Friday Facts February 4, 2011

FRIDAY FACTS
February 4, 2011

An article in RISMedia, “Extended Families Come Together under One Roof to Make Ends Meet” offers the following statistics: The average home today has 2.59 people, the highest number in a decade, and just 357,000 new households were formed in the U.S. last year, the lowest number since at least 1947.

In the Bay State Realtor, Robert Kutner, Esquire writes on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling that every property owner now has a duty to use “reasonable care” for the protection of others from hazards arising from snow and ice. He suggests that every owner should:
Review insurance policies to be sure there is adequate coverage
Determine whether contractors or those hired to remove snow and ice have insurance
Be vigilant when there is newly fallen snow or when temperatures allow melting and re-freezing. If complete clearing is not possible, warning signs may be appropriate.

§ When representing buyers, keep in mind a statistic from Mary Umberger in Inman News that 45% of home owners association managers say their groups are facing “serious” problems as a result of the economic downturn, and 9% describe their situation as “severe”.

§ RISMedia notes that the 2010 census shows movement of people from the Northeast and the Midwest to the South and West. Texas was the big winner in the decade just ending. With its low home prices and pro-business, pro-growth policies, Texas felt relatively little effect from the housing melt down and has bounced back from the recession faster than other big states.

§ Zillow’s traffic in December exceeded 13 million unique users, up 77% from the previous December.

§ RealTrends reports that the annual consumer credit forecast from U.S. credit bureau TransUnion foretells a 20% drop in national mortgage loan delinquencies by the end of 2011.