Bacon and ice cream are two foods that traditionally never cross paths, but an upscale hotel chain has recently added this intriguing concept to its goodies menu. How does “Brown Buttered Candied Bacon Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips” sound to you?
If you are in the area or staying at one of the 50-location Omni Hotels, you can give one of these treats a try—candied bacon and chocolate chip ice-cream sandwiches, blood orange cocktails or even bottled water with a cause.
According to a story I read in the travel section of USA Today, the hotel’s “Art of Water” menu taps the industry’s movement toward offering items that reflect the tastes and ingredients of a property’s locale, as opposed to the hotel’s far-away corporate HQ.
Omni is rolling out these culinary treats and feel-good refreshments this summer. It’s just one of the latest examples of how hotels are trying new approaches to their food and beverages to maximize customer interest and, in turn, profits.
“By elevating the quintessential summer ingredients – cocktails, ice cream and water – we are able to ensure our guests genuinely enjoy their time by the pool,” explains David Morgan, Omni’s vice president of food and beverage.
At least it would justify ice cream for breakfast, right?
Source: USA Today
Double Digits Remain on Median Home Prices
RISMEDIA, Thursday, August 22, 2013
U.S. existing-home sales rose strongly in July, jumping to their highest level in almost four years—with the median price maintaining double-digit year-over-year increases, according to data released yesterday morning by the National Association of REALTORS®.
Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million in July from a downwardly revised 5.06 million in June, and are 17.2 percent above the 4.60 million-unit pace in July 2012; sales have remained above year-ago levels for 25 months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says changes in affordability are impacting the market. “Mortgage interest rates are at the highest level in two years, pushing some buyers off the sidelines,” he says. “The initial rise in interest rates provided strong incentive for closing deals. However, further rate increases will diminish the pool of eligible buyers.”
Despite higher mortgage interest rates, Yun identified compensating factors that can sustain a continued recovery. “Although housing affordability conditions will become less attractive, jobs are being added to the economy, and mortgage underwriting standards should normalize over time from current stringent conditions as default rates fall.”
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.37 percent in July from 4.07 percent in June, and is the highest since July 2011 when it was 4.55 percent; the rate was 3.55 percent in July 2012.
Total housing inventory at the end of July rose 5.6 percent to 2.28 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.1-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from June. Listed inventory is 5.0 percent below a year ago, when there was a 6.3-month supply.
“Tight inventory in many areas means above-normal price growth for the foreseeable future,” Yun says.
The national median existing-home price3 for all housing types was $213,500 in July, which is 13.7 percent above July 2012. This marks 17 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases, which last occurred from January 2005 to May 2006.
The median price has risen at double-digit rates for the past eight months, and is now 7.3 percent below the all-time record of $230,400 in July 2006. Two years ago, the median price was 25.7 percent below the peak.
Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales – accounted for 15 percent of July sales, the same as in June and matching the lowest share since monthly tracking began in October 2008; they were 24 percent in July 2012. Continuing declines in the share of distressed sales account for some of the price gain.
Nine percent of July sales were foreclosures, and 6 percent were short sales. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 16 percent below market value in July, while short sales were discounted 12 percent.
The median time on market for all homes was 42 days in July, up from 37 days in June, but is 39 percent faster than the 69 days on market in July 2012. Short sales were on the market for a median of 72 days, while foreclosures typically sold in 50 days and non-distressed homes took 40 days. Forty-five percent of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month.
Data from realtor.com, NAR’s listing site, shows the tightest inventory conditions, reported as median age of inventory, are in Oakland, Calif., 20 days; Denver, 31 days; and the Seattle area, 36 days. First-time buyers accounted for 29 percent of purchases in July, unchanged from June, but are down from 34 percent in July 2012. All-cash sales comprised 31 percent of transactions in July, the same as in June; they were 27 percent in July 2012. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 16 percent of homes in July, down from 17 percent in June; they reached a cyclical peak of 22 percent in February of this year.
NAR President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif., says more repeat buyers are using cash. “The overall percentage of cash purchases has been fairly steady, as has the share of first-time buyers, but the investor share has been trending down since February. This means more repeat buyers are using cash in this tight-credit environment,” he says. “With a steady decline in lower priced inventory, particularly in foreclosures, investors are finding fewer bargains to buy.”
Single-family home sales rose 6.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million in July from 4.48 million in June, and are 16.4 percent higher than the 4.09 million-unit level in July 2012. The median existing single-family home price was $214,000 in July, up 13.5 percent from a year ago.
Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 8.6 percent to an annual rate of 630,000 units in July from 580,000 in June, and are 23.5 percent above the 510,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price was $209,600 in July, which is 15.5 percent higher than July 2012.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast surged 12.7 percent to an annual rate of 710,000 in July and are 20.3 percent above July 2012. The median price in the Northeast was $271,200, up 6.7 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 5.8 percent in July to a pace of 1.28 million, and are 20.8 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $168,300, which is 9.5 percent above July 2012.
In the South, existing-home sales increased 5.0 percent to an annual level of 2.11 million in July and are 16.6 percent above July 2012. The median price in the South was $183,400, up 13.6 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West rose 6.6 percent to a pace of 1.29 million in July and are 13.2 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the West, driven the most by a supply imbalance, was $287,500, which is 19.2 percent above July 2012.
Copyright© 2013 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission.
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June Existing-Home Sales Reach Recent Highs
Second Quarter Housing Activity Confirms Stable Market
The housing market is still gaining strength even in the face of recent home loan rate increases. Housing starts were up 5.9% annualized from June to July. Building permits, rose 2.7%,better than anticipated. National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index rose in August to its best level in almost 8 years.
July Retail Sales were up for the 4th month in a row. In the labor market, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims dropped to 320,000, the lowest since October 2007.
Inflation (both wholesale and consumer) has stayed moderate.
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Existing-Home Sales Rise 6.5% in July
Naples Makes Top 10 Turnaround List
Cricket? Wilder? Happy?
With celebrities these days naming their kids things like Blue Ivy and Bronx Mowglie, it’s no surprise that all sorts of baby names are popping up. My personal favorite celeb baby name? Pilot Inspektor, the son of Jason Lee. While Jason Lee is a funny dude, ensuring his son is going to get beat up on the playground may not be so funny in the long run.
But with the new national roster weighing in at over 33,000 baby names — 50 percent more than were in common use a quarter century ago – you would expect there to be some weird ones thrown in the batch. According to the roster, five girls in 2011 were named Sundae, Moo, Evening and Psalms, while six baby boys were named Treasure and Cougar.
What’s worse than naming your baby something you are unenthusiastic about? Naming them something unenthusiastic—literally. More than 7 baby girls in 2011 were named Eh. Ehhhh.
And naming your son Brilliant (as 6 sets of parents did in 2011) or Famous (as 7 did) is setting a pretty high standard from the get-go! But I guess that’s better than naming your son Maxi, which more than seven sets of parents in 2011 did….
Other weird names to mull over? Tomorrow, Tiger, Law, Benjerman, Island, Graceland and Comfort.
Source: Huffington Post
Table Source: Mortgage Success Source
Last week, CoreLogic reported that home prices across the U.S. rose by nearly 12 percent from June 2012 to June 2013. By comparison, home prices only rose 3.76 percent from June 2011 to June 2012. In addition, research and analytics firm Clear Capital said that prices rose 9.3 percent in the year ending in July.
While housing markets have turned the corner, this pace of growth may be unsustainable. With home loan rates rising over the past several months, this rate of appreciation could slow.
Weekly Initial Jobless Claims rose by 5,000 in the latest week to 333,000, below the 340,000 expected. This followed the Jobs Report for July, somewhat disappointing with less jobs created than expected.
What does this mean for home loan rates? When will the Fed start tapering its bond purchases? The Fed has been buying $85 billion of bonds a month to help stimulate the economy and housing market. This includes mortgage bonds, to which home loan rates are tied, and these purchases have helped home loan rates remain attractive.
The Fed has said the rate of its purchases will continue to depend on economic data and could be increased or decreased accordingly. Last week, several Fed members spoke out in favor of tapering these purchases as early as the Fed’s meeting in mid-September. However, with our economy growing at sub 2 percent, economic data between now and September will be a key factor in this decision.
Home loan rates remain attractive compared to historical levels and now remains a great time to consider a home purchase or refinance.
From Weekly Update by Quy Huynh
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Housing Prices Rise in Spite of Mortgage Rate Rise
Amid Falling Foreclosure Rates and Rising Prices, Trade-Up Buyers Are Coming Back
