News, Trends, Community - May

Harvard Report

Significant Remodeling Likely As Boomers Age

The turnover of housing units, especially as members of the Baby Boomer generation face retirement, has considerable implications for home-improvement spending as new occupants update or reconfigure homes to fit their needs, according to the Cambridge, Mass.-based Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University.

Because homes sold by older owners are older and typically more affordable, a majority are purchased by much younger buyers. The sale of older homes to younger households generates a particularly high level of home-improvement spending. Buyers under age 35 who purchased from a seller older than 55 spent more than 60 percent more on average in the two years after the sale than those purchasing homes from sellers under age 55, according to an article in the Winter 2011 JCHS newsletter.

Yet the housing turnover behavior of Baby Boomers will possibly differ from the recent experience of older sellers in previous decades. In particular, the mobility of Baby Boomers has been trending downward during the past two decades, suggesting more Boomers may choose to stay in their homes and age in place. For more information, visit Jchs.Harvard.edu.

Lead RRP Rule

NAHB Files Brief in Opt-out Suit

The Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Home Builders has filed an opening brief explaining why it is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for eliminating a provision in its lead rule that allowed homeowners to opt out of some of the rule’s renovation requirements.

The opening brief filed on March 30 claims EPA:

• Violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to offer reasoned explanations for the removal of the opt-out provision.
  
• Failed to point to any new data that was not available at the time it issued the 2008 RRP rule.
  
• Grossly underestimated the costs of compliance.
  
• Provided cursory explanations for why it changed its position on the opt-out provision.
  
• Failed to comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which affords protections to small businesses.

To read a Q&A with Amy Chai, NAHB’s senior counsel, and Matt Watkins, NAHB’s environmental policy analyst, about the brief, visit QualifiedRemodeler.com/RRP.

Mortgages

Foreclosures Down in First Quarter

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the first quarter of 2011 shows foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 681,153 U.S. properties in the first quarter, a 15 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 27 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. Foreclosure filings were reported on 239,795 U.S. properties in March, a 7 percent increase from the previous month but still down 35 percent from March 2010, when 367,056 homeowners received a foreclosure notice—the highest monthly total in the history of the RealtyTrac monthly report since its inception in January 2005.

Associations

NKBA CEO Sciolaro Steps Down

The Washington, D.C.-based National Kitchen & Bath Association announced Don Sciolaro, chief executive officer, left his post with the association just prior to the association’s annual Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in April. Bill Darcy, director of marketing, has been promoted to executive vice president. Darcy joined NKBA as the manager of marketing partnerships and subsequently was promoted to manager of business development, senior manager of marketing and director of marketing. NKBA has launched a formal search for a new CEO.

Home Price Index

Prices Decline but Show Signs of Stability

Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic’s February Home Price Index showed home prices in the U.S. declined for the seventh month in a row. National home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 6.7 percent in February 2011 compared to February 2010 after declining by 5.5 percent in January 2011 compared to January 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.1 percent in February 2011 compared to February 2010 and by 1.4 percent in January 2011 compared to January 2010.