Foreclosed homes out the wazoo

It still amazes me that we don't actually know how many foreclosed homes there are out there. The latest estimate came out today from Barclays, which puts the number at 480,000 (h/t to the WSJ Developments blog). RealtyTrac puts the number at 758,000. Others go somewhere in between.

So I'm thinking only half of those are in my neighborhood ...

But seriously, that's when it really hits home when you see it in your own area. With all this extra time I found myself with, courtesy of my former employer, I took a long walk (the first in quite a while) around my entire 900-home neighborhood. (It's a relatively new development -- all the homes were built between 1999 and 2008.) I was stunned to see just how many homes appear to be empty and presumably foreclosed upon. And there's a whole other bunch on the market.

Sure makes me worry about the future salability of my home. After all, I did literally buy it at the height of the market. Case Shiller says home prices in Chicago peaked in Nov. 2006 -- the exact month we signed our contract. I have nothing if not good timing.

Memorial info for Don Novak

Most of you who would want to know this probably already do, but there is an endowment fund set up in Don Novak's name. Donations in his memory can be sent to:

HBA Endowment Fund

Kirkwood Foundation

PO Box 2068

Cedar Rapids IA 52406

Checks can be made payable to HBA Endowment Fund and will, among other things, endow a Don Novak scholarship

Thoughts on Don Novak

Just got some bad news. Don Novak, one of the great guys in the remodeling industry, passed away this morning. Don had been battling cancer for years, but stayed positive throughout.

Don was a past chairman of the NAHB Remodelers, 2002 NAHB Remodeler of the Year, a member of Remodeling magazine's Big 50 and recipient of a number of other awards over the years.

He was always willing to share information and his experience. The industry will certainly miss him.

Why I love the remodeling industry

Remodeling is a great industry filled with great people.

That's all I can say after the flood of support and well wishes I've gotten since Reed shut down Professional Remodeler on Friday -- calls, e-mails, comments through the various social media sites. It's great to hear what an impact we had on the industry at PR, and the offers of people to help me find what comes next for me.

I just got back from the NAHB Spring Boards in DC, where I was out trying to network and just generally keep up on the industry, and it was more of the same out there. Hopefully, I'll figure out a way to stay involved, whether or not we get Professional Remodeler restarted.

Here we go again

Welcome, everyone.
As one of the hundreds of former Reed employees terminated last week, I find myself with some more freetime, and a writer's gotta write, right?

My blog on HousingZone.com will disappear at the end of the month, so I'm moving over here to write on my own. For reasons beyond my comprehension, it was the most widely read blog on the site, so somebody must want to read what I have to write about.

Because I have an irrational love for the remodeling industry, I'll write about that here, but you'll also see me go a little further afield -- after all, nobody's paying me to do this anymore!