Month: October 2015

The Growing Need For the Bank of Mom & Dad

Julia

M&DThe Bank of Mom and Dad is increasingly open for business – and is increasingly necessary – for younger homebuyers looking to secure a down payment, particularly for middle-income households, presumed first-time homebuyers, Hispanics and Asians.

Not only do parents need to consider the cost of a mission and college these days but there is the potential cost of helping their children get into a home. The use of loans and gifts from family and friends to help purchase a home increased sharply during the recession – from 8 percent of homes bought in 2007 to 21 percent of homes bought in 2009. The share has since declined, to 13 percent in 2014. Hispanics and Asians are more likely to receive down payment assistance from family and friends than blacks and whites. Presumed first-time homebuyers who bought in the years after the recession were roughly twice as likely to have received down payment assistance from friends and family as those who bought prior to the recession. Read more →

Housing Demand to Surge Over the Next Decade

Julia

housing-demandKnowing who will lead the demand will guide agents where to focus their business efforts in the future.

We all know the population will grow and age in the future. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) believes that between 13.9 and 15.9 million additional households will be formed by 2024, making the next decade one of the strongest in US housing history.

At the upper end, this results in a growth rate of 1.6 million households per year. Boosted by the aging of the population, the aggregate homeownership rate will rebound to between 65 and 66%.

In their new research paper, Housing Demand: Demographics and the Numbers Behind the Coming Multi-Million Increase in Households, the MBA’s researchers conclude that the housing demand surge will be driven by Hispanics, Baby Boomers, and Millennials. Read more →

To Age Well, Change How You Feel About Aging

Julia

Aging well framed

Scientists are discovering something very peculiar about aging: How we feel about getting old matters. A lot.

In test after test, researchers are finding that if we think about getting older in terms of decline or disability, our health likely will suffer. If, on the other hand, we see aging in terms of opportunity and growth, our bodies respond in kind. Being grateful for our blessings, living the Word of Wisdom and having a positive attitude will keep us aging in a healthier way.

Research holds out the possibility for much healthier aging. But it also points to a very big obstacle: Negative stereotypes about aging are pervasive in America. Even many older adults embrace the idea that getting old is a bad thing-which means they’re doing potentially serious harm to their health without realizing it.

Psychologists and neuroscientists are identifying strategies that individuals can use to improve their mind-sets about aging, with benefits for their health and well-being.

Here are four ways people can better protect themselves from the potentially harmful effects of stereotypes about aging. Read more →

New Expectations for Electricity Consumers

Julia

electric meter

For most of the last century, Americans have been passive consumers of electricity, paying whatever their utility charged for the juice to run their lights and appliances.

That would change under the new carbon rules that the Obama administration unveiled in August, experts say. Utilities themselves would install more large solar farms and wind turbines, but that wouldn’t be enough to meet the goals for reducing greenhouse gases.

So households and businesses would have to become active participants in the electricity business, selling power from their own solar panels or collecting payments for cutting their electricity use when the grid is under stress. And consumers, with financial help from utilities, will need to replace old refrigerators and air conditioners with more efficient models.

How much the shift would cost Americans is the subject of fierce debate.

Read more →