Blog Posting - News / Real Estate

Baby Boomers Creating a Mini Housing Boom

Baby boomers, the generation of people born between 1946 and 1964, are suddenly reentering the residential real estate market in a very big way. It looks like the folks who brought us Woodstock, The Dating Game and disco are once again in the forefront of yet another major cultural trend. Only this one is sure to have much longer lasting implications for the rest of the country than Pet Rocks ever did.

According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 20 percent of the homes purchased last year were bought by people over 55. This is up from just 13 percent in 2001. Today, nearly a quarter of this demographic group owns either a vacation home, land or a rental property in addition to a primary residence. Several factors are driving this trend; perhaps the most important of which is that many members of the Baby Boom Generation have both the financial resources and the vision to take advantage of the great real estate values created by today’s reduced prices and low mortgage rates.

Real estate experts see this trend continuing for some time. Many baby boomers, especially those in the pre-retirement mode, are in the market for transitional homes where they can vacation now and then settle into after they leave the workforce. Others are interested in homes that better fit an empty-nest lifestyle. Surveys by the National Association of Home Builders and the MetLife Mature Market Institute show that this market segment is particularly interested in single-story houses with smaller floor plans and special senior-friendly amenities like nonslip floors, larger medicine cabinets and lower kitchen cabinets. Still another group of boomers see investing in real estate as a smart way to rebuild the savings and home equity they lost over the past couple of years.

Whatever their reason for buying, baby boomers are once again a major force in residential real estate. Their presence is breathing some much need life into the U.S. housing market.

Blog Posting - Green Real Estate

California Introduces “Green” TV Standards

How much energy does it take for a couch potato to keep up with a great television series like House, MD? It’s a lot more than you might think and the answer is no joke for anyone who is concerned about protecting the environment. According to the California Energy Commission, televisions, DVRs, DVD players and satellite boxes now consume almost 10 percent of the total electricity used in a typical home. This is up from just 4% in the 1990s. The driving force behind the jump in power consumption is America’s love affair with giant flat–screen high-definition TVs.

Help is on the way for people who want to live “green” and still enjoy So You Think You Can Dance in the super-sharp glory that only a 45” flat-screen HDTV can deliver. California just became the first state in the nation to set energy standards which require a 33% reduction in the amount of electricity used by new flat-screen HDTV sets sold after December 31, 2010. Starting on January 1, 2013, stricter rules requiring a cumulative 50% power savings will go into effect. These regulations are reminiscent of the energy standards that were first imposed on refrigerators, air conditioners and many other household appliances in the 1970s. Once fully in place, these new standards are projected to save California five billion kilowatt-hours per year. Several other states, including Massachusetts, are considering implementing similar “green” TV regulations.

While the tightened standards do not apply to any of the approximately 35 million television sets currently used in California, you will want to keep the regulations in mind if you’re thinking about purchasing a new HDTV in the next year. Fortunately, there are about 300 HDTV models on the market that already comply with the 2013 energy efficiency standards. Many of these energy-efficient television sets are available nationwide; so, you don’t have to live in California to start enjoying state-of-the-art HDTV entertainment and lower electrical bills.