Home affordability

Are we at or near the bottom of the market? I think so. I attended a national Keller Williams training a few weeks ago and speaking to Realtors in other markets I am starting to get the impression the worse is behind us. Some of the states that were hit the hardest seem to be on the rebound. 

While we won't know for certain when the market has hit its lowest point and starts moving up, most experts believe that interest rates can't go down much if any. That is a very important consideration to take into account. Lets say you are looking at a house currently listed at $200,000 and interest rates are 3.5 %. You think the market has not quite bottomed out and you are going to wait until it drops some more, say to $190,000. In the meantime interest rates tick up to 4.5%. You have cost yourself a lot of money with the increase in interest rates even f the price is reduced to $190,000.

When you consider interest rates, home affordability is at or near an all time low. What are you waiting for?

New Bern new home sales

The following shows new home sales in the New Bern market over the past several years.

2012 year to date New Home Sales
Total=202
Of these 14 sold for over $250,000.

2011 same time period New Home Sales
Total=192
Of these 14 sold for over $250,000.


2010 same time period New Home Sales
Total=254
Of these 13 sold for over $250,000.


2009 same time period New Home Sales
Total=256
Of these 32 sold for over $250,000.


2008 same time period New Home Sales
Total=303
Of these 64 sold for over $250,000.

Assorted Home sales for New Bern

The following information might suggest we are bouncing along the bottom in the current housing recession. I was at a national Keller Williams Convention 2 weeks ago and heard some encouraging comments from agents from other area of the country. One agent from Newark NJ said it was a Sellers Market there. Also heard Phoenix was moving in the right direction. It was one of the hardest areas in the nation.

Year to Date-Entire MLS Homes sold.

2012=985
2011=947
2010=970
2009=922

Year to Date-Entire MLS Homes Bank Owned sold.


2012=183
2011=189
2010=126
2009=56

Still way to many Bank Owned Properties being sold. I hope the worst of this is nearly behind us on REO and Short Sales. What is lacking in our country is a real economic recovery with jobs being created  and an expanding economy. Lets hope this process will begin soon.

Making a 19th Century Door: Or, Why do Modern Replacement Doors Look so Strange on 19th Century Homes

There are many differences between woodworking in today's machine age and the 19th century.  Carpenters and furniture makers today rely on measured drawings, dimensions, and precise measurements to help them plan and build things.  Before the Industrial Revolution, however, things were very different.  19th century house joiners relied on pattern books to be sure, but these books didn't contain measured plans with precise dimensions for Federal or Greek Revival doors, windows and moldings.  Instead, their pattern books had drawings with proportions. 

What do I mean by this?  Lets look at a 1797 plan book by Asher Benjamin and see.  If you wanted to build an interior door today you would buy a set of measured drawings for a 2/8, 2/10 or 3/0 door which would give you the standardized width of the stiles, bottom, top and lock rails, dimensions for the molding, etc.  If you look below at a plate from Benjamin's 18th century plan book, you will see that the drawings are far simpler.

Asher Benjamin, The Country Builder's Assistant
(1797)  plate 12.

The first thing to notice is the series of 9 marks beneath each door. Rather than dimensions, Benjamin instructs the joiner to divide the width of the door opening into 9 equal parts.  If you are building a 3/0 door, which is 36 inches in width (as in the example Benjamin gives here), you would have 9 parts of 4 inches each.  On the 4-panel door each stile, muntin and top rail is one part wide (or 4 inches), the bottom rail is 1 1/2 part wide (6 inches) and the lock rail is  2 1/2 parts wide (10 inches).   

The genius of this approach is its simplicity and flexibility.  If your door opening is an odd size like 2/9, 2/11 or 3/2 (as is common on older homes), you simply step off 9 parts on the door width with a pair of dividers and there you have your base measurement.  You then use the dividers to lay out the width of the stiles (1 divider step or part), the dimension of the bottom rail (1 1/2 divider step) and so on until you have your stock ready to cut and plane.   Regardless of how wide or narrow the door, the proportions of each component to the entire door are exactly the same.  

What's better yet is you don't even need a ruler or to know the dimension of the opening.   You simply mark the width of the opening on a scrap piece of wood, use your dividers to divide it into 9 parts and start laying out your door.  The idea of not knowing or needing the dimension of a door is hard for modern tradesmen to wrap their heads around, but in the 18th and 19th century this was standard procedure. 

Ca. 1849 Greek Revival Door

Why is this important? These differences in approach explain why modern replacement doors often look so odd in older homes.  In an age where everything is standardized (e.g. the width of door stiles and rails), when modern shops build odd-sized doors for older homes the proportions of the door parts are usually way off.  They just don't know the proportions and don't adjust their designs.

Whenever I visit an historic home I take careful measurements of doors, windows, molding and other millwork and determine the proportions of each piece. Then, if I make a hand-made door for a Greek Revival home I can check the measurements and proportions for doors in similar homes and use them to make the replacement.  Not only does my replacement door have the appropriate tool marks and construction for the 19th century, its proportions, molding and shape are also correct.