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Subscribe to RSSLacking confidence in the housing market, most Americans are not moving this year. And since they’re stuck, most have some sort of home improvement project planned for 2012, according to a new survey.
The American Express Spending and Saving Tracker “Home Decision 2012” survey says that 10 percent of Americans – 23 million people – plan to move. Of these, 44 percent plan to buy a home and 42 percent say they will rent. As for the other 14 percent? Amex doesn’t say, but maybe mom and dad should clean out the basement.
The home improvers? Seventy percent say they have a project. They plan on spending an average of $3,500, or roughly what a contractor charges for 28 minutes of work plus lunch (we kid). Of those projects, 58 percent will be interior remodel and the top project in that category is paint, 37 percent.
Twenty-four percent must not have allergies; they plan on doing some sort of landscaping.
The survey report noted that Americans still don’t trust the housing market will get better. Fifty-two percent are “not very/not at all” confident they’d get their asking price if they listed their current residence.
Read the full American Express Spending and Saving Tracker “Home Decision 2012” report.
The material was first reported in the Wall Street Journal.
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Bad time to sell? Good time to buy? Sounds like a good time to become a landlord. If you did like anyone with any financial sense told you to do, you lived below your means and paid off that house as quickly as you could. So now you are sitting pretty. Get a bargain and rent out your current home.
If you didn't, come to my seminar and let me take your money for wisdom you will never use.
Nobody can afford to move any longer.
The GOP economic collapse stripped trillions of dollars out of the middle-class.
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i agree, buy buy buy ..! lots of good stuff cheap. ITs fantastic. The doomers and gloomers...good luck, in 10 years your going to see a shortage of housing . Us? you may be right but obama and his cronies kicked the dirt on the homeowners grave by allowing these banks to get paid to get away with it. too bad you can't argue with reality. Now its time to get yours before the banks get theirs.
Mitt's installing a car elevator for Ann's two Cadillacs!
Now, that's being really, Conservative!
Don't buy a Mega Millions ticket. If you win you'll have to look in the mirror and say, "I hate myself!"
for $350 Million (after taxes) I'll hate myself EVERY DAY :-)
just win the lotto and your there!... maybe invest in tax free state muni's and really live it up.
There are millions of people in the world that would consider you rich i'm sure Anchorage. It's all relative
Fifty-two percent are “not very/not at all” confident they’d get their asking price if they listed their current residence.
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Are people that stupid? Its selling 101 to price higher than you really want, but then readily accept the lower offer.
thisguy - a strategy to be sure, but you run the risk in some of the current markets of pricing your house high, only to have it sit there. When you have to finally lower the price to what the market will bear, everyone who has been watching it for the last 6-8 months (or whatever) is asking, "what's wrong with it?" Overpricing only works in some markets, not all.
"most Americans are not moving this year"
Wait what? How's this news? Most Americans are not moving in any given year. As a matter of fact, I do not think there was a year since the first year there were Americans, that most of us moved.
Slow news day, so they have to come up with random crap? Keep an eye for tomorrow's headline "Most Americans will not have kids next year due to the bad economy".
This is shocking stuff given that the "media" is screaming that the market is coming
back? But given the low inventory and falling prices this is what is expected as
real estate is YEARS from being "normal"!! Great time to be a realtor.....
GOT HOPE! STOP NOBAMA 2012
Expect all building materials to increase even more in prices regardless of who is president heh heh. Good luck America LOL