Hot and Smart Home Products

After nearly two decades of traipsing through the International Builders Show, the housing industry's annual trade show, I've noticed a pattern. When the market is booming, product manufacturers roll out splashy and silly products, like talking refrigerators, wash-and-dry heated toilet seats and crystal-handled gold faucets. In bad times, they focus on the basics, like beefed up insulation, recycled flooring and energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

With the National Association of Home Builders reporting new single-family home starts at a still-anemic 470,000, it's no surprise that most of the products that will be exhibited at this year's show—which will run from Feb. 8 to 11 in Orlando, Fla. —tend toward the bland. And yet, both builders' confidence and single-family permits have ticked up in recent months and it appears that some manufacturers are feeling at least a bit of the buzz. Here's a preview peek at a few of the flashier products that will be featured at this year's show:

Wall-hanging fireplace: For homeowners who don't want to crick their necks staring down at crackling flames, the recently released vent-free Napoleon Plazmafire fireplace hangs on the wall like a picture. With a flat or convex surround in various finishes, including "diamond dust pewter," the $1,600 gas fireplace throws off 20,000 British thermal units of heat and is remote-controlled. A sparkling bed of crystalline glass embers and optional accent lights add to the glow. The unit doesn't need a chimney but the company says it does need a fresh air supply to operate safely and shouldn't be installed in a bedroom or bathroom. Check your building codes before buying, because unvented gas fireplaces are illegal in some states.

No-touch fashion faucet: Though hands-free faucets usually evoke airport restrooms, Brizo is bringing them into the powder room this spring. Fashion maven Jason Wu designed the starkly modern Odin faucet, which turns on whenever it's touched, or even when hands are within four inches of the faucet. A built-in electronic monitor keeps the water temperature consistent, while a light display at the base of the faucet shows when the water's cool (blue), tepid (magenta) or hot (red). In black, polished chrome or brushed nickel, the $800 faucet is not for the thin of wallet.

Smart thermostat: Thermostats that can be controlled through a smart phone, laptop or tablet are a small but growing trend. Lennox's new entry in this category is the icomfort Wi-Fi thermostat, to be released in April. It sets temperature and humidity levels for various times of the day, nags you when the filter needs changing or the furnace needs servicing, and provides a five-day weather forecast. Cost without installation is $300 to $350, compared with less than $100 for a traditional programmable thermostat. The company says that the device must be installed by a Lennox dealer.

Remote-controlled deadbolt: Locks are also getting smarter and pricier. Early in 2011, SimpliciKey launched a battery-powered deadbolt that can be operated by a remote control, encrypted key fob, wireless keypad or regular key. The $250 lock comes in polished brass, satin nickel and aged bronze can be installed by a do-it-yourselfer. At the show, the company will unveil its soon-to-be-launched mobile web application that will allow an owner to control the lock from afar—especially useful for an out-of-town landlord or vacation-homeowner. But better keep the key handy, in case the device's four AA batteries run out of juice.

California Home Foreclosure Notices Decline 12% as Lenders Change Policies

Foreclosure notices in California, the state with the highest number of distressed mortgages, fell in the fourth quarter as the housing market improved and loan servicers changed their policies, DataQuick said.

A total of 61,517 notices of default were recorded in the three months ended Dec. 31, down 12 percent from a year earlier and 14 percent from the previous quarter, the San Diego-based real estate information provider said today.

“We are certainly seeing a lower level of foreclosure activity than a year or two ago,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in the statement. “The question is, how much of that decline is due to market conditions, and how much is due to policy changes that try to address economic distress and lower home values?”

Sales involving homes with delinquent mortgages increased last month as lenders pushed to “move them off their balance sheets before the end of the year,” according to a report today by the California Association of Realtors. Short sales, in which lenders let homeowners sell for less than the mortgage balances, accounted for 22.2 percent of December transactions, up from 21 percent in November. Bank-owned homes made up 24.6 percent of deals, up from 23.5 percent in November.

A total of 37,734 new and resale houses and condominiums sold in California in December, up 16 percent from the previous month and 4.2 percent from a year earlier, DataQuick reported Jan. 18. Foreclosure filings dropped in late 2010, when lenders faced investigations over accusations they had used improper documentation to seize homes with delinquent mortgages.

Foreclosure Sales

Last year, 428,045 California homes received foreclosure filings, accounting for 23 percent of all homes nationwide with a notice of default, auction notice or foreclosure sale, RealtyTrac Inc. reported Jan. 12.

Most of the California loans going into default in the fourth quarter were originated between 2005 and 2007, when home values were at their peak and lenders loosened credit terms, according to today’s DataQuick report. California foreclosure filings peaked in the first quarter of 2009, when 135,431 homes received notices of default, the company said.  Click to View Complete Article

Wells Fargo sets home-purchase program for Los Angeles & Atlanta

The fourth-largest U.S. bank and largest U.S. mortgage originator said it would donate $23 million toward downpayment assistance programs this year and plans to make $11.8 billion in home-purchase loans over the next five years in the two cities.

"We are not going to solve the housing crisis alone, but we think this is an opportunity to take a leadership position," said Jon Campbell, Wells Fargo head of social responsibility.

Wells Fargo said that next month it would also hold events such as tours of homes for sale in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

The program aims to show that financing is available for home buyers at a time of low prices and excess inventory, Campbell said.

He said the lending goal is based on past originations in the two cities. The downpayment assistance will be made available through NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit organization. Borrowers do not have to use Wells Fargo for their loans to receive the assistance.

Wells Fargo is one of the lenders in negotiations with state and federal officials to settle an investigation of foreclosure-related abuses. Campbell said the bank remains focused on helping homeowners stay in their homes.

Wells Fargo originated $357 billion in residential real estate loans in 2011, down from $386 billion in 2010.

(Reporting By Rick Rothacker; editing by Mark Porter)

Top 10 green building trends in 2012

Jerry Yudelson is about as green as they come. In his more than 25 years of work in sustainability, he has been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council's board of directors, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) national faculty member, and is the co-founder and director of the Green Building Service consulting unit at Portland General Electric. Last year, Wired magazine dubbed him "the godfather of green."

So what does the industry insider have to say about where things are going? "The construction industry is going to have modest growth this year," Yudelson said Tuesday in a webinar on GreenExpo365. "It seems that most people have figured out that the sky isn't going to fall in and they are going to get back to doing business ... but with an emphasis on what I call 'frugal green.'

"In the past there was a feeling that you could spend money to add green features. I think today the real challenge for construction and design professionals is 'How do I do this on the same budget?' and I think that's the core trend."

Yudelson unveiled a list of 10 other green megatrends destined for growth in 2012, both in the U.S. and abroad. And while, like the rest of the homebuilding industry, green building will certainly face headwinds in coming days -- such as squeezed budgets among families and governments -- the market is poised for growth, he says. "You make money if you go green. If you don't go green, you're at a marketplace disadvantage."  Click here to view complete article

CONSTRUCTION SPENDING ROSE 1.2% IN NOVEMBER

Spending on construction has been swinging up and down over the last few months, but November was a fairly good one for the industry. According to the Commerce Department, spending was up 1.2% from October to $807 billion.

And it was up 0.5% from $803 billion in November 2010.

Private construction led the charge with $522.3 billion spent — the most since December 2009 and a 1% increase from October. Compared with November 2010, spending was up 4%.

Residential building expenditures rose 2% month to month, though nonresidential private spending stayed roughly the same.

The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in November was the highest in 11/2 years, the National Assn. of Realtors said last week. Housing starts were up 9.3% that month from October, according to the Commerce Department, even as home prices continue to tumble in the nation's major cities.

Although public spending was up 1.7% compared with October, the $284.9 billion was 5.3% less than the year-earlier amount.

Government payments for residential, office, commercial and transportation building all slipped from 2010.

LA is Most Popular City For Europeans Looking to Move to US

Moving from Europe to LA: it's not just for interwar intellectuals like Bertolt Brecht and Arnold Schoenberg anymore! Trulia, which previously found that Angelenos are secretly all yearning to move to Riverside, has crunched the numbers on house searches coming out of the European Union and found that LA was the number one place EUers were looking to move in the fourth quarter of 2011. (Trulia actually set out to find if EUers were still looking to move to the US as their economy collapsed around them--they looked at first quarter 2011 data vs. fourth quarter 2011 data and found that interest went up in a lot of countries. Greece, the most troubled of all, had the biggest increase in US househunting.) The UK and Germany were the top searchers, but apparently Austrians love SoCal and "Several Southern California cities made it on their top list, including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and Riverside."

Curbed LA

5 Mortgage and Foreclosure Myths

• Alabama: http://www.hardesthitalabama.com/
• Arizona: https://www.savemyhomeaz.gov/
• California: https://www.keepyourhomecalifornia.org/
• Florida: https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/
• Georgia: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/homeownership/programs/hardesthitfund.asp
• Illinois:http://www.ihda.org/
• Indiana: http://www.877gethope.org/
• Kentucky: http://www.kyhousing.org/
• Michigan: http://www.michigan.gov/mshda/buyers/save_the_dream/helping+hardest+hit+homeowners+-+contact+your+mortgage+servicer+for+assistance
• Mississippi: http://www.mshomecorp.com/firstpage.htm
• Nevada: http://www.nahac.org/
• New Jersey: http://www.state.nj.us/dca/hmfa/home/foreclosure/homekeepers.html
• North Carolina: http://www.ncforeclosureprevention.gov/
• Ohio: http://www.savethedream.ohio.gov/
• Oregon: http://www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org/
• Rhode Island: http://www.hhfri.org/
• South Carolina: http://www.scmortgagehelp.com/
• Tennessee: http://www.thda.org/
• Washington D.C.: http://www.dchfa.org/