Real Estate :
Borrowers Abandon
Mortgages as Prices Drop
By Ruth Simon and Scott Patterson
From The Wall Street Journal Online
As home prices plummet, growing numbers of borrowers are winding up owing more on their homes than the homes are worth, raising concerns that a new group of homeowners -- those who can afford to pay their mortgages but have decided not to -- are starting to walk away from their homes.
Typically borrowers who turn in their keys are those who have run into financial trouble or need to relocate but can't sell their homes. But mortgage-industry executives and consumer counselors say they are starting to see people who aren't in dire financial straits defaulting on their mortgages because they don't want to pay for properties that have negative equity.
Many are speculators who had planned to quickly flip the home, but others appear to be homeowners who had second thoughts about their purchase.
"It may not be a big thing yet, and hopefully it won't be," says David Berson, chief economist for mortgage insurer PMI Mortgage Group Inc., of Walnut Creek, Calif. But if it turns out to be a significant trend, he says, it means that "delinquencies and defaults could be higher than the industry is estimating."
Some borrowers feel they have no good alternative. A tight credit market has made it tough for would-be sellers to find buyers or for borrowers looking to lower their mortgage costs to refinance.
Other borrowers are walking away in frustration because they can't arrange a workout with their lenders, says D.J. Enga, director of outreach services for Auriton Solutions, which counsels homeowners nationwide. Mr. Enga expects that 10% to 15% of the roughly 4,000 callers counseled this month by Auriton, of St. Paul, Minn., will walk away from their mortgages.
Sgt. First Class Nicklaus Skaggs is among those looking to walk way. Mr. Skaggs bought his home in April 2005 shortly after returning to California from a one-year tour of duty in Baghdad.
The $455,000 three-bedroom home he and his wife purchased in Vacaville, about one hour northeast of San Francisco, is worth an estimated $285,000 today, well below the $453,000 he owes on his mortgage. The monthly mortgage payment, which jumped after its interest rate increased, is now $4,000, up from $2,980 when he bought the house.
Mr. Skaggs expects to be redeployed to Iraq again later this year. But he can't sell his home, since there are few buyers, and he can't refinance because lenders require a large down payment he doesn't have. Now, the 18-year Army veteran has decided to walk away from his mortgage. He hopes in a few years lenders see his decision as a unique situation created by the housing meltdown. "I don't think that house is going to recover in value any time soon," said the 40-year-old. "I'd just be throwing the money away."
A rise in the number of people choosing to default on their mortgages would represent a significant departure from past behavior of American homeowners, who during past housing downturns tended to walk away only as a last resort, often because they couldn't afford to pay because of unemployment, illness, divorce or other life-altering changes that reduce income. And even then, the number of people who walked away was relatively small. During the oil bust in the Houston area during the 1980s and in California during the early 1990s, for instance, there was a brief spate of people sending in their keys to their lenders.
What's different now, analysts and economists say, is that home prices have fallen so far so quickly that some homeowners in weak markets are concluding that house prices won't recover anytime soon, and therefore they are throwing good money after bad. Also, many borrowers who bought in recent years have put down little if any equity. "If they haven't lived in [the home] very long and haven't put any cash in it, it's a lot easier to walk away," says Chris Mayer, director of the Milstein Center for Real Estate at Columbia Business School. He also notes that new homeowners may not have strong ties to the community.
Some borrowers, says Mary Kelsch, senior director at Fitch Inc., are less willing to make the sacrifices needed to stay in their homes, given the current environment. "It's a change of mind-set" she says. They are "looking more at their home as an investment that has lost its appreciation potential and don't really want to continue to pay."
Some in the industry want to toughen the consequences for borrowers who walk away. Executives at Fannie Mae say they are working to create harsher penalties for people who walk away from mortgages, and they plan to pursue some borrowers in court. They also want to extend the amount of time between when borrowers default and when they become eligible again for a Fannie Mae-backed loan.
"Of course, we will make exceptions for extenuating circumstances, like divorce or death," says Mike Quinn, a Fannie Mae executive. "But who we are trying to get are the people who can afford to make payments but have decided not to."
Goldman Sachs economists estimate that as much as $3 trillion in mortgages could be underwater by the end of the year, leaving 30% of the country's outstanding mortgages in negative equity. Since there is roughly $1 trillion in subprime mortgages outstanding, that means a large amount of better-quality mortgages, such as prime and Alt-A -- a category between prime and subprime -- will be attached to negative equity.
"The focus has been on the [interest rate] resets," said Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton. "But if you're in a deep enough negative-equity position, defaulting has its own kind of logic."
In the Phoenix area, where home prices were off 15% in the fourth-quarter when compared with a year ago, accountant Steven Ulrich says several of his clients have recently said they plan to walk away. One client's home is now worth $100,000 less than the mortgage and the other is $60,000 underwater.
"It surprised me," said Mr. Ulrich, who works at The Focus Group in Scottsdale. "I'd never had people doing that before, if they had to it was something they were forced into. But these people are choosing it as a strategy, and I think it's going to be happening a lot more."
Some financial advisers are even encouraging homeowners who are upside down to consider foreclosure, which they see as a purely financial decision with limited negative consequences. YouWalkAway.com, a Web site started in January that offers foreclosure counseling to homeowners, advises that borrowers who default on one mortgage can typically get another mortgage between two and four years after a foreclosure. Then, "before you know it, you will have this behind you and a fresh start!" the site says.
A foreclosure will stay as a "strong negative" on your credit report for as long as seven years, though the impact on a borrower's credit score declines over time, says Mike Campbell, chief operating officer of Fair Isaac Corp., maker of the popular FICO credit score.
"Every single person we talk to either owes 100% [of their equity] or is upside down anywhere from $10,000 to $300,000," says John Maddux, co-founder of YouWalkAway.com, which charges borrowers about $1,000 for advice. Mr. Maddux says the site has received more than 190,000 visits and about 20% of their clients are investors.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Article 403
ncient Italian Abodes Spur
An Unlikely Real Estate Boom
By Rosamaria Mancini
From The Wall Street Journal Online
In Puglia, at the heel of the Italian boot, a centuries-old architectural peculiarity has turned into an unlikely real-estate boom.
To the locals, the trulli -- the cone-roofed structures that dot the countryside -- are a reminder of the region's humble past. The most basic trulli are one-room, round huts constructed of stacked, dry stones, which form walls and a simple vaulted cone roof. They date back to as early as the 14th century, and most housed peasants or livestock -- or both. Dimensions are snug: The average cone is slightly bigger than a four-person camping tent. Many lack necessities, such as running water or toilets. Trulli, quirky structures in Southern Italy that once housed peasants and livestock, sparks an unlikely real estate boom. But to a growing number of British, Dutch and Germans, they are the ideal fixer-upper. "Our kids thought we were crazy," says Stephen Snooks, who moved from Derby, England, to a 300-year-old trullo (from the Greek troulos or tholos, meaning dome) about four years ago. "They couldn't believe we were going to live in it."
Mr. Snooks first saw a picture of a trullo on the Internet, then headed to Puglia with his wife to see what they were all about. To them the trullo was romantic, it was steeped in history and it was a property they could fix up. It reminded them of the cone-shaped coast houses in the English countryside that were used for drying hops for beer. They also fell in love with the region and the simple way of life they could have in Puglia, where people still take siestas in the afternoons and Sundays are for relaxing.
They laid down a deposit on a five-cone trullo -- each room has its own cone-shaped roof -- on about two acres that cost a total of €57,000 ($85,570). Three months later they moved to the small town of Martina Franca and lived out of their camper while they gave the trullo a thorough cleaning and installed a bathroom. "I thought, 'I need my bloody kitchen,' " says Mr. Snooks's wife, Jo Waters, but after sinking another €30,000 into renovations after moving in, she says she got used to life in a trullo. The renovations included connecting a power line for electricity, and repairing the pump for a rainwater tank to provide water for the bathroom. (They bring in bottled drinking water.) They also added appliances to the kitchen and painted inside and out.
There are about 5,000 trulli in various states of disrepair scattered among the olive groves and prickly pear cacti in the Valle d'Itria, on the strip of land flanked by the Adriatic and the Ionian seas. Stone was plentiful in the area, and according to local legend, the trulli were built without mortar so they could be quickly disassembled into a pile of bricks when the tax collector came. About 1,400 of them are located in the town of Alberobello, designated a Unesco World Heritage site because of the structures.
During the 20th century, the trulli were abandoned by their owners, who fled to the city in search of modern conveniences. Some were used as occasional country homes by locals, while some of the larger ones were turned into rustic country inns or restaurants.
Then, foreigners started coming. About five years ago, low-cost carriers, such as Ryanair, began ferrying people to nearby Bari from Frankfurt and London. Visitors were intrigued by the oddly shaped structures, many with Christian or astrological symbols painted on their roofs.
Sensing opportunity, local real-estate firms started advertising in British magazines, and pushing the trullo as a unique country-home investment. Pietro D'Amico, who owns a local property firm, says he sold 200 trulli to British buyers last year, a 10% increase from the year before.
The recent trulli boom is partly a continuation of the foreign-fueled real-estate speculation that began in Tuscany several decades ago, where so many British began buying second homes that it was given the nickname Chiantishire. As the values of country homes in Tuscany soared, the more adventurous wandered into nearby regions such as Umbria, and then farther south to the Marche and Abruzzo, buying up abandoned farmhouses or run-down villas. Puglia is the end of the line.
"These are properties that are still affordable, in spite of the soaring real-estate prices in Italy," says Lucia Bruno, an architect whose company helps restore trulli.
While a trullo might be cheaper than a Tuscan farmhouse, prices have risen in recent years. Today, unrestored trulli with three cones go for around €80,000, an increase of about 30% from five years ago, according to Mr. D'Amico. The cost of fixing one up has also surged. Adding the basics -- bathroom, kitchen and electricity -- can cost at least another €80,000, he says.
Gregory Snegoff, of California, was living in Rome for several years but grew tired of its big-city chaos and, along with his wife, decided to move to the country. The actor/director first learned about Puglia and its trulli from friends. He initially rented a trullo and then decided to buy one in the small town of Ceglie Messapica, where they have lived for four years.
"For us, it's wonderful," says Mr. Snegoff, who bought a one-cone trullo and another small structure, which sit on six acres, for €25,000. "We are interested in a self-sustaining way of life where we can eat the fruit and vegetables we grow and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the country."
As more foreigners have bought trulli, businesses have popped up to service them. Ms. Bruno, who is from Turin and now lives in a restored trullo powered by solar panels, heads a small firm called Trullishire (after Tuscany's Chiantishire) which tries to help foreigners find qualified local craftsmen and offers assistance in navigating the thicket of red tape that comes with restoring a trullo. Trulli have to be restored in accordance with strict building-code and planning regulations, which can be a tangled bureaucratic process. Common requests that are denied include enlarging or adding to the trulli's small windows, or adding sunrooms or expansions using wood or terra cotta.
There are a few new trulli owners who have pushed the envelope, turning what was once a humble abode into a luxury residence. Ms. Bruno is handling the construction management of a five-bedroom, three-bathroom trullo, with an underfloor heating system powered by solar energy, for a London resident. It will also feature a 16 ½-foot-by-26¼-foot in-ground pool. The owner paid €90,000 for the trullo but is spending €300,000 on the restoration and expansion, says Ms. Bruno. It took more than a year and several revisions of plans to get a building permit, Ms. Bruno says.
Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.
An Unlikely Real Estate Boom
By Rosamaria Mancini
From The Wall Street Journal Online
In Puglia, at the heel of the Italian boot, a centuries-old architectural peculiarity has turned into an unlikely real-estate boom.
To the locals, the trulli -- the cone-roofed structures that dot the countryside -- are a reminder of the region's humble past. The most basic trulli are one-room, round huts constructed of stacked, dry stones, which form walls and a simple vaulted cone roof. They date back to as early as the 14th century, and most housed peasants or livestock -- or both. Dimensions are snug: The average cone is slightly bigger than a four-person camping tent. Many lack necessities, such as running water or toilets. Trulli, quirky structures in Southern Italy that once housed peasants and livestock, sparks an unlikely real estate boom. But to a growing number of British, Dutch and Germans, they are the ideal fixer-upper. "Our kids thought we were crazy," says Stephen Snooks, who moved from Derby, England, to a 300-year-old trullo (from the Greek troulos or tholos, meaning dome) about four years ago. "They couldn't believe we were going to live in it."
Mr. Snooks first saw a picture of a trullo on the Internet, then headed to Puglia with his wife to see what they were all about. To them the trullo was romantic, it was steeped in history and it was a property they could fix up. It reminded them of the cone-shaped coast houses in the English countryside that were used for drying hops for beer. They also fell in love with the region and the simple way of life they could have in Puglia, where people still take siestas in the afternoons and Sundays are for relaxing.
They laid down a deposit on a five-cone trullo -- each room has its own cone-shaped roof -- on about two acres that cost a total of €57,000 ($85,570). Three months later they moved to the small town of Martina Franca and lived out of their camper while they gave the trullo a thorough cleaning and installed a bathroom. "I thought, 'I need my bloody kitchen,' " says Mr. Snooks's wife, Jo Waters, but after sinking another €30,000 into renovations after moving in, she says she got used to life in a trullo. The renovations included connecting a power line for electricity, and repairing the pump for a rainwater tank to provide water for the bathroom. (They bring in bottled drinking water.) They also added appliances to the kitchen and painted inside and out.
There are about 5,000 trulli in various states of disrepair scattered among the olive groves and prickly pear cacti in the Valle d'Itria, on the strip of land flanked by the Adriatic and the Ionian seas. Stone was plentiful in the area, and according to local legend, the trulli were built without mortar so they could be quickly disassembled into a pile of bricks when the tax collector came. About 1,400 of them are located in the town of Alberobello, designated a Unesco World Heritage site because of the structures.
During the 20th century, the trulli were abandoned by their owners, who fled to the city in search of modern conveniences. Some were used as occasional country homes by locals, while some of the larger ones were turned into rustic country inns or restaurants.
Then, foreigners started coming. About five years ago, low-cost carriers, such as Ryanair, began ferrying people to nearby Bari from Frankfurt and London. Visitors were intrigued by the oddly shaped structures, many with Christian or astrological symbols painted on their roofs.
Sensing opportunity, local real-estate firms started advertising in British magazines, and pushing the trullo as a unique country-home investment. Pietro D'Amico, who owns a local property firm, says he sold 200 trulli to British buyers last year, a 10% increase from the year before.
The recent trulli boom is partly a continuation of the foreign-fueled real-estate speculation that began in Tuscany several decades ago, where so many British began buying second homes that it was given the nickname Chiantishire. As the values of country homes in Tuscany soared, the more adventurous wandered into nearby regions such as Umbria, and then farther south to the Marche and Abruzzo, buying up abandoned farmhouses or run-down villas. Puglia is the end of the line.
"These are properties that are still affordable, in spite of the soaring real-estate prices in Italy," says Lucia Bruno, an architect whose company helps restore trulli.
While a trullo might be cheaper than a Tuscan farmhouse, prices have risen in recent years. Today, unrestored trulli with three cones go for around €80,000, an increase of about 30% from five years ago, according to Mr. D'Amico. The cost of fixing one up has also surged. Adding the basics -- bathroom, kitchen and electricity -- can cost at least another €80,000, he says.
Gregory Snegoff, of California, was living in Rome for several years but grew tired of its big-city chaos and, along with his wife, decided to move to the country. The actor/director first learned about Puglia and its trulli from friends. He initially rented a trullo and then decided to buy one in the small town of Ceglie Messapica, where they have lived for four years.
"For us, it's wonderful," says Mr. Snegoff, who bought a one-cone trullo and another small structure, which sit on six acres, for €25,000. "We are interested in a self-sustaining way of life where we can eat the fruit and vegetables we grow and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the country."
As more foreigners have bought trulli, businesses have popped up to service them. Ms. Bruno, who is from Turin and now lives in a restored trullo powered by solar panels, heads a small firm called Trullishire (after Tuscany's Chiantishire) which tries to help foreigners find qualified local craftsmen and offers assistance in navigating the thicket of red tape that comes with restoring a trullo. Trulli have to be restored in accordance with strict building-code and planning regulations, which can be a tangled bureaucratic process. Common requests that are denied include enlarging or adding to the trulli's small windows, or adding sunrooms or expansions using wood or terra cotta.
There are a few new trulli owners who have pushed the envelope, turning what was once a humble abode into a luxury residence. Ms. Bruno is handling the construction management of a five-bedroom, three-bathroom trullo, with an underfloor heating system powered by solar energy, for a London resident. It will also feature a 16 ½-foot-by-26¼-foot in-ground pool. The owner paid €90,000 for the trullo but is spending €300,000 on the restoration and expansion, says Ms. Bruno. It took more than a year and several revisions of plans to get a building permit, Ms. Bruno says.
Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.
Article 402
HOUSE OF THE NEWS
Spiritual Rockies Retreat
By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS
February 29, 2008; Page W8
What: Custom log house of 6,500 square feet with four bedrooms, five full bathrooms on 11 acres.
Where: Near Buena Vista, Colo., about 120 miles southwest of Denver.
Amenities: Private hiking trail to the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, 2,000-square-foot deck, 2,000-square-foot finished basement used as a dining area with a warming room for catered meals. Mountain stream, property bordered on two sides by San Isabel National Forest, views of the Buffalo Peaks
Asking Price: $2.3 million (furnished)
Listing Agent: Tommy Latousek, Mirr Ranch Group, 303-623-4545, tommy@mirrranchgroup.com
Annual Property Taxes: about $5,000.
Due Diligence: Lyman Coleman, 75 years old, built and designed this home in the Arkansas River Valley five years ago as a spiritual wilderness retreat. He co-edited the "Serendipity Bible," a popular study guide for small-group religious study. The house's architecture is inspired by 18th-century Welsh hunting lodges, and its hand-carved furniture is made from salvaged antique Indian rosewood doors. A 26-foot-high stone fireplace anchors the double-height living room. Many of the house's paintings and sculptures of Don Quixote, an inspiration for Mr. Coleman's work, are included in the offer. Nearby recreation includes horseback rides, white-water rafting, fishing and hunting. Mount Columbia and Mount Harvard, popular hiking peaks, can be scaled in a 13-mile round-trip hike beginning from the property. The closest ski area, Ski Cooper, is a 45-minute drive.
Spiritual Rockies Retreat
By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS
February 29, 2008; Page W8
What: Custom log house of 6,500 square feet with four bedrooms, five full bathrooms on 11 acres.
Where: Near Buena Vista, Colo., about 120 miles southwest of Denver.
Amenities: Private hiking trail to the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, 2,000-square-foot deck, 2,000-square-foot finished basement used as a dining area with a warming room for catered meals. Mountain stream, property bordered on two sides by San Isabel National Forest, views of the Buffalo Peaks
Asking Price: $2.3 million (furnished)
Listing Agent: Tommy Latousek, Mirr Ranch Group, 303-623-4545, tommy@mirrranchgroup.com
Annual Property Taxes: about $5,000.
Due Diligence: Lyman Coleman, 75 years old, built and designed this home in the Arkansas River Valley five years ago as a spiritual wilderness retreat. He co-edited the "Serendipity Bible," a popular study guide for small-group religious study. The house's architecture is inspired by 18th-century Welsh hunting lodges, and its hand-carved furniture is made from salvaged antique Indian rosewood doors. A 26-foot-high stone fireplace anchors the double-height living room. Many of the house's paintings and sculptures of Don Quixote, an inspiration for Mr. Coleman's work, are included in the offer. Nearby recreation includes horseback rides, white-water rafting, fishing and hunting. Mount Columbia and Mount Harvard, popular hiking peaks, can be scaled in a 13-mile round-trip hike beginning from the property. The closest ski area, Ski Cooper, is a 45-minute drive.
Article 401
Suburban Home Prices May Fall
As Demand for Urban Living Grows
By Lauren Baier Kim
Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web.
McMansion neighborhoods -- slums of the future?
Are Americans becoming disenchanted with car-based suburban life and McMansions out in the middle of nowhere? That's the premise of an article by Christopher B. Leinberger in the Atlantic. Mr. Leinberger points to research by Arthur C. Nelson, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, who forecasts a surplus of homes built on a sixth of an acre or more by 2025.
Developers have responded to this trend, Mr. Leinberger says, by building mixed-use developments with faux town centers -- like Virginia's Reston Town Center and Belmar in Lakewood, Colo. -- and condo and loft complexes in major cities.
Mr. Leinberger points to recent research that found that one in three homeowners said they would prefer to reside in a community with a walkable urban center. The article also notes that urban residential space tends to sell for a 40% to 200% premium over traditional suburban houses, and that in places like Windy Ridge in Charlotte, N.C.; Florida's Lee County; and Franklin Reserve in Elk Grove, Calif., a rash of vacant houses has resulted in a rise in suburban crime.
As more wealthy families opt for a more-urban lifestyle, there will be trouble ahead for the suburbs, Mr. Leinberger says. Dwindling tax bases can result in a decline in safety and school quality, he adds.
Study reveals pricing trick
Researchers at Cornell University have found a pricing strategy they say results in higher home selling prices, says Sandra Fleishman of the Washington Post. To get house hunters to pay more for your house, don't ask for a round figure like $326,000 -- instead, go for a more "precise" sum like $325,425, she says. While the difference between the two price tags is less than $600, such a price tag makes buyers think that your home is significantly more affordable, she says.
That's because consumers are used to thinking of lower-priced items in exact numbers and high-priced ones in round numbers (e.g., $.95 for a candy bar versus $550,000 for a new home), she says.
The researchers examined housing data from South Florida and New York's Long Island and found that homes with zeros at the end of their asking prices tended to sell for less than ones not priced with round figures. In South Florida, having at least one zero at the end of an asking price lowered sale prices by 0.72% while having three zeros at the end of a price resulted in a 0.73% drop -- the impact was smaller in Long Island, Ms. Fleishman says.
She notes that per the study's findings, a house listed at $484,700 will sell for about $1,380 more than one with an asking price of $485,000.
Desert sales dry up
In Phoenix's West Valley suburbs -- homeowners are discovering that selling a home has become quite tough, writes Carrie Watters of the Arizona Republic. Many of these residences sprung up in the desert during the housing boom, and while they are a longer commute from the city, are now priced about the same as closer-in properties, Ms. Watters says. To make matters worse, foreclosures are flooding the market -- in parts of the valley, foreclosed properties count for about 14% to 21% of all homes on the market, she says. Prices for suburban homes are dropping as a result -- for instance, one Valley home that recently spent nine months on the market sold for $290,000, while it would have sold for $385,000 a year ago, the article notes.
Subsidized housing for six-figure families
Home prices are so high in the resort town of Jackson, Wyo., that even families whose incomes reach $100,000 qualify for subsidized housing -- the town's manger, who earns $125,000 a year, lives in such housing, according to an Associated Press article published by CNN.com.
Because the median price in this Rocky Mountain vacation spot -- which is known for its skiing and is surrounded by national parks -- is $1.2 million, the town subsidizes some of the housing to prevent flight from middle-income residents like teachers and other needed personnel, the article says.
The article highlights the story of one couple -- a local teacher and his family -- who were able to purchase a Jackson town house with a market price of $750,000 for $230,000.
The town limits property appreciation for homes entered into the program, and sellers who buy a home through the program can only sell it to a program-approved buyer, the AP says.
Ms. Kim is a senior editor at RealEstateJournal.com.
As Demand for Urban Living Grows
By Lauren Baier Kim
Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web.
McMansion neighborhoods -- slums of the future?
Are Americans becoming disenchanted with car-based suburban life and McMansions out in the middle of nowhere? That's the premise of an article by Christopher B. Leinberger in the Atlantic. Mr. Leinberger points to research by Arthur C. Nelson, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, who forecasts a surplus of homes built on a sixth of an acre or more by 2025.
Developers have responded to this trend, Mr. Leinberger says, by building mixed-use developments with faux town centers -- like Virginia's Reston Town Center and Belmar in Lakewood, Colo. -- and condo and loft complexes in major cities.
Mr. Leinberger points to recent research that found that one in three homeowners said they would prefer to reside in a community with a walkable urban center. The article also notes that urban residential space tends to sell for a 40% to 200% premium over traditional suburban houses, and that in places like Windy Ridge in Charlotte, N.C.; Florida's Lee County; and Franklin Reserve in Elk Grove, Calif., a rash of vacant houses has resulted in a rise in suburban crime.
As more wealthy families opt for a more-urban lifestyle, there will be trouble ahead for the suburbs, Mr. Leinberger says. Dwindling tax bases can result in a decline in safety and school quality, he adds.
Study reveals pricing trick
Researchers at Cornell University have found a pricing strategy they say results in higher home selling prices, says Sandra Fleishman of the Washington Post. To get house hunters to pay more for your house, don't ask for a round figure like $326,000 -- instead, go for a more "precise" sum like $325,425, she says. While the difference between the two price tags is less than $600, such a price tag makes buyers think that your home is significantly more affordable, she says.
That's because consumers are used to thinking of lower-priced items in exact numbers and high-priced ones in round numbers (e.g., $.95 for a candy bar versus $550,000 for a new home), she says.
The researchers examined housing data from South Florida and New York's Long Island and found that homes with zeros at the end of their asking prices tended to sell for less than ones not priced with round figures. In South Florida, having at least one zero at the end of an asking price lowered sale prices by 0.72% while having three zeros at the end of a price resulted in a 0.73% drop -- the impact was smaller in Long Island, Ms. Fleishman says.
She notes that per the study's findings, a house listed at $484,700 will sell for about $1,380 more than one with an asking price of $485,000.
Desert sales dry up
In Phoenix's West Valley suburbs -- homeowners are discovering that selling a home has become quite tough, writes Carrie Watters of the Arizona Republic. Many of these residences sprung up in the desert during the housing boom, and while they are a longer commute from the city, are now priced about the same as closer-in properties, Ms. Watters says. To make matters worse, foreclosures are flooding the market -- in parts of the valley, foreclosed properties count for about 14% to 21% of all homes on the market, she says. Prices for suburban homes are dropping as a result -- for instance, one Valley home that recently spent nine months on the market sold for $290,000, while it would have sold for $385,000 a year ago, the article notes.
Subsidized housing for six-figure families
Home prices are so high in the resort town of Jackson, Wyo., that even families whose incomes reach $100,000 qualify for subsidized housing -- the town's manger, who earns $125,000 a year, lives in such housing, according to an Associated Press article published by CNN.com.
Because the median price in this Rocky Mountain vacation spot -- which is known for its skiing and is surrounded by national parks -- is $1.2 million, the town subsidizes some of the housing to prevent flight from middle-income residents like teachers and other needed personnel, the article says.
The article highlights the story of one couple -- a local teacher and his family -- who were able to purchase a Jackson town house with a market price of $750,000 for $230,000.
The town limits property appreciation for homes entered into the program, and sellers who buy a home through the program can only sell it to a program-approved buyer, the AP says.
Ms. Kim is a senior editor at RealEstateJournal.com.
Article 400
Building Slowdown Goes Commercial Construction
BY SCOTT PATTERSON AND KRIS HUDSON
Cracks are starting to show in commercial construction.
For the second month in a row, the Commerce Department reported a decline in spending on nonresidential construction -- which includes everything from hospitals to office parks to shopping malls. The report yesterday showed construction spending fell 1.7% in January from December, the steepest drop in 14 years. While residential construction accounted for a big part of the decline, spending on nonresidential construction slid 0.8%.
Meanwhile, there may be an oversupply of shopping malls and office buildings after a period of intensive construction. It adds up to bad news for employment.
BY SCOTT PATTERSON AND KRIS HUDSON
Cracks are starting to show in commercial construction.
For the second month in a row, the Commerce Department reported a decline in spending on nonresidential construction -- which includes everything from hospitals to office parks to shopping malls. The report yesterday showed construction spending fell 1.7% in January from December, the steepest drop in 14 years. While residential construction accounted for a big part of the decline, spending on nonresidential construction slid 0.8%.
Meanwhile, there may be an oversupply of shopping malls and office buildings after a period of intensive construction. It adds up to bad news for employment.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Article 398
Yoga for Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, waking too early, and/or feeling tired upon waking. Acute insomnia (lasting from one night to a few weeks) is the most common and is usually caused by stress, hormonal changes, and/or emotional problems. Fortunately, the stress reducing, calming and natural balancing effects of yoga make it a perfect remedy for mild and acute insomnia, and along with good sleep habits insomnia can often be prevented or quickly cured. A gentle practice of calming yoga poses will be generally effective to reduce stress and balance the body’s systems to promote good sleep. Since forward bending poses are traditionally known for their inherent calming effects, try to practice several of the following: seated and standing forward bends, downward facing dog, child, seated angle, seated head to knee, and yoga mudra.
If there is an emotional component to your insomnia that includes depression and anxiety, then incorporate the following poses to strengthen the energy of the body and open the heart center: fish, bridge, cobra, puppy dog, camel, goddess, warrior 1 and 2, and twisting squat. Also, practicing the Buddhist Metta meditation to cultivate loving-kindness to remove negative thought patterns will be helpful.
Hormonal imbalances are often a cause of insomnia. If so, forward bends and inversions will be particularly effective. Poses that massage the reproductive organs and activate the endocrine system will also be helpful, such as: bow, boat, bridge, crocodile, and seated twists.
If stress is contributing to your insomnia, then a more active or flowing approach to yoga would be warranted. Including some of the following hip openers and side bends in your yoga practice would also be beneficial: prayer squat, seated and standing angle, supine bound angle, half moon, half circle, and side seated angle. Establishing a daily meditation practice will also be important to calm the mind and effectively manage stress.
Always end your yoga practice with a 7-10 minute shavasana (relaxation) pose. You can also add a progressive muscle relaxation or a guided relaxation during shavasana to further calm and relax the body and mind.
Inversions, such as shoulderstand, plow, and headstand will be helpful to practice when you are having difficulty falling asleep. Also, practicing dirga pranayama, especially with an extended exhalation, will also be deeply calming to the body and mind, and can be practiced while lying in bed.
Chronic insomnia (lasting least three nights a week for a month or longer) will be harder to treat with yoga due to the possible underlying factors of other health conditions and/or side effects of medications. If chronic insomnia is present, consulting with a doctor or health professional will be essential to address any underlying medical issues.
A complete list of yoga postures, meditations and pranayamas that prevent and quickly cure mild insomnia is now available in our premium yoga therapy section. A yoga pose sequence for the calming the Heart and Mind is available in our premium yoga sequence section.
Article 397
The Five Yamas of Yoga
At the beginning of Patanjali’s eight-fold path of yoga lays the Yamas: the moral, ethical and societal guidelines for the practicing yogi. These guidelines are all expressed in the positive, and thus become emphatic descriptions of how a yogi behaves and relates to her world when truly immersed in the unitive sate of yoga. While we may not strive to reach such a pure state ourselves, the Yamas are still highly relevant and valued guides to lead a conscious, honest and ethical life.
Patanjali considered the Yamas the great, mighty and universal vows. He instructs us that they should be practiced on all levels (actions, words, and thoughts) and that are not confined to class, place, time or concept of duty (YS 2.31).
Ahimsa is the practice of non-violence, which includes physical, mental, and emotional violence towards others and the self. We create violence most often in our reactions to events and others, habitually creating judgment, criticism, anger or irritation. I have found the Buddhist practice of compassion to be an excellent tool to foster non-violence in my life. Compassion is the ability to accept events as they are with an open and loving heart. It is a letting go of reacting to a situation in a conditional and negative way, and replaces those thoughts or feelings with kindness, acceptance and love. At first practicing compassion is hard, frustrating and not fun. But the key is to have compassion for oneself for not having compassion, and to smile at this contradiction.
Satya (truthfulness) urges us to live and speak our truth at all times. Walking the path of truth is a hard one, especially while respecting Patanjali’s first Yama, Ahimsa. Since Ahimsa must be practiced first, we must be careful to not speak a truth if we know it will cause harm to another. Living in your truth not only creates respect, honor and integrity but also provides the vision to clearly see the higher truths of the yogic path.
Asteya (non-stealing) is best defined as not taking what is not freely given. While this may on the surface seem easy to accomplish, when we look further this Yama can be quite challenging to practice. On a personal level the practice of Asteya entails not committing theft physically and/or not causing or approving of anyone else doing so--in mind, word, or action. On the level of society, Asteya would be in opposition to exploitation, social injustice and oppression. While not easy, practicing Asteya encourages generosity and overcomes Lobha (greed). And as Patanjali tells us, “when Asteya is firmly established in a yogi, all jewels will become present to him/her.” (YS 2.37).
Brahmacharya (continence) states that when we have control over our physical impulses of excess, we attain knowledge, vigor, and increased energy. To break the bonds that attach us to our excesses and addictions, we need both courage and will. And each time we overcome these impulses of excess we become stronger, healthier and wiser. One of the main goals in yoga is to create and maintain balance. And the simplest method for achieving balance is by practicing Brahmacharya, creating moderation in all of our activities. Practicing moderation is a way of conserving our energy, which can then be applied for higher spiritual purposes.
Aparigraha (non-coveting) urges us to let go of everything that we do not need, possessing only as much as necessary. The yogis tell us that worldly objects cannot be possessed at all, as they are all subject to change and will be ultimately destroyed. When we become greedy and covetous we lose the ability to see our one eternal possession, the Atman, our true Self. And when we cling to what we have we lose the ability to be open to receive what we need.
In a practical sense, the practicing the Yamas eliminates or reduces the accumulation of bad karma as well as prevents the draining of our energy when we lead a false and/or unconscious life. When we practice the Yamas we are striving towards living a healthier, holier and more peaceful life and at the same time we strengthen our powers of awareness, will and discernment. Engaging in these practices is not an easy task, yet by doing so we fortify our character, improve our relationships with others, and further our progress along the path of yoga.
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