Is this scenario plausible - home prices get so low that redevelopment i.e. building new homes on infill lots becomes the catalyst for an economic recovery (”new” becomes affordable on a grander scale)?

Throw in new technologies, new architecture and materials and it just may add up to economic stimulation - something that could work its way into inner cities and rural communities throughout the U.S.  Maybe the new industry that brings the country back from this terrible depression is actually one of industries that helped found it?

Hmmm……..�

Popularity: 5% [?]

Mayor Dave Bing of Detroit promises to demolish 10,000 homes in his first term in office.  Many of the countries inner-cities are looking to teardown to help “eradicate the problem” of dangerous, vacant homes. (read the full article: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100330/OPINION03/3300342/1409/Abandoned-houses-fix-hasn-t-come)

The state of the current economy and crisis in housing has created a whole new purpose for recycling older housing stock.  Not only are investors, individuals and builders redeveloping for profit and improvement in wealthy infill markets, but the “phenomenon” is helping to clean up and stabilze communities within large Metropolitan neighborhoods - a fresh start.

Popularity: 46% [?]

New economy or old – buyers are looking to buy homes at “land-value” 

Clarendon Hills, IL - March 11, 2010 - Home sellers, whether reluctant owners such as banks or long-term prideful homeowners, are finding buyers unwilling to pay a “premium” for homes that need work or have become obsolete through deterioration, neglect, deferred maintenance or are simply architecturally out of favor.  Sound familiar?   

Today’s buyer wants to know what the land is worth before entering into negotiations.  “The traditional home buyer is reluctant to pay more than replacement cost or land-value for older homes that need substantial updating or total renovation” says Carrie Kenna of Re/Max Elite and owner of Kenna Builders, in Hinsdale, Illinois. 

Additionally, foreclosures and abandoned housing has left many once marketable homes saddled with irreversible mold and structural damage, opening up a whole new category of teardown properties. “Whether a prime, two acre property in Greenwich, Connecticut, or inner city bungalow in Chicago; these property types are still clearing the market at the value of their land,” says Brian Hickey, President of teardowns.com, a marketing firm and brokerage specializing in this sector of the market. 

Regardless of what the future holds or state of the current economy, the amenity and home preference wave has gone over the crest.  The 50’s ranch and 60’s split-level are not the dream homes of the new millennium.  While not every community shares the same economics, those neighborhoods that rode the high wave of the real estate housing bubble are still in redevelopment mode.  Though the pace has changed, the essence of the transaction remains very much the same.  

About teardowns.com 

Teardowns.com was founded in 2001 to satisfy the unmet needs of homeowners whose property value was in the land.  Teardowns.com is a stand-alone marketplace for consumers, brokerage and marketing tool for real estate professionals.  The Company licenses its national brand, systems and marketing programs to traditional local agents and brokers throughout the U.S.  

Contact: Brian S. Hickey                                                                     

Tel: 630-654-4100

Popularity: 53% [?]

Check out this recent article.  There appears to be a good case for smaller more efficient new homes.   Makes good sense - we’ll see.

 http://www.builderonline.com/infill-development/is-the-mcmansion-dead.aspx?printerfriendly=true

Popularity: 83% [?]

After 217 years of dominance - small submarketplaces i.e. “dark pools” are stealing marketshare from the Big Board.  Are smaller local marketplaces that specialize in particular types of property i.e. “land valued” infill real estate,  like teardowns.com going to gain strength and continue to take market share from the MLS?  Will the change in economic conditions be the catalyst that triggers the change in model?  We’ll see.

Take a look at an article from Thursday’s New York Times -  http://www.cnbc.com/id/33326331

Popularity: 85% [?]