Wall Street Journal | Nevada County

Many of the nation’s largest builders are raising their prices, even as existing-home prices are beginning to moderate.

For example, homebuilder KB Home has had average prices for its new homes soar 23 percent annually. Lennar has raised the average price on its new homes by 16 percent annually in the third quarter, now averaging $291,000. The average price of all existing homes was $258,000, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

“The big picture is that new-build house prices fell less than existing house prices during the crash and have risen more during the recovery,” says Paul Diggle at Capital Economics.

While prices are up for new homes, both Lennar and KB Home announced this week a weaker pace for new orders. Lennar officials blamed the slowdown on rising mortgage rates and the double-digit percentage increases in home prices this year.

“We see strong, viable, fundamental demand out there, but it has cooled a little bit,” Rick Beckwitt, Lennar’s president, said during a recent earnings call. “As a result, from a pricing standpoint, we have selected some of our inventory and increased incentives associated with that inventory.”

Analyst Ivy Zelman doesn’t believe new home prices are inflated or priced at an abnormal premium over existing homes.

“In Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada, we conclude that prices are still 15 percent lower than the 2006 peak, which excludes an adjustment for an increasing size of new homes and would be further compounded by seven years of inflation,” Zelman says.

Source: “Forget easing prices, new homes are up, up, up,” CNBC (Sept. 24, 2013) and “New-Home Orders Slower for Lennar, KB Home,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 24, 2013): DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS

I personally do not like air blowers to dry my hands. First of all, my hands seem to still be wet after using an air dryer unless I leave them there for what seems like forever and secondly, I have to grab the door handle to get out of the bathroom. That just feels icky. I always felt that the door handle can contain germs. This study by the Mao Clinic confirms my beliefs.

In June, the Mayo Clinic published a comprehensive study of every known hand-washing study done since 1970. The authors concluded that drying skin is essential to staving off bacteria, and that paper towels are superior to driers: They’re more efficient, they don’t spatter germs, they won’t dry out hands and most people prefer them. (A co-author of the study has served as a consultant for Kimberly Clark Australia, a maker of paper towels.) Dr. Thompson’s study was one of the dozen samples reviewed, and he concurs with the Even though studies have shown that a thorough washing with soap will remove nearly all traces of bacteria, some germaphobes take extra precautionary measures, like using a paper towel to touch the bathroom door or faucet.

Dr. Thompson doesn’t think that is such a bad idea. “Remember that some people don’t wash their hands at all. So when you turn off the faucet, you contaminate your hands again; then you grab the door handle and you’re picking up whatever germs were left behind.”

Source: Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal

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