When the Avengers team up to save the world, they don’t exactly tread lightly. Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. super-team are constantly facing the threat of global annihilation, all while risking life and limb. But when the bone-crunching fights are over, and the dust settles, who pays for all the damage? Certainly not the bad guys!

There’s no doubt the Avengers would need a superhero-sized bundle of insurance policies to cover the financial consequences brought on by their brawls. But what, exactly, would these policies look like? There are different types of insurance policies we all may need at one time or another, especially super heros and they are provided by example below. 

How Much Coverage Would the Avengers Need?
The Hollywood Reporter sought out some hard numbers in 2012, when they asked the disaster experts at Kinetic Analysis Corp. (KAC) to calculate the economic toll the events from The Avengers would have taken on Manhattan. They estimated that the damage unleashed by Loki, his flying Chitauri minions, and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s nuclear missile would have cost New York at least $160 billion. That figure includes up to $70 billion in property damage and $90 billion in cleanup and recovery costs.

What Coverages Would the Avengers Need? While $160 billion dwarfs the $220 million budget of the film itself, it’s only a fraction of the expenses the Avengers would incur over the course of many battles. Before the next epic face-off begins, the super-team would be wise to invest in several types of insurance coverage.

Some of the Avengers have their own solo movies, but all of them would need their own insurance policies. See how one would insure the following Avengers to accommodate their unique risks.

Insuring Black Widow (AKA Natasha Romanoff)
From the moment it dropped out of the sky in the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, Black Widow’s Harley Davidson was a scene-stealer. Natasha is a martial arts expert who knows how to handle a bike, but even she would need motorcycle insurance for her magnificent ride.

Insuring Captain America (AKA Steve Rogers)Insuring Hawkeye (AKA Clint Barton)
When he’s not taking down aliens with his archery skills, Hawkeye lives a modest life on a farm with his small family. Mr. Barton would need a homeowners policy to protect this hideaway, but we also hope he has a safe room inside to keep his loved ones secure.

Military tests turned scrawny Steve Rogers into a super-soldier, and it was Iron Man’s dad, Howard Stark, who built Captain America’s vibranium shield. Cap should definitely invest in a personal property policy for his life-saving shield, and he would also need renters insurance for his apartment.

Insuring Iron Man (AKA Tony Stark)
Cap’s frenemy and fellow Avenger requires the most comprehensive coverage of all. As a billionaire businessman, the owner of an artificial heart, and the target of angry gods, aliens, mutants, and artificial life forms, Tony Stark would need some serious insurance coverage.

Business Owners Policy: BOP insurance would give Iron Man the basic coverage he needs to protect Stark Industries from property damage and basic liability claims. It’s basically mandatory for the owner of a big corporation, and it would cover the building in New York and other properties with Stark’s name on it. Here are the policy options he would need to consider:

General Liability Coverage: Stark owns the patent to Iron Man, and Stark Industries manufactured the suit and heart. The company’s general liability coverage would cover them if Iron Man got sued for claims of negligence, property damage, injuries, and more.

Product Liability Coverage: Even after Stark’s change of heart in the desert, his company’s weapons continue to cause collateral damage, and product liability coverage protects these goods.

Even Superheroes Need Insurance
Every time the Avengers team up to save the world from a supervillain, damage follows. It may be a small price to pay for mankind to survive another day, but we don’t live in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We can only imagine how much havoc Captain America and Iron Man will wreak in their civil war, but if they choose the right coverages, at least they won’t owe millions (or billions!) of dollars in liability costs.  Something we should all consider from time to time when we review our policies for Home, auto and maybe a blanket policy for the gaps.  We recommend you compare pricing with three different companies and you will generally save money when you bundle coverage for two or more products (like home and auto) which is less costly than separate policies and companies.  

Tom Stachler, real, estate, one, ann arbor, saline, michigan, broker, sales, agent, houses for sale, home pricing and inventory list.. Properties for sale in Saline Michigan

The best technique for pricing a home when listing it for sale is setting the asking price just below a round number, according to recent research published by the Journal of Housing Research – an official publication of the American Real Estate Society (ARES).

“These findings will help real estate brokers and sellers of homes develop more informed listing and marketing strategies to better suit sellers’ needs,” said Ken Johnson, Ph.D., ARES publication director, real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business and co-developer of the Beracha, Hardin and Johnson Buy vs. Rent Index. “The results of this study take a lot of guess work out of the marketing of homes for real estate brokers.”

The study looked at 1,000 buyers in Virginia considering a pool of more than 370,000 listings. The researchers were able to determine the impact of “rounded pricing” listing strategies versus “just below pricing” listing strategies.

“Our study suggests that by using the just below pricing strategy sellers can price their home slightly higher without driving away potential buyers,” says Eli Beracha, Ph.D., of Florida International University, who conducted the study with Michael J. Seiler, Ph.D., of The College of William & Mary. “As a result, they end up selling their house for more.”

How does dropping your asking price ever so slightly impact the final outcome?

“On average, buyers are more attracted to a house priced at $199,000 than to a house priced at $200,000 and it appears that ‘just below’ pricing works out favorably for sellers in terms of their bottom line,” Beracha explains. “Based on our research, the ‘just below’ pricing strategy yields a selling price that is, on average, roughly 2.5 to 3 percent higher, $5,000 to $6,000 on a $200,000 house, compared with a rounded pricing listing strategy.”

While residential real estate agents widely disagree on the appropriate pricing strategy to use when listing residential real estate for sale, the researchers found that homebuyers more often prefer homes priced using a “just below” pricing strategy. This preference allows sellers to list their home for a higher initial listing price.

On the other hand, due to the demand effect, rounded priced homes typically have shorter time on the market and a lower discount relative to listing price. Their findings suggest that sellers’ ability to set higher listing prices for properties using a “just below” pricing strategy outweighs the lower discount and shorter time on the market associated with similar rounded priced strategy homes.

“We tested the age-old debate concerning the best technique to price a home when listing it for sale,” Seiler says. “We find that using a price just below a round number works best, particularly in connection to the left-most digit in the price. So, $199,000 works better than $200,000.”

Want to get a ball park price on your home?  Used this automated website at www.RealtyQuest.info if you are curious.  

Also, if you are first looking to purchase a home,  you might like a inventory list of homes in a certain area, having a certain size and price point.  Click here to get a list of homes currently for sale.  

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Whether you have children or not, it pays to buy in an area with great schools. Realtor.com® recently released a new study that identifies the price premium to buy a home in a strong public school district, as well as the top 10 districts garnering the highest home prices and demand from buyers.

School districts rising to the top are: Beverly Hills Unified in Los Angeles; Highland Park Independent School District in Dallas; Kenilworth School District No. 38 in Kenilworth, Ill.; Rocky River City School District in Cuyahoga, Ohio; Clear Creek Independent School District in Harris, Texas; and School Town Of Munster School District in Lake, Ind.

Realtor.com® compared homes located in school districts rated 9 or 10 on the GreatSchools.org 10 point scale to homes situated in districts rated six or less. The analysis shows homes within the boundaries of the higher rated public school districts are, one average, 49 percent more expensive – at $400,000 – than the national median of $269,000 and 77 percent more expensive than schools located within the boundaries of the lower ranked districts with a median of $225,000.

Houses located in these areas, on average, also move eight days faster than homes in below average school districts and sell four days faster – at 58 days – than the national average of 62 days. Additionally, properties within the boundaries of higher-rated school districts are viewed 26 percent more, on average, than the average home on realtor.com® (an indicator of buyer demand) and 42 percent more than homes in areas with below average schools. “It’s common knowledge that buyers are often willing to pay a premium for a home in a strong school district,” says Javier Vivas, research analyst for realtor.com®. “Our analysis quantifies just how good it is to be a seller in these areas. On average, homes in top-rated districts attract a price premium of almost 50 percent and sell more than a week faster than those located in neighboring lower ranked school districts.”

A look at the top school districts

The district with the second highest Home Price premium is Highland Park Independent School District in Dallas where homes are 632 percent more expensive at $1.8 million than the median home in Dallas County at $277,000. Homes in Highland Park are 3.7 times and 4.4 times more expensive, respectively, than neighboring districts of Coppell Independent School District in Coppell, Texas – rated 9 – with a median of $470,000 and Dallas Independent School District in Dallas – rated  5 – with a median of $400,000, respectively.Highest Price Premiums

In top-ranked Beverly Hills Unified School District, homes sell for 689 percent more, at $3.8 million, than other homes in Los Angeles County, at $550,000. That’s 1.6 times the premium of homes located in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District – rated 9 – that covers Santa Monica, Calif. and Malibu, Calif. and has a median list price of $2.5 million. Beverly Hills’s price premium is 3.9 times more than Culver City Unified School District in Culver City, Calif. that has a rating of 8 and a median list price of $975,000.

Kenilworth School District No. 38 in Kenilworth, Ill., where homes carry a median sales price of $1.6 million, ranked third in the nation with its home price premium of 606 percent compared to Cook County. That’s 2.1 times more than the neighboring district of Wilmette Public Schools District 39 in Wilmette, Ill., rated 10 by GreatSchools, with a median list price of $780,000, and 1.2 times more than Winnetka School District 36  in Winnetka, Ill., rated 10, with a median list price of $1.4 million. Winnetka School District 36 is also ranked fifth in the nation for its home price premium.

Highest Demand from Home BuyersRounding out the Top 10 school districts with the highest price premiums are: Indian Hill Exempted Village School District – Hamilton, Ohio; Winnetka School District 36 – Winnetka, Ill.; Manhattan Beach Unified School District – Los Angeles; Scarsdale Union Free School District – Westchester, N.Y.; Saddle River School District – Bergen, N.J.; San Marino Unified School District – Los Angeles; and Mariemont City School District – Hamilton, Ohio. See chart below for additional detail.

The district with the highest home buyer demand – as measured by realtor.com® listing views compared to the surrounding county – is Rocky River City School District in Cuyahoga, Ohio, rated 10, where listings within district boundaries receive 2.8 times more views than other areas in Cuyahoga County. Homes in the Rocky River District also receive 1.7 and 1.5 times more listing views, respectively, than Westlake City School District in Westlake, Ohio ranked 9 by GreatSchools and Lakewood City School District in Lakewood, Ohio with a GreatSchools rating of 6.

Vivas adds, “While highly ranked school districts in these markets have pushed home prices higher than their surrounding areas, the majority of these high demand markets are relatively affordable when compared to the national median, which is a big factor contributing to their popularity.”

The second most popular school district in the nation for home buyers is Clear Creek Independent School District in Harris, Texas. It garners 2.2 times the listing views of Harris County and 1.2 and 1.0 times as many views, respectively, as nearby districts of Pasadena in Pasadena, Texas (rated 5) and La Porte Independent School District in La Porte, Texas.

Coming in as the third most viewed school district for home buyers,  School Town of Munster School District in Lake, Ind., has a GreatSchools rating of 9 and receives nearly 2.2 more listings views than other homes in the county. That’s 1.36 more views than neighboring district of School Town Of Highland Independent School District, rated 6, in Highland, Ind.

Completing the Top 10 list are Orange School District – New Haven, Conn.; Etiwanda Elementary School District – San Bernardino, Calif.; Longmeadow School District – Hampden, Mass.; Strongsville City School District – Cuyahoga, Ohio; Plymouth-Canton Community School – District Wayne, Mich.; and Regional School District 05 School – District New Haven, Conn.

For more School information and District Maps, please click here and look at the bottom of the realty resources page you will be directed to.  Its important to keep in mind that the most popular districts may not always be the state's top rated scholastically due to inventory supply and demand, but its generally safe to assume a "popular district" will be one providing superior results or resident satisfaction. 

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The researchers focused on heterosexual couples in the US and measured responses by 2,767 married couples as part of a long-term health survey. Marriages had already lasted for 33 years on average, with approximately two-thirds in their first marriage, Decanter.com reported.

“We’re not sure why this is happening,” said practitioners, who studies relationships across adulthood. Drinking may not be the only reason they’re getting along, she said.“We’re not suggesting that people should drink more or change the way they drink,” study author Dr. Kira practitioners, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, told Reuters Health.

This isn’t the first time research has found wine to have beneficial properties. Food and Wine took a look at a number of studies that suggest wine’s key ingredient, resveratrol, is beneficial. Those studies indicated resveratrol promotes longevity, reduces risks of heart attacks, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.

Good news for those that don’t want to imbibe but still want the health benefits: Resveratrol may soon be available in pill form.There was one study that, sadly, didn’t pan out according to Snopes.com: Drinking wine before bed will not make you skinny.

What do you think?  Do we Have any practitioners out there?  

Home prices maintained their robust, upward trajectory in a vast majority of metro areas during the second quarter, causing affordability to slightly decline despite mortgage rates hovering at lows not seen in over three years, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of REALTORS. The report also revealed that for the first time ever, a metro area – San Jose, California – had a median single-family Home Price above $1 million.

The median existing single-family home price increased in 83 percent of measured markets, with 148 out of 178 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) showing gains based on closed sales in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2015. Twenty-nine areas (16 percent) recorded lower median prices from a year earlier.

There were slightly fewer rising markets in the second quarter compared to the first three months of this year, when price gains were recorded in 87 percent of metro areas. Twenty-five metro areas in the second quarter (14 percent) experienced double-digit increases – a small decrease from the 28 metro areas in the first quarter. A year ago, 34 metro areas (19 percent) experienced double-digit price gains.

The national median existing single-family home price in the second quarter was $240,700, up 4.9 percent from the second quarter of 2015 ($229,400), which was previously the peak quarterly median sales price. The median price during the first quarter of this year increased 6.1 percent from the first quarter of 2015.Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says a faster pace of home sales amidst languishing inventory levels pushed home prices higher in most metro areas during the second quarter. “Steadily improving local job markets and mortgage rates teetering close to all-time lows brought buyers out in force in many large and middle-tier cities,” he says. “However, with homebuilding activity still failing to keep up with demand and not enough current homeowners putting their home up for sale, prices continued their strong ascent – and in many markets at a rate well above income growth.”

Total existing-home sales,including single family and condos, rose 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.50 million in the second quarter from 5.30 million in the first quarter of this year, and are 4.2 percent higher than the 5.28 million pace during the second quarter of 2015.

At the end of the second quarter, there were 2.12 million existing homes available for sale, which was below the 2.25 million homes for sale at the end of the second quarter in 2015. The average supply during the second quarter was 4.7 months – down from 5.1 months a year ago.“Primarily from repeat buyers moving up or trading down, existing sales increased each month last quarter and could’ve been even higher if not for a few speedbumps,” explains Yun. “Closings were slowed a bit by meager supply levels and home prices in many areas that are still rising too fast.”

According to Yun, without enough new construction being built, existing inventory seriously failed to keep up with the growing demand for Buying. As a result, homes typically stayed on the market for around a month throughout the second quarter, and over 40 percent of listings sold at or above list price, with June being the highest share since NAR began tracking in December 2012 (43 percent).

Despite falling mortgage rates and a small increase in the national family median income ($68,774), swiftly rising home prices caused affordability to decline in the second quarter compared to a year ago. To purchase a single-family home at the national median price, a buyer making a 5 percent down payment would need an income of $52,255, a 10 percent down payment would require an income of $49,504, and $44,004 would be needed for a 20 percent down payment.“Many listings in a majority of markets – and especially those in lower price ranges – had multiple offers and went under contract quickly because of severely inadequate supply,” adds Yun. “This in turn dented affordability and without a doubt priced out a segment of buyers attempting to seek relief from fast-growing rents.”

The five most expensive housing markets in the second quarter were the San Jose, California, metro area, where the median existing single-family price was $1,085,000; San Francisco, $885,600; Anaheim-Santa Ana, California, $742,200; urban Honolulu, $725,200; and San Diego, $589,900.

The five lowest-cost metro areas in the second quarter were Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio, $85,400; Cumberland, Maryland, $94,900; Decatur, Illinois, $95,600; Binghamton, New York, $105,500; and Rockford, Illinois, $109,000.

Metro area condominium and cooperative prices – covering changes in 59 metro areas – showed the national median existing-condo price was $227,200 in the second quarter, up 4.8 percent from the second quarter of 2015 ($216,700). Forty-four metro areas (75 percent) showed gains in their median condo price from a year ago; 14 areas had declines.

NAR President Tom Salomone says REALTORS® in most areas say market conditions have remained competitive well into the summer. “The further decline in mortgage rates in recent months is bringing new buyers into the mix on top of the pool of those who have yet to close on a home because of insufficient supply,” he says. “With the large number of homes selling at or above listing price, buyers should work with a REALTOR® to ensure they’re only searching for and making offers on a home that fits within their budget.”

Regional Breakdown

Total existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 7.6 percent in the second quarter and are 11.3 percent above the second quarter of 2015. The median existing single-family home price in the Northeast was $273,600 in the second quarter, up 1.6 percent from a year ago.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales leaped 10.4 percent in the second quarter and are 6.6 percent higher than a year ago. The median existing single-family home price in the Midwest increased 5.1 percent to $191,300 in the second quarter from the same quarter a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the South inched forward 0.3 percent in the second quarter and are 4.2 percent higher than the second quarter of 2015. The median existing single-family home price in the South was $214,900 in the second quarter, 5.9 percent above a year earlier.

In the West, existing-home sales climbed 1.4 percent in the second quarter but are 2.2 percent below a year ago. The median existing single-family home price in the West increased 6.5 percent to $346,500 in the second quarter from the second quarter of 2015.

ann arbor home prices continue to rise in michigan.