Single Women Home Buyers

Again, this from MSN Real Estate news:

Changing American demographics and social norms are altering the real estate landscape: The average homebuyer is very different compared with buyers of generations past.
The biggest group of homebuyers by far is still married couples, accounting for 61% of all homes bought, according to the National Association of Realtors.
But single women now purchase 22% of all homes. Single men account for only 9% of purchases.
Pat Vredevoogd Combs, the president of the National Association of Realtors, says that shows real change. "Thirty-five years ago, when I started out as a Realtor, a single woman couldn't even get a mortgage," she says.
Part of the reason why women have become so big a buying bloc is that more women are single than ever before. The New York Times recently concluded, after an analysis of Census Bureau data, that 51% of all American adult women now live without a spouse.
Women are more financially independent than ever before, too.

BEAUTIFUL!

This from MSN Real Estate:

In real estate listings, what's the difference between describing your home as "beautiful" versus "move-in condition"? About $12,500 on a $250,000 home.
Professor Paul Anglin, a real estate economist in Guelph, Ontario, says that homes described as "beautiful" in real estate listings sell for 5% more while "move-in condition" has no effect on sale price.
Anglin and his colleagues from the University of Windsor and researchers from Canada Mortgage and Housing examined about 20,000 real estate listings and sales data in Windsor and Essex counties, Ontario, from between 1997 and early 2000. Among other things, they studied how listings' phrasing affected sale prices and the length of time it took for the listings to close.

So, how you describe your home, or how your agent describes your home, directly affects the speed with which your home sells. Get an effective Realtor!

Foreclosure News

This from MSN:

Property foreclosures in December rose 35% over the year before, with one household in every 1,055 U.S. households in some stage of foreclosure.
According the RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, 109,652 properties entered the nation's foreclosure process during the month. Though that's a 9% decline from November, it's the fifth straight month the number has topped 100,000.
"While the number of new foreclosure filings dropped back from the high point of 2006 in November, the combination of slower home sales and rising interest rates on adjustable mortgages continues to drive foreclosures at significantly higher numbers than a year ago," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer.

Pet Odors?

PET ODORS TO GET RID OF?

How do you remove those pet and stinky smells from various areas and surfaces? My clients who face the problem often suggest a number of solutions (no pun intended). Antibacterial, concentrate odor removers such as OdoBan® or Zep Odorstroyer Plus® are available in many retail stores (Wal-Mart, Home Depot, O'Reilly Auto Parts, etc), and enzyme- based products such as Stink Free® or OdorZyme® are usually available online. A search for "pet odor removal" in a search engine such as Google® will yield hundreds of results. A product some have used successfully on concrete and duct work is Namco's Liquid Alive Bacteria Enzyme® generally available from Home Depot or Lowe's tool rental sections or online at NAMCO.