OVERVIEW / NEWS / TRENDS / COMMUNITY
REMODELING INDICATOR
Signs Point to Recovery
All signs point to a strong rebound for home improvement activity
in 2013, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity
from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for
Housing Studies of Harvard University. Robust spending in the
second half of 2012 suggests the remodeling recovery is already
underway, and the LIRA projects annual homeowner improvement
spending will see accelerating double-digit growth through the
third quarter of 2013. ���The solid momentum behind home building
activity, existing home sales, low financing costs and remodeling
contractor sentiment all point to a solid start to the new year for
home improvement spending,��� says Kermit Baker, director of the
Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center.
ENERGY
25C Energy
Tax Credit
Revived
The revival of the 25C energy tax
credit went almost unnoticed in
Congress���s ���fiscal cliff��� legislation, H.R. 8, the American
Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The
energy tax credit was extended
through the end of 2013 and
made retroactive to products
installed in 2012. It had previously
expired at the end of 2011.
Applied to qualified energy efficiency improvements, the credit
is capped at 10 percent of the
product cost with a $500 lifetime
limit. Improvements include
insulation, windows, doors and
skylights as well as specified solar,
wind, geothermal and HVAC
installations. For details, see IRS
Form 5695.
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
BUILDING SCIENCE
HOME OWNERSHIP
BPI Launches New
Certi���cate
20.6 Million U.S.
Homes Free of
Mortgage Debt
The Building Performance
Institute Inc. has launched its
Building Science Principles (BSP)
Certificate of Knowledge and
companion Reference Guide,
responding to strong demand for
a method of verifying basic building science knowledge in the
home performance and energy
efficiency retrofit fields. The certificate is designed for home
inspectors, appraisers, Realtors,
educators and program managers in government and utility
energy efficiency programs.
Earning the BSP certificate is
based on passing a 100-question
online exam that verifies a basic
knowledge of building science.
For information, go to: bpi.org/
certificate.
6
February 2013
QR
Almost 21 million Americans, or
29.3 percent of homeowners, own
their homes outright, unencumbered by a mortgage, according
to a recent Zillow analysis of mortgage data. A number of elements
influence the percentage of freeand-clear homeowners in a given
area, including median home
values. Zillow found that areas
with lower home values generally
have higher outright homeownership rates, as smaller loan
amounts are easier to pay back
more quickly.
ForResidentialPros.com
Americans
Expect
Growth in
Home Prices
Consumer confidence in the
housing sec tor g rew in
December, marked by continued
positive attitudes toward home
price, rental price and mortgage
rate expectations, according to
Fannie Mae���s National Housing
Survey results. The growing
belief held by Americans that
these housing indicators will
climb in 2013 may inspire a boost
in home purchase activity during
the coming months. While consumers seem confident housing
activity is on the rise, however,
their outlook toward the economy and personal finances
appears to have resumed a more
unsettled trend following a show
of optimism in November,
according to Fannie Mae.
1.
Read about
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opportunities.
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2.
Submit your Top 500
Application.
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3.
Apply for the Master
Design Awards.
ForResidentialPros.com/
QRAwards
4.
Read about bathing
trends.
ForResidentialPros.
com/10859943
5.
Follow a Chicago
remodeling project.
ForResidentialPros.com/
chicagoproject