Tag Archives: housing

Real Estate

Cats Have Their Own Apartment

Why Do Cats Meow
Photo Courtesy of Women’s World

Two cats in Silicon Valley are the pampered renters and sole occupiers of a $1,500 per month studio.

The landlord says the cats haven’t made much fuss, keep to themselves, lounge around in a cat tree most of the day, and always pay their rent on time—the prrrrfect tenants, you might say.

“It’s quirky isn’t it?” landlord David Callisch told CBS San Francisco (KPIX). “People love their pets, they’re part of their family.”

The father of Victoria Amith, a freshman at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California is paying for his daughter’s cats to have their own pad because she couldn’t take the cats, Louise and Tina, to her dorm with her when she started school. The man’s fiancé’s dog and the cats weren’t getting along at his home in the Bay Area, so he approached Callisch and offered to rent the studio, located behind a single-family home in Willow Glen, Calif., for the pets.

Studios in Willow Glen typically rent for just under $2,000 per month, KPIX reports, so the cats are getting a bargain at $1,500. Callisch feeds the cats every day. Amith visits them on breaks from school.

Amith emphasizes that the cats are using space in someone’s backyard and that the arrangement is temporary “There’s obviously a huge housing issue in the area, and I don’t want people to be like, ‘Oh, this is taking away the housing,’” Amith told KPIX.

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    Real Estate

    Oil Prices Dropping, Good News or Bad News For Home Buyers

    Photo courtesy of http://worldsamazinginformation.blogspot.com/2011/06/worlds-top-10-biggest-oil-producer.html
    Photo courtesy of http://worldsamazinginformation.blogspot.com/2011/06/worlds-top-10-biggest-oil-producer.html

     

    The drastic drop in oil prices could put downward pressure on mortgage rates.

    The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the price of regular gasoline was $2.20 per gallon, its lowest point since a peak of $4 per gallon in May 2011. EIA estimates that the savings could amount to $550 per household in 2015.

    It might not all be good news:Lower Oil Prices Could Stall Home Appreciation

    “Lower oil prices mean a lower inflation rate, which pushes down mortgage rates,” economists note at the National Association of REALTORS®‘ Economists’ Outlook blog. Indeed, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.73 percent last week — the lowest average in 20 months — according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey. Taking into account the median home price of $205,300, a 0.75 percentage point drop in mortgage rates could yield a savings of about $1,000 annually, according to NAR researchers.

    “What this means for REALTORS®: The decline in oil prices is generally positive to households by way of the gas savings and lower mortgage payments,” economists note. “That savings will boost consumer spending in other areas. But there may be some layoffs in oil-producing states.”

    The lower oil prices may prompt revenues to flatten out in some oil-boom areas, notably North Dakota and Texas.

    Still, the overall impact to national employment likely will be minimal, since most of the employment growth is coming from many economic sectors. Those employed in oil and gas extraction represent just 0.14 percent of the U.S.’s 138 million workers, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most state economies are diversified enough, too. Even in Texas, which is the biggest state for oil production and accounts for about half of U.S. oil and gas extraction workers, the oil industry covers less than 1 percent of its workers.

    That said, some smaller counties may feel the impact more, since they do have higher employment in the oil sector. Those counties include Washington County, Okla.; Upton County, Texas; Woods County, Okla.; Crockett County, Texas; Hutchinson County, Texas; Yoakum County, Texas; and Gilmer County, W. Va.

    Source: “Recent Oil Trends and What They Mean for the Housing Recovery,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook Blog (Jan. 12, 2015)

     

     

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