HotPads Daily :: The Official Blog of HotPads.com

GTAIV Reminds Renters to Guard against Crime

The recently released fourth installment of the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto video game series, in which carjackings, shootings and general thuggery are the order of day, reminded us that crime is one of the top concerns of tenants looking for apartments to rent.

Even if underworld vendettas don't play out nightly on their streets, renters can follow tips like demanding basic safety equipment (think peepholes) and buying an inexpensive portable alarm system to increase their safety.

And of course, tenants absolutely need to make sure that they have renters insurance.  (With enough coverage for their PlayStations, natch.)

Homeowners Hit Hard by Rising Property Taxes

As if record foreclosures and sinking property values and were not enough, homeowners across the country are now facing higher property taxes as local governments try to cover revenue shortfalls after years of booming revenues.

Real property tax is determined by the home's assessed value and the local tax rate.  Homeowners across the country are fuming because in many cases the actual market value of their property has fallen sharply while the assessed value is still at a record high.  And faced with higher fuel and healthcare costs, local governments are raising the tax rate as well.

Homes in Memphis are facing a proposed 17% hike in the property tax rate.  For many frustrated owners, rental houses are looking better every day.

Holdouts Hamper Plan to Raze 1,000 Homes

The government of Youngstown, OH is looking to bulldoze over 1,000 buildings in an attempt to save money by ceasing city services in parts of the declining town that are nearly vacant.  The few homeowners that remain are eligible for grants of up to $50,000 to relocate.

In past years, cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore have tried similar tactics to revitalize their housing markets by creating new tracts of open land for future development.  However in Youngstown, some residents of the last inhabited homes refuse to leave, even for fifty large.

Perhaps they haven't seen all the great homes for sale on HotPads.com.  Sadly, $50,000 won't even pay for lawn care at one of our Hottest Pads, which start at a cool six mill.

HotPads Partners in 2008 Fortune 1000

Fortune Magazine's annual list of America's largest corporations lists two companies near and dear to HotPads: Equity Residential and AIMCO.  Both of the real estate investment trusts showcase their portfolios of award-winning apartment communities and rental developments on HotPads.com.

For property managers looking to break into the Fortune ranks, HotPads is the place to market rentals, giving them access to one of the largest and fastest-growing housing search sites with no fees charged for listings, leads or leases.  And with those low-cost Featured Listings, no property should ever go vacant.

Check out the top ten real estate firms in the Fortune 1000 here.

Cool DC Pad in a.t. Blog Contest

Washington-based blogger Collen Quinn recently posted a great piece about her friend Grace's loft for the apartment therapy blog competition. Grace's pad would be considered hot, but it's way too cool.  Check out the floors!

But it's not for sale, so if you want one like it of your own you'll have to search for a Washington, DC apartment or condo on HotPads.com.

So vote for Colleen's entry by awarding her apartment therapy "cupcakes."  Which is kind of ironic since the staff of HotPads is now addicted to cupcakes from our new neighborhood find, Georgetown Cupcake.

Mapping Site Shows Housing/Commuting Tradeoffs

The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index is a new map-based tool, created by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, that measures the true cost of housing when weighed against the costs of transportation for 52 metro areas in the U.S.

The methodology behind the numbers is complex and the raw data is a bit outdated (taken from the 2000 Census) but the interactive maps make it easy to see which areas meet the target standards for affordability.

This can help folks decide if getting a cheaper house in the outer suburbs is worth the extra commuting expense or if the sky-high real estate prices that still hold in some city centers are unbearable.  The good news: cheap places abound on the HotPads housing search.  Find an affordable area, then see HotPads for deals on apartments, condos and homes for sale.

Props to the real estate blog at the Wall Street Journal.

Friday, and Feelin' Fine

The earnest industry reporters at HotPads Daily have to tell it like we see it, which over the past few months has meant reporting a lot of bad news.  From falling home equity to rising foreclosures, the picture painted has not been pretty.

But today we have plethora of positive posts from all corners of the economy.  Freddie Mac is injecting $15 billion into the credit market by buying mega mortgages from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Washington Mutual.  Shares of Google rose 17% yesterday with data on strong advertising profits, good news for all websites offering online marketing.  And investors are even flocking back to i-banks with Merrill Lynch on the rise.

So instead of our usual Friday happy hour, we're calling for an entire Happy Day.  (But still with a happy hour at the end.)

Foreclosures Jump 57% last Month

Year-over-year numbers continue to paint a bleak picture for the nation's homeowners as foreclosures rose 57% over their March 2007 numbers.  The foreclosure website RealtyTrac posted data showing Nevada, California and Florida having the highest foreclosure rates.

But while the number of homes repossessed by banks are up 129%, the number of home being put up for auction increased only 32% since March 2007.  That suggests that more people are simply walking away from their mortgages and letting the lender take possession of the home without putting it up for public foreclosure auction.

You can check out foreclosure rates nationwide and in your area on the new foreclosure heat maps on HotPads.com, as well as browse foreclosures and other homes for sale on our interactive housing search.

HotPads Adds Foreclosure Listings and Heat Maps!

Shopping for a foreclosure deal or just interested in which areas of the country have the most foreclosures?  Now that information is just a mouse click away on HotPads.com!

With over 130,000 apartment and rental property listings, HotPads is one of the top two rental property search engines in America.  With the addition of homes for sale in November, HotPads is now one of the most comprehensive housing search sites on the web.  And now users can browse over 500,000 foreclosures powered by RealtyTrac.

HotPads' Foreclosure Heat Maps visually portray the markets hit hardest by the recent housing crisis and increased foreclosure rate. In the future, users will be able to track the trends of the foreclosure rates in different markets by comparing historical foreclosure heat maps on a week-by-week and month-by-month basis. This will bring a greater transparency to the housing crisis and illustrate the trends in each market.