HUD Backs Off, Temporarily….

Back in September I wrote about how new rules by HUD was proposing could have a dire impact on housing.  This response seemed to be a nationwide one.  As the following article shows, HUD has reconsidered, at least for the time being.  FHA moves to boost condo market, this story clearly shows a step in [...]

Housing Affordability

Housing is getting even less affordable  Falling prices haven’t helped
The above article raised my interest.  A year ago as we were reviewing the Summer Street project the question was raised as to why we needed to continue creating affordable housing given the decline of the housing market.  I tried to explain how the recession was [...]

New HUD Rules Could Affect Home Sales

I found this story in the San Diego Business Journal,  HUD Rules May Hurt Builders.
I honestly see both sides of the question.  From one point of view, the restrictions being proposed by the Federal Housing Administration makes sense.  For many reasons we do not want to concentrate too high a number of needy people into [...]

Some New Data On Housing

I stumbled across NeighborhoodScout.com a new real estate search site that provides data on communities by “neighborhoods”.  The following provides some interesting information on Dennis in relation to our neighbors.
Home Appreciation – Last Five Years
Dennis Village +26%
East Harwich +25%
Brewster (Town Center) +23%
South Brewster +20%
Harwich Town Center +18%
West Dennis +16%
East Dennis +15%
North Harwich +14%
Yarmouthport +14%
Dennisport +12%
West [...]

Second Home Conversions – Chapter 40B Implications

The Cape Cod Commission released a report last week providing the results of a survey conducted for them of second home owners on the Cape.  The study suggests broad implications for the Town of Dennis.  Previously, I discussed the implications on population growth, and in particular the number of potential new retirees that will be [...]

Second Home Conversion – What Will It All Mean

So, as I noted in my previous post, a study conducted for the Cape Cod Commission has predicted a possible conversion of 21.6% of the seasonal housing units in the Mid-Cape area to year-round housing as second home owners choose to make Dennis their retirement home.  In this post I will look at some of [...]

A Significant Report From The Cape Cod Commission

The following link will bring you to the recently released Survey of Second-Home Owners.  It has some interesting numbers which I will be analyzing and providing you with more on in the coming days.  Most critical is the conversion factors for the mid-cape area where 8.5% of the respondents suggested they would be converting their [...]

New Affordable Housing Rental and Income Information

The US Department of  Housing and Urban Development has released new information on Affordable Housing Income Restrictions and Fair Market Rents.  This information is summarized below.

Efficiency
One-
Bedroom
Two-
Bedroom
Three-Bedroom
Four-
Bedroom

2000

$791

2001

$813

2002

$841

2003

$855

2004

$892

2005
$597
$707
$919
$1,098
$1,132

2006
$619
$725
$954
$1,138
$1,174

2007
$651
$762
$1,003
$1,197
$1,235

2008
$743
$870
$1,145
$1,366
$1,409

2009
$774
$906
$1,192
$1,422
$1,467

These rents relate to what has been deemed affordable to people with the following income limits.

1 Person Low Income
2 Person Low Income
3 Person Low [...]

More Housing Data

Back in October and November I posted information from Trulia.com regarding housing listings in the Town of Dennis and its neighboring communities.  The following represents an update to that data for the period ending April 15, 2009, almost exactly six months from the first report and five months from the second report.

Town
# of Listings
Ave. List [...]

Will Smaller Houses Become a Trend?

I have been reading a lot recently, including this NY Times article about homes getting smaller.  Even the Romney’s appear to be downsizing.  This seems to be a trend to watch.  Will it happen in Dennis?  Currently we continue to have a number of raze and replace applications coming before the Dennis Board of Appeals.  [...]