Capitalism, a love story offers hope for struggling homeowners

Foreclosure, short sales and pre-foreclosure: a sad story that has become a real life tragedy for so many.  In the triangle, our statistics show relatively low numbers, primarily because our housing prices remain stable with a small number of “upside down” sellers.  I saw the new Michael Moore movie, “Capitalism, a love story” last night and I am recommending it for every American but especially for homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.

The movie has the typical Michael Moore flavor, pitting big business against the struggling working class.  But, it contains some shocking revelations about the wealth in our country.  Moore brings some enlightening journalism to the screen with conversations with congresswomen who advise homeowners to  ”stay in your home if you are being foreclosed” and a statement that 1% of the US population now owns 95% of the wealth.

Moore’s message is a call for democracy in US government.  Much of the film points the finger at predatory lending practices, big banks and Wall Street’s connection to top level government driven by the greed that he says is the cause for the condition of the economy.  Moore manages to blend in quite a bit of humor and make a very serious message quite entertaining.

Bamboo growing in the US

Bamboo could be the panacea we are waiting for.  Many gardeners know bamboo to be a nasty invasive that runs all over and chokes out the native plants.  But thanks to the development of new “clumping” varieties, bamboo could be the green answer to a renewable product.  Bamboo may be the next agroforest product to save our planet and our economy.

Most people don’t realize and I don’t quite understand how bamboo turns into a soft wooly fabric blanket or a pair of socks.  This means that bamboo could replace cotton as a much more environmentally friendly agricultural crop.  Cotton depletes soil and requires a large amount of pesticides.  Bamboo is a grass, requiring little more than water and is virtually pest free.  

Bamboo is also a popular substitute for hardwood flooring.  It grows to maturity in just ten years; a fraction of the time for hardwood forest to renew.  It also is a much more effective carbon dioxide eliminator than trees. 

I love the look of bamboo floors and my only issue with bamboo is that it is 100% imported.  With the newly developed varities of bamboo, it looks like bamboo may quickly become the newest “green” product made in the USA.  To learn more about clumping bamboo, check out the bamboo that behaves at : http://www.booshootgardens.com/Homepage.cfm

Chapel Hill third quarter stats hard to read

Chapel Hill real estate stats are now available and I recently blogged about the triangle numbers.  I know I said I would be talking about this all week but it has taken me a week to find the impetus.  I have a quirk in my personality.  If I am excited about something, I will have contageous enthusiasm, move mountains and get others to help me.  However, the report is so ho hum that I had the opposite problem.

The August numbers are quite interesting.  When compared with Aug 2008,  there was negligible change in median and average sales price, total dollars sold and the percent of list price paid vs asking price.   August 09 sellers saw a significant increase in their days on the market, up 29% from 70 with an 09 average days on market over 90 days.  August 09 would be sellers are “just saying no”.  New listings were significantly down, a whopping 43% less sellers took the plunge in Aug 09 vs Aug 08… wow!

You might think this is a bad thing for buyers.  On the contrary, eventhough fewer sellers entered the market, lingering inventory pushed the volume of homes for sale up from 889 properties in 2008 to the 2009 inventory of 990 choices for buyers, (11% more).

As always, I am offering the detailed report to anyone who wants to see the actual numbers, graphs and comparisons.  It is just a click away, at www.mariescheuring.com