Housing News

Hurricane Sandy victims got two more weeks added to hotel stay program

After contentious push back and even a lawsuit, Hurricane Sandy victims who were supposed to leave the hotel stay program now have two more weeks to find housing.

Published

9 years ago

May 2, 2013

Destiny Bennett

hurricane sandy

Hurricane Sandy victims still displaced

Nearly six months after Hurricane Sandy, numerous Northeasterners are still displaced from their homes. Some residents of Staten Island and other areas of affected areas were able to move into temporary hotel housing through a program put on by the city. Tensions began to rise when the April 30 termination date for the program approached; however five Hurricane Sandy victims filed a lawsuit against the city, eventually winning an extension until May 15.

The approximate two week extension is helpful for victims who have been unable to rebuild or find affordable housing to move into. The storm displaced numerous individuals in the Northeast, leaving many with nothing to return to. The city implemented the hotel stay program to temporarily assist residents and provide them with a place to stay until they were able to be transitioned into new housing options.

But at the onset of the April deadline, it was clear that many were not yet ready, or in a well enough place, to leave the program. Fully 196 evacuees were set to be released from the program, but with the extension, these residents will have some additional time to find a permanent residence.

Helping evacuees transition out of hotel stay program

Cities have responsibilities to residents to provide a certain level of assistance to residents during times of disaster or when they are in need, and allowing displaced residents hotel lodging provided relief for those with nowhere else to go. The challenge now is to help evacuees quickly find permanent lodging and transition away from the hotel stay program; some participants in the program may not want to yet deal with looking for a new place of residence because it’s a huge burden, or their financial state after the storm won’t allow it, and therefore continue to push back.

Those in favor of ending the hotel sheltering program cite the mounting costs that the city incurs each day that they continue to allow evacuees to stay. It will be interesting to see how many of the 196 evacuees that were originally set to be released from the program will have found permanent housing by the May 15 deadline, and how many push back and petition for more time.

Austin

Austin tops the list of best places to buy a home

When looking to buy a home, taking the long view is important before making such a huge investment – where are the best places to make that commitment?

Published

7 years ago

May 29, 2015

Lani Rosales, COO + News Director

Looking at the bigger picture

(REALUOSO.COM) – Let us first express that although we are completely biased about Texas (we’re headquartered here, I personally grew up here), the data is not – Texas is the best. That’s a scientific fact. There’s a running joke in Austin that if there is a list of “best places to [anything],” we’re on it, and the joke causes eye rolls instead of humility (we’re sore winners and sore losers in this town).

That said, SelfStorage.com dug into the data and determined that the top 12 places to buy a home are currently Texas and North Carolina (and Portland, I guess you’re okay too or whatever).

They examined the nerdiest of numbers from the compound annual growth rate in inflation-adjusted GDP to cost premium, affordability, taxes, job growth, and housing availability.

“Buying a house is a big decision and a big commitment,” the company notes. “Although U.S. home prices have risen in the long term, the last decade has shown that path is sometimes full of twists, turns, dizzying heights and steep, abrupt falls. Today, home prices are stabilizing and increasing in most areas of the U.S.”

Click here to continue reading the list of the 12 best places to buy a home…

Housing News

Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?

With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.

Published

7 years ago

March 2, 2015

Dawn Brotherton, Staff Writer

The average home age is higher than ever

(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.

With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.

Prices of new homes on the rise

Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.

Click here to continue reading this story…

Housing News

Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?

The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.

Published

7 years ago

February 25, 2015

Lani Rosales, COO + News Director

Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes

(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.

Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.

So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.

1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues

It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.

Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.