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2012 - A "do-over" in housing?

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with teardowns.com

Buyers around the world are replacing older, functionally obsolete housing (and commercial) stock with new structures.  Whether on the lower end i.e. inner-city Cleveland where 1,000 homes were torndown in 2011 and over 20,000 are on the demo deck for 2012, or the high-end i.e. million dollar teardowns in Naples, FL, Greenwich CT, Hinsdale, IL etc.

Be-it Canada, the UK, Australia or even in the “new” China the replacement of certain housing types with new construction continues in good markets and bad.  In professional circles this phenomenon is

Dictionary.com defines”infill”:

The planned conversion of empty lots, underused or rundown buildings and other available space in densely built up urban and suburban areas for use as sites for commercial buildings and housing, frequently as an alternative to over development of rural areas.

When we think rationally, we know that in many cases homes were not built to last forever when they were originally constructed. Construction during past depressions, recessions, wars etc., times when materials and capital were scarce; “last-forever” structures were, by default, not being produced.

So, just how significant is this tearing down and replacement of older housing stock and what larger purpose does it satisfy?

Consensus agrees, the real estate market played a major role in the poor economic conditions that exist today and it will take some kind of stabilization or if we’re lucky a revitalization in housing to get us back on the road to prosperity.

New construction and all its ancillary benefactors (suppliers, manufacturers, amenities (i.e. furnishings), builders, contractors, technologies catering to efficiency etc.) are vital to a real recovery and without debate a major source of job creation.

So, from an economic stand point, a theme for 2012 that centers on redevelopment can easily be viewed as a positive.

Do you want a “do-over”?  Turns out 38% of Americans do.

Posted by

Brian Hickey, founder, broker, teardowns.com

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