Is Housing a Luxury or a Staple?

The NYT has a long and interesting article on the national housing market. Whether it’s on the way up or down, says the Times, depends on whether one believes housing is a luxury or a staple.

If you believe housing is more like a luxury good, then the market should return quicker than normal.

If you believe it’s more like a staple….well….we could be in the doldrums nationally for a while.

I, for one, tend to fall in the middle, and agree with the article last paragraph:

If you can imagine staying much longer than a few years, you should take some comfort in the fact that the bubble seems mostly deflated. Sometime soon, prices should begin rising again. They may not quite keep up with incomes, but they will probably outpace the price of food and clothing.

Jefferson City Wins “Greening” Project Grant

The EPA announced yesterday that Jefferson City was one of just five cities awarded “Greening” grants to improve state capital neighborhoods across the country.

The grant will pay for designers to start working with city planners to improve riverfront access in the Millbottom area.

Thirty-eight cities applied. Jefferson City, Boston, Little Rock, Hartford, and Charleston, WV were the other winners.

This is yet another step in the right direction to re-vitalizing our downtown core and making our community more attractive to current and future job-creators.

Housing Affordability at Record High

Despite a down economy, housing affordability remains at record highs according to the National Association of Home Builders.

NAHB’s Affordability Index indicated that “72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the second quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400.” Before 2009, they note that the Index never topped 70 percent.

The causes are fairly simple: great interest rates and lower housing prices in many of the nation’s bigger markets.

$25k for a “New” Old Prison

Jefferson City is in the running for a $25,000 grant to improve the historic landmark at the old prison. The Convention and Visitor’s Bureau wants to use the money to improve the facility, perhaps even re-making old cells of Sonny Liston and others. Re-development of the old prison district is a once-in-a-century opportunity – and, on a personal level, will be my top priority as the next state representative from western Cole County. Vote early and vote often to improve Jefferson City by going to the following site:  http://my.preservationnation.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9462&security=2862&s_interest=3165.

Introducing the MO Real Estate Blog

Welcome to the MO Real Estate Blog, brought to you by ILikeMOHomes.com and MOValueRealty.com. We’ll use this forum to share thoughts and helpful hints for home buyers and sellers in the Mid-Missouri area. Occasionally, we’ll post items of local news interest.