CTV News | Is the U.S. housing market now in double-dip territory?

CTV News | Is the U.S. housing market now in double-dip territory?

How Real Estate is doing, south of the Border

HIGH MEDIAN PRICE IN SAN JOSE- HERE IS A SURVEY FOR YOU

There has been a remarkable increase in median sales price and with is the median days on market have drastically fallen. According to the statistics of San Jose Real Estate market report there has been an improvement but at the end the total units sold has depreciated as the buyers were not prepared for the price hike. Another reason of the decrease in units sold can be analyzed if we compare the ratio of sale price to list price. San Jose has experienced a rise in the median sales price comparatively than last year.

In Los Gatos, a neighboring city there was a decrease in the median sales price and the median days dropped almost by half and so there was a negligible appreciation in the units sold. Morgan Hill, also a neighboring city fell a prey to a sharp decrease in units sold and suffered the same ill-fate in San Jose Real Estate.

But overall homes have shown signs of improvement with median prices rising high and the sellers earned 100% of the asked price and houses selling like hot cakes. There are periodic reports based on extensive research on San Jose Real Estate which helps to locate San Jose houses. This is the third largest city in California and the tenth largest in United States and this is one of the main reasons for the city’s demand. It is the suburban magnet to the newcomers and so the city is facing new housing and industrial developments.

San Jose Real Estate has been doing well, the market is moving upwards but it is not as simple as it seems because you cannot ignore the number of units sold. If you are looking for a home, survey market thoroughly, take at the purchase list, calculate the PreQual Mortgage amount and match your profile with the offers of the lenders and then find the perfect home.

Kindly provided by R. P 

for more information in Real Estate in the San Jose Area, contact  : rockwithrocky@yahoo.com

Re-doing a Kitchen the Green way

If you’re building a new home or updating an older one and want to go green wherever you can, you’ve got more options than ever in eco-chic materials for countertops, flooring and cabinets. Here’s a quick guide to eco-friendly kitchen materials — including five favorites of eco-design experts, plus top materials to avoid.

          Thumbs Up: 5 Eco-Optimal Options

Recycled glass: “Recycled glass is one of my favorite things to use for countertops,” says environmental design consultant Michelle Bexelius. “It’s so beautiful and comes in so many colors.” Look for glass tile that is 100 percent recycled, either from post-industrial or post-consumer sources.
PaperStone: It’s a pretty cool concept — paper that’s pressed into a stonelike material. It’s strong and workable like stone, but made from recycled paper. PaperStone comes in various colors and uses no petroleum products. “I really love this stuff,” Bexelius says. It’s ideal for countertops — or anywhere else you would use stone. Find a dealer through Paperstoneproducts.net
Bamboo: Don’t be fooled by bamboo’s stick-like appearance in the forest — it’s an extremely hard and durable material that's ideal for countertops, cabinets or flooring. Bamboo's eco-friendly status comes from the fact that it’s a completely renewable resource — it grows amazingly fast. Also check out other sustainably harvested wood flooring options, such as cork oak.
Marmoleum: This natural flooring material is made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, jute and limestone. “It’s a great alternative to traditional linoleum flooring,” says Bexelius.
Natural plaster: Skip the dry-wall mud and the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) found in conventional paints. This fume-free wall finishing alternative, also known as earth plaster, is made from natural clay and pigments in a range of earthy colors. It goes directly on almost any material including dry wall, wood, adobe, straw bale or masonry. You can texture it as you like or leave it smooth. Either way you get an organic-looking finished effect that's far more interesting than the homogeneous wall mud sold at home improvement stores.

Thumbs Down: 4 Materials to Avoid

Particleboard: “Do not use particleboard for cabinets,” cautions Debra Lynn Dadd, author of "Home Safe Home: Creating a Healthy Home Environment by Reducing Exposure to Toxic Household Products." “It emits formaldehyde, which can make your eyes water and cause rashes.” It’s also a suspected human carcinogen. Cabinet-grade plywood is a better alternative, and custom-made solid wood cabinets (preferably reclaimed wood) are the best option, Dadd says.
Imported Materials: “Try to source materials as locally as possible,” Dadd says. The material itself isn’t usually the problem; after all, products like marble and granite are natural stone — usually a good choice. “But it’s all about how you get it here,” she says. Shipping granite from Italy, for example, uses a tremendous amount of fuel and other resources. Check with local kitchen remodeling stores and services to see if they have some decent-sized hunks of scrap stone that can work for your project.
Toxic glues, grouts and stains: Even the most eco-friendly product gets tainted if high-VOC  products are used to adhere or finish it. Follow the process through and make sure you specify low-VOC products. Ask your builder or your local hardware store about the most environmentally friendly options, such as nontoxic glues, low-VOC tile adhesive and polymer-free grout. Using polymers does help prevent mold, so be sure to use an eco-friendly sealant in their place. And use natural materials — like beeswax to seal bamboo — whenever possible, Bexelius says.
Wood from non-sustainable forests: Hardwood is a wonderful natural material, but deforestation concerns make it important to do your homework. Contact the lumberyard, the manufacturer or your contractor and start asking questions. “Be your own reporter; find out if the wood is coming from a sustainably managed forest,” Bexelius says. “Are the trees being replanted? If not, don’t buy it.”

We would like to thank GAIAM LIFE for  the information above.