ON WISCONSIN : HOMES :

E-MAIL | PRINT THIS STORY

Just Listed

Posted: Jan. 8, 2005

Buyers expect agents to get back to them quickly

The pace of home selling will slow this year, but buyers will still expect quick responses from realty agents, predicts the new issue of National Relocation & Real Estate magazine.

Among other 2005 trends seen by the Relocation Information Service Inc. publication: online entrepreneurs and other realty industry upstarts will proliferate, promising customers lower costs; interest rates will rise slightly; Latinos will become a greater market force; and more cold-climate residents will stay close to family.

Its predictions are at http://www.rismedia.com/

2004 was strong year for remodelers

Remodeling firms bid a wistful goodbye to 2004, a very good year for business.

A membership survey by Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council in mid-December found that among 82 respondents, 77% said sales outpaced 2003 levels.

Average project outlay was higher for 71% .

Popular jobs: upgrading the basement; “hardscaping” the outdoors with lighting, fireplaces and even built-in kitchens; upgrading sound and video systems; replacing old windows with decorative, energy-efficient windows.

Outlining tax advantages of owning a home

Buying a house often delivers a one-time tax bonus.

In most cases, homeowners may take an itemized deduction of mortgage interest and loan closing costs, notes Liberty Tax Service in Virginia Beach, Va. It outlines the tax advantages of homeownership in a free booklet, “The Tax Guide for Home Buyers,” available via (800) 790-3863, Ext. 8148, or by e-mailing

nina.cunningham@libtax.com

Apartment, condo builders see increase

Apartment and condo builders report an uptick in business, the latest National Association of Home Builders market survey shows.

On its quarterly index, a 100-point scale with anything above 50 considered positive, all classes of rental apartments showed gains in demand last fall over a year earlier. The biggest demand increase was for Class C apartments – the lower-rent category – which jumped 10 points to 53.8. Demand for luxury units rose 3.3 points from last year’s third quarter, while demand for average market-rate communities rose about 9 points.

“With the economy generating additional jobs, new households are forming, and that means that there’s a greater demand for rental housing,” association president Bobby Rayburn said in a statement accompanying the Jan. 4 report.

Condos remain the stars of the multi-family market, the Washington, D.C., trade group survey showed. Even with current inventory up over 2003, survey respondents predicted even higher production six months from now.

2004 foreclosures hit peak in December

Housing foreclosure inventories ended 2004 at the year’s peak - 83,573 properties on the market in December - according to industry-tracker Foreclosure.com.

Among the states with rising numbers of borrowers losing their homes due to unpaid debt: Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Florida and Colorado.

The Boca Raton, Fla-based company’s monthly market update showed 1,069 Wisconsin properties in foreclosure.

Lead symposium set for early February

Milwaukee’s sixth annual Lead Symposium will be Feb. 8 at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 5300 S. Howell Ave.

The 8 a.m.-5 p.m. event, sponsored by Milwaukee Lead/Asbestos Information Center Inc., features information on regulation, monitoring and cleanup of the toxic substance by public environmental and health agencies and private companies. The $100 per person charge includes breakfast and lunch.

For information or registration, visit http://www.mlaic.com/or call (414) 481-9070.

Compiled by Michele Derus of the Journal Sentinel staff