the city to enter into the sublease with the Richland Public Facilities District.

“Like many other proposals we receive, this proposal was evaluated in great detail within a well-established review process,” said Lt. Col. David Caldwell, Walla Walla District commander. “It’s a complex process and it’s how we serve as good stewards of the environment and federal real estate. “

The approval will allow construction to move forward, but before any federal funds can be used for the project, the Richland Public Facilities District must work with the Federal Highway Administration to clean the last of the permitting.

“This is a big step forward for the REACH project,” said Richland Mayor John Fox. “The REACH is intended to be a great asset for the Tri-Cities and the whole region.”

The REACH will be a 61,000-sq.-ft. facility designed to serve as a gateway to the Hanford Reach National Monument. It was designed by Seattle architectural firm Jones & Jones and will feature exhibits about the plants and animals in the region, basalt flows and the Ice

Age Floods, the Manhattan Project and B Reactor, the people of the region and environmental stewardship.

A major feature of the center will focus on connecting visitors with the area’s waterways and educational opportunities.

“The river is the main reference of the architecture and site,” said John Paul Jones, the project’s architect.

Camp said the REACH’s capital steering campaign is still working very hard to raise the additional money needed to complete the project and fund operation through the opening year.

“We need to find $15 million more for construction,” she said.

In addition, another $3.5 million will be needed to fund operations through the opening year and the committee would like to raise $2 million to add to its endowment fund.

Mike Kluse, director of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has also acted as co-chairman for the capital campaign steering committee.

“I’ve been involved with this project not only because of what it will mean for our community, but also because of what it means to Battelle and PNNL,” he said. “An important part of our culture is active participation in improving quality of life in the communities where we work and live. I believe that the REACH will serve our community and visitors who want to know more about the national treasure right here in our backyard.

“The finish line is in sight, but we’re not there yet,” he added. “I look forward to working closely with the city of Richland to see the REACH operational and the impact it will have on the community.”

Once the center is complete, it is expected to attract up to 65,000 visitors a year.
——————————————————————————–
by Mary Hopkin
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business