Has the Housing Bubble Popped?

AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa thinks so. The headline reads, "Existing Home Sales Drop to 2-Year Low" in this Yahoo Finance article.

It states, "House hunters shied away from buying in July, driving down sales of previously owned homes to a 2 1/2-year low. The inventory of unsold homes climbed to a new record high."

"The new figures, released Wednesday, provided fresh evidence of how much the once-sizzling housing market has cooled."Existing-home sales dropped 4.1 percent in July from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported. That was the lowest level since January 2004."

The article has this little gem, too: "Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes in July rose to a record high of 3.86 million. At the current sales pace, it would take 7.3 months to exhaust that overhang. That is the longest period to exhaust the supply of homes since the spring of 1993."

technorati tags: housing bubble, home sales, real estate, house bubble, NAR, home inventory

Tankless Water Heaters

The Bosch AquaStar tankless water heater is the exact reason that I cannot wait for my old water heater to die a painful and horrible death. What's so special about tankless water heating? Most people don't seem to know it, but tankless heaters save space, save energy, and can give you a ton of hot water that almost never runs out.

Bosch has a model of the Aquastar, the 250SX, that can even give you enough hot water to supply two showers at the same time. It can run on either natural gas or propane.

It saves on energy, running from around 82 to 87 percent efficiency, because it has no pilot light that must stay lit at all times. It has temperature-limiting protection to prevent the appliance from producing water that's hot enough to scald. It costs about $950 and has a limited warranty that covers some of it for 12 years.

Now, if I could just get my old tank to keel over.

It. Just. Won't. Die.

It's been running for, like, 20 years and refuses to give up. Maybe I'll go kick it now...


If you're in the market for a tankless water heater, talk to a tankless water heater pro. Perhaps you'll find out it's the right product for your house. We've got a fast and easy way to find local service pros at ConstructionDeal.com.

technorati tags: water heater, tankless water heater, bosch aquastar, energy efficiency