Is your home ready for a older generation?

The News & Observer reported today that North Carolina's older population is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. About 20 percent of the American population will be older than 65 by the year, 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This would be a major increase from its present 12 percent.

It is expected that North Carolina will be lower than the national average at about 17.5 percent as North Carolina is currently growing rapidly among all age groups.

This expected increase in the older population will have an impact on the national housing market since many of these older Americans will require and demand housing that is more balanced with their lifestyle.

With a growing "active" older population, many of these homeowners will want housing that is more "carefree"; allowing them to travel without the need to maintain yards and other such daily and weekly homeowners duties.

Furthermore, another growing housing segment will be the need for single level homes where the aging population will not have steps to climb. This will be important since so many homes in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill areas have two stories in order to maximize the square footage onto smaller and smaller lots. These same homes will have fewer potential buyers as a growing demographic will be looking for another type of product and one that is somewhat lacking in the communities throughout the Triangle.

Finding a 2,500 square foot ranch in North Raleigh is a challenge for the best real estate agents in the area. As you move into the farther reaches of Wake County, you can find developments that have this type of product, but closer to Raleigh, you find very few of these properties. With the rising land cost, it will be hard for developers to purchase land for this type of product and make it profitable enough to market and sell these units at an affordable rate.

This aging trend will bode well for the condominium projects that have become very popular in the downtown areas, but the affordability for most of these products will not benefit the bulk of the aging population with limited wealth.

It will be an interesting trend to follow to see what happens and what new housing products will come online to assist this growing population.

Gas at 3 Month Low: Can it go lower? Will it?

Did you hear the good news? Gas prices are down to the lowest level in 3 months. GAS PRICES ARE DOWN TO THE LOWEST LEVEL IN 3 MONTHS!!!

The average price U.S. consumers paid for a gallon of gas hit a three month low as the cost dropped 7.1 cents last week to $3.81. Yes, this is still $1.04 a gallon higher compared to a year ago, but it is moving in the right direction, primarily due to the lifting of the Executive Order by President Bush to drill off the coast.

This has caused a $33 drop in crude prices that we should expect to continue to fall over the coming weeks. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), every $1 price drop in crude oil results in a 2.4 cents off the price for a gallon of gasoline. If this is truly the case, then gasoline should fall about 79 cents from its peak according to the EIA. Of course, the national price has only fallen 30 cents, but common sense would dictate that the prices will decline slower then they rise due to unforeseen circumstances.

In the EIA's survey, the highest price for gas was on the West Coast at $4.06 a gallon, down 8.3 cents last week. This is the only region to remain above $4 a gallon with San Francisco having the highest big city price at $4.18, down 7.9 cents.

According to AAA Automobile Club, the average price in North Carolina has dropped dramatically over the past month from a high of $4.006 a gallon to $3.879 this month. Of course, this time last year, the price in North Carolina was $2.82 a gallon.

Who Qualifies for mortgage help and how to get it

Questions and answers about the Hope for Homeowners Act of 2008, passed by Congress last weekend to try to steer as many as 400,000 struggling homeowners away from foreclosure: (Originally published by AP Business Writer, Dave Carpenter)

Q: What exactly will the legislation do?

A: It will allow those who qualify to cancel their old mortgage loans and replace them with 30-year fixed-rate loan for up to 90 percent of the home's current value. The FHA will insure a total of $300 billion of the loans over a three-year period.

But the decision on whether to write such a loan remains up to banks, which would have to be wiling to take a loss on the existing loans.

Q: Who is eligible?

A: Eligible borrowers must have spent more than 31 percent of their monthly incomes on their mortgages as of March 1, 2008. The troubled loan must have originated no later than Jan. 1, 2008, and be on the borrower's primary residence. And the borrower's income must be verified.

Stay tune for more Questions and Answers on the new Mortgage Bailout bill.