Elliott & Company Appraisers



January 2008	A Publication of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers

HOME BUILDERS CUTTING BACK ON OPTIONS OFFERED TO BUYERS
In an effort to survive the slump in the housing construction market, homebuilders are offering fewer options to buyers. This simplifies the builders’ businesses and saves money. Pulte Homes, for example, had over 2,000 floor plans, but now that figure is down to 400. Centex Corp. has already discontinued half of its 4,500 floor plans and continues to get rid of more. Beazer Homes USA eliminated 85% of its carpet offerings. "Reduction of options brings better value to the ultimate price for a home," said Stuart Miller, CEO of Lennar Corp. "That’s going to work well in the declining market." Eric Landry, a Morningstar analyst, does not feel this will work well for everybody, as he said, "If you don’t like cookie-cutter housing, you’re not going to like the next several years."

BIG APPLE TOPS U.S. CITIES IN AVERAGE RENT PRICES

According to Marcus & Millichap, a real estate investment services firm, the average rental price for a home in New York is over $1,000 per month higher than that of any other city in the United States. New Yorkers pay an average of $2,922 per month to rent where they live.

The other top 10 U.S. cities in average rent prices, as ranked by Marcus & Millichap, are (2) San Francisco ($1,904), (3) Boston ($1,658), (4) San Jose ($1,612), (5) Los Angeles ($1,452), (6) San Diego ($1,304), (7) Washington ($1,302), (8) Miami ($1,080), (9) Philadelphia ($1,014) and (10) Chicago ($1,010).

EXPENSIVE COASTAL HOMES
MORE LIKELY TO BE OFFERED INSURANCE

In coastal areas, where there is high risk of hurricanes and/or earthquakes, insurance companies are more apt to offer extensive insurance to owners of high-priced homes rather than to owners of less expensive ones. That’s because the higher priced homes tend to have features that could protect them during a natural disaster.

"Along the coast, newer homes tend to be of higher value, but they’re also better constructed," said Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute. "The fact of the matter is [expensive homes on the coast] are built like bunkers."

QUOTES OF WIT & WISDOM

"Far and away the best price that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." -- Theodore Roosevelt

"The way to win an atomic war is to make sure it never starts."
-- Omar Bradley

"Boyhood, like measles, is one of those complaints, which a man should catch young and have done with, for when it comes in middle life, it is apt to be serious." -- P.G. Wodehouse

"The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else." -- Martina Navratilova

"Mistrust the man who finds everything good, the man who finds everything evil and still more the man who is indifferent to everything." -- Johann Lavater

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." -- Oscar Wilde

"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we know what to do with it." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
-- Somerset Maugham

"In spite of the cost of living, it’s still popular." -- Laurence Peter


For previous newsletters or columns written by Charlie Elliott, MAI, SRA, president of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers, for mortgage publications visit our Web site at www.appraisalsanywhere.com.



CONTACT US
Newsletter Editor: kevin@elliottco.com	Web Site: www.appraisalsanywhere.com
3316-A Battleground Avenue • Greensboro, NC 27410