The Bains

What will they do with it? Since 2008 excess funds deposited with the Federal Reserve have grown from$1.8 billion to the above figure. This money could be loaned to businesses & consumers. Once the economy begins to rebound, the Fed will have to keep a sharp eye on the inflationary pressures that will no doubt occur. The job of the Federal Reserve is to (1) contain inflation & (2) encourage job growth. Since Dec. 2007 Feds have been working to stimulate the economy by providing low-cost money to get businesses & banks to loan, but instead now “excess reserves”.

GO TO THIS WEBSITE to get details on remodeling projects by cities throughout the U. S. HomeTech Information Systems (www.hometechonline.com) takes into account construction commodity data & labor cost information from a national website of remodeling contactors. The prices are then adjusted for regional pricing variations. These are hypothetical projects only. Last week our blog talked about he 5 most cost effective projects, but that is just a beginning.

according the National Association of Realtors 2010-2011 REMODELING COST VS. VALUE REPORT. The steel entry door replacement is the project that returned the most money, with an estimated 102.1% of cost recouped when the home is sold. Midrange garage door replacement could recoup 83.9% of costs, upscale fiber-cement siding replacement was deemed the most cost-effective among siding projects, recouping 80% of costs & upscale vinyl window replacements might recoup 72.6% of the window replacement projects. MORE TO COME NEXT WEEK. Incidentially, Texas consistently gets a higher percentage of remodeling costs return when the house is sold.

TYLER HOME sales plummeted for the 6th consecutive month & dropped 27.8% from November 2009. Sales down in October by 20.8% from October 2009 sales. Contradictory as average price has gone up steadily the whole year, according to Greater Tyler Association of Realtors. Number of listings up 8% from same time last year. There is a 13.8 month inventory of homes on the market & 6 months is a more normal time. With loans harder to get in the moderate price range then more higher priced homes are selling, which pushes the sales price up. Foreclosure rate in Tyler is 0.08 % compared to 3.3 % nationwide.