FRONT LINES: Fast Takes

The kids are gone. Does that mean it’s time for empty nesters to buy a less expensive home? No, say Countrywide Home Loans and the National Association of Home Builders in a study of the 50-plus homeownership market. Many homebuyers aged 50-plus aren’t downsizing to a less expensive house or apartment, says Jack Haynes, executive vice president at Countrywide in Plano, Texas. Instead, they’re buying more expensive, although not necessarily bigger, houses. To attract these buyers, builders are offering houses that come with yard service, high-speed Internet access, and universal accessibility design features. For more information on National Association of Home Builders, Countrywide senior homebuyer study, click here.

Driving nation? Sprawl has become synonymous with traffic congestion and pollution, and now critics are charging it with another modern ill: growing girths. Suburbs provide little opportunity for people to walk, even those who are disposed to do so, say critics. The Urban Land Institute and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, among others, are looking at the connection between America’s growing weight problem and suburban growth. In its effort, ULI is working with a foundation to boost pedestrian-safe and -friendly suburban development. For more information on Walkable communities, click on the links below.

Walkable communities
(Click "Building Places for People Not Cars: ULI Assess Challenges, Opportunities of Walkable Communities.")

Treacherous suburbs
(Scroll to "New Study Ranks Most Dangerous Places for Walking.")

Celebrate homeownership. June, National Homeownership Month, is the official kickoff for a multitude of community-building activities by REALTORS® around the country. To help, NAR has produced “This is my home” kits filled with ideas on how to make your community cleaner, safer, and more beautiful. There are also resources to help you organize community-building activities. For more ideas and to access the kit online, click here.

FACTOID:

Thirty-eight percent of people think property taxes are the least fair taxes they pay, compared with 21 percent who believe federal income taxes deserve that distinction, according to a Gallup poll conducted in early April. The last three times Gallup asked about tax fairness, between 1990 and 1994, property taxes and federal income taxes were virtually tied. Why the shift? The pollster notes that with the nation engaged in Iraq, people appear to be rallying around the flag. For more information on Gallup poll on tax fairness, click here.