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Open House

Global Warming Hits Home; Understanding Organic Labels; Downturn in Housing Market; Defibrillators Could Save Your life

Aired April 28, 2007 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

O'BRIEN: ... which I got a chance to experience a few years ago.
Hawking and his doctors were most worried about the steep climb after the freefall, where passengers suddenly get pressed to the padded floor at gravity times two. But he flew and floated without a worry.

STEPHEN HAWKING, PHYSICIST: The zero G part was wonderful and the high G part was no problem.

I could have gone on and on.

Space, here I come.

O'BRIEN: He enjoyed eight spurts of weightlessness, about four minutes in all - a brief moment in time to savor for a man who gave the world new insights into gravity, and now has defied it.

Miles O'Brien, CNN at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

(END VIDEO)

NGUYEN: What a great ride. And you can tell he really enjoyed that.

HOLMES: Four minutes - he wish it could have been longer, I'm sure ...

NGUYEN: I know.

HOLMES: ... but four minutes he'll never forget.

Well, coming up for us at the top of the hour here, another live update on that out-of-control tank fire happening in Oklahoma.

NGUYEN: But first, OPEN HOUSE with Gerri Willis starts right now.

GERRI WILLIS, ANCHOR, CNN'S OPEN HOUSE: Good morning. I'm Gerri Willis, and this is OPEN HOUSE, the show that saves you money.

Coming up, global warming hits home, how climate change could affect your property value. And what all those organic labels at the grocery store - well, what do they actually mean? We'll tell you if it pays to buy green. But first, a huge downturn in the housing market could impact you and your home. Existing home sales fell more than 8 percent last month, the sharpest drop in nearly two decades. The median home price dropped for the eighth straight month - that's eight straight months - to $217,000.

So, what does all this mean if you're a homeowner looking to sell, or if you're in the market to buy?

Here to break it down for us is Greg McBride from BankRate.com, and from Florida, real estate analyst, Mike Larson.

Welcome to both of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glad to be here.

WILLIS: So, you know, Mike, the numbers are really bad and particularly disturbing to homeowners. You say they could get worse, and you blame some things going on out in the market, particularly "relisters," you call them.

MIKE LARSON, REAL ESTATE ANALYST, MONEYANDMARKETS.COM: Sure. Well, the first thing I say when anybody asks me for my opinion on the housing market, I remind them, don't shoot the messenger.

(LAUGHTER)

But the fact of the matter - the fact of the matter is, the numbers that we've seen out for March that you referenced were pretty poor.

WILLIS: Right.

LARSON: Existing home sales are at their lowest level now since June 2003. And the new housing market is also hurting a bit here. Those sales are at the lowest level - right around the lowest level - since mid-2000.

WILLIS: OK.

LARSON: What I think - so, on the sales front, you know, we're clearly struggling.

And to me the real story, though, is inventory. We have a very, very high level of homes on the market right now.

Just to give you an example, there's about 3.75 million existing homes for sale, which is more than a million more units than we had basically at any time in the last two decades.

WILLIS: But there is some good news in the market, Greg. You say that the fact that mortgage rates are still low, hey, that's opportunity out there for people. What should they do?

GREG MCBRIDE, BANKRATE.COM: Well, the value right now is in fixed rates, Gerri. If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, if you're struggling with the possibility of facing a higher payment later, switch into a fixed rate loan.

Not only are you locking in that payment now, but you're going to lock that payment in for years to come, and that's often the biggest component of a household budget.

WILLIS: So important what you're saying there. And we're looking at mortgage rates right now. You can see what's gone on.

Bad news for home sales prices, but look at mortgage rates - really much lower.

So, Mike, back to you. When does this recovery actually begin?

LARSON: Well, I think it's going to happen gradually and will be spread out over the next 12 to 18 months. I think most likely we're looking at 2008 being the point where sellers and buyers can meet and find a happy medium and get these sales and prices going back up again.

Really - and again, it goes back to the supply issue.

One of the major problems right now, the foreclosures that are happening, those - in the month of March, for example, we had about 47 percent more foreclosures than we had a year ago. And those banks and mortgage lenders are putting those properties back on the market and thereby putting a little bit of pressure on your average sellers.

WILLIS: Right.

LARSON: And that's not going to go away for awhile.

WILLIS: Yes, that is not good.

You know, and of course, having foreclosures in your neighborhood drives down your price, as well. That's the bad news there.

You know, there are some people out there, though, that I know have had a lot of trouble. They borrowed a lot of money against their house - home equity lines of credit, home equity loans.

What should those folks be doing now, Greg?

MCBRIDE: Well, right now, I mean, the biggest thing is, if you don't have an equity cushion, you really need one. That means chip away at that loan balance by making some payments against the principle.

If you have a little bit of equity cushion in the home, that gives you the ability, whether you need to sell that home at a later date, or if you're looking to refinance, if you don't have any equity, you're making that uphill climb a bit tougher.

WILLIS: So, Mike, buyers out there - the world's their oyster, right? I mean, it's all good news for them if they've been waiting, waiting, waiting to get into the market. LARSON: It sure is. You know, you can find three, four, five houses that - on the same block sometimes - that have exactly what you're looking for.

So, as we get to the tail end of the spring selling season - let's call it June, July, end of August - you're going to have some sellers that are looking to make deals, that realize, if they don't sell now, they're going to have to wait it out another year.

WILLIS: Absolutely.

Well, I want to thank both of my guests here, Mike Larson, McBride. Thank you so much for joining us. Great advice, as always.

If prices are declining in your area, you may be wondering: What can I do to preserve my home's value?

Well, first off, don't over-invest in your house. Look, this isn't the year to spend thousands on the latest professional-grade kitchen appliances and expensive granite countertops.

The rule of thumb: spend no more than 20 percent of your home's value in upgrades. And with the market where it is, you might want to spend even more conservatively.

Second, keep an eye on your neighborhood. Foreclosed properties hurt your property value. In fact, according to the Center for Responsible Lending, home values decline 1 percent for every home that is repossessed in the neighborhood.

And finally, be patient. Real estate markets go up and down. Riding out a downturn may well be the best move you can make.

We've got so much more ahead today on OPEN HOUSE. We'll show you how you can save a life in your home.

Then, while you might not want to buy property in parts of south Florida.

And understanding organic food. Find out what those labels really mean and if it's really worth the extra cash.

But first, some other things to keep in mind as you head to the supermarket this weekend. Here's your tip of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

WILLIS (voice-over): Some products you purchase at the grocery come with use by, sell by or expiration date. Here's the scoop on what you really need to know.

Hamburger meat only holds one to two days in the fridge, three to four months in the freezer.

Fish is only OK in the fridge for one to two days. Lean fish like cod, flounder and sole will last six months in the ice box. Fatty fish like blue fish, mackerel and salmon, only two to three months.

A whole chicken or turkey will last only one to two days in your refrigerator, but an entire year in the freezer.

And while they may break easily, fresh eggs in the shell will last three to five weeks in the fridge.

That's your tip of the day.

(END VIDEO)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS (on camera): While home prices take a downward turn, you've probably noticed the price of gas keeps climbing higher.

The Lundberg Survey shows that people have been paying eight cents more at the pump over the last two weeks, bringing the price of regular gas to an average of $2.87.

Now, that's 15 cents below the all-time record set last August. For the year so far, gas prices are up 69 cents.

The price of gas goes higher. At the same time, fears of global warming, well, they're rising, too. As global warming changes the landscape across the U.S., it is also beginning to impact where people buy homes and how much those homes are worth.

Jack Otter is with "Best Life" magazine.

Jack, great to see you.

JACK OTTER, "BEST LIFE" MAGAZINE: Great to see you again, Gerri.

WILLIS: Well, let's talk about some of these trouble areas.

I think some people already know about these, like south Florida, the Keys.

You can't even get homeowner's insurance down there. It is tough to buy a house. And, of course, the weather just gets worse every year.

OTTER: Well, I think the homeowner's point is really interesting. Because what that says is, that these actuaries who work for insurance companies, you know, they don't have a political agenda. What they have decided is, we love the money that comes in from premiums, but we're not going to take it, because it's too much of a risk to insure these houses.

What I say is, if Michael Crichton is so sure that global warming doesn't exist, he ought to pick up the tab and insure some of these houses down in south Florida.

WILLIS: Well, you know, it's a big debate out there and a real problem for people who are already on the ground. Let's talk about some other trouble areas.

I was surprised by this. Napa and Sonoma - not a good place to buy. Are you kidding me?

OTTER: This was really interesting. The wine country there really started taking off in the '70s.

And it turns out that it actually benefited from the warming trend. And in the last 30 years, on average, there are 40 more days without frost in Napa Valley.

WILLIS: Which makes it important to winemaking, right?

OTTER: Exactly. Forty more days for your grapes to ripen and become perfect.

The problem is, we're now creeping up a little too high. Last year there were something like three consecutive days of 103-degree temperatures. That'll just burn the grapes right off the vine.

WILLIS: And that eventually will translate into lower property values, is your point.

OTTER: Absolutely.

WILLIS: Let's talk about barrier islands. New York to Delaware, you know, a lot of changes going on there.

Clearly, I would guess the water level is going to rise? Are you saying that my property is going to be under water there?

OTTER: Well, it's two things. One, you've got rising water levels, but also, bigger storms. And they can really pound these barrier islands.

And the barrier islands have been wonderful things forever since development began on the East Coast, because they've been toning it down, protecting the East Coast from the worst of the storms.

WILLIS: Good point.

OTTER: But should they get overrun, then that's going to be really tough, because people who have been building inland of barrier islands have built as if they're on a bay. If they're suddenly on the open ocean, that obviously really changes the equation.

WILLIS: Because the life changes quite a bit.

Now, one thing you said very interesting in this article, is that the Rocky Mountains, weather changes there have led to a beetle infestation that is hurting trees there, eventually will change climate.

OTTER: Well, it's not so much that it will change the climate, but if you buy this gorgeous cabin on a lake in the Rocky Mountains ...

WILLIS: It sounds so nice.

OTTER: ... you're surrounded by pine trees. If you're surrounded by dead, brown trees, not only is that not nearly as attractive, but it's a fire hazard.

WILLIS: OK. I've got to get you to the areas of opportunity - we spent too much time looking at the trouble areas - the Northeast.

OTTER: Well, a couple of things going on. For one thing, if it gets warmer, that's more pleasant.

But also - and we might be jumping too far ahead of ourselves here - but the ski areas are facing a lot of problems. The ski season is shortening. Making snow is really expensive.

But, should those prices go way down, people who love mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing could snap up a chalet on the cheap.

WILLIS: All right. Well, I like that.

Alaska, you say, is going to become a fabulous place to buy property.

OTTER: Right now there are these awful pictures of these houses sinking, because the permafrost is no longer permanent.

Once that settles out, they figure out how to build in this stuff, it could be a real nice place in the summer.

WILLIS: Southwest. You say water is the new gold, and I guess the Southwest is going to be inundated with water?

Tell me about that.

OTTER: Oh, not at all. The problem is that there's been a drought since 2000. There was a report in the ...

WILLIS: And that's going to end.

OTTER: Well, no. Actually, there will be a lack of water. So, anyone who owns property, say, over an aquifer could find themselves over an oil well. I mean, it will be so valuable to own that water.

WILLIS: Jack Otter, thanks for joining us.

Up next, the newest technology that could save your life.

And eating healthy. Labels, you know they can be confusing, and organic food can cost a whole lot more. We'll show you what's what when we come right back.

But first, your mortgage numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WILLIS: There's so much out there about eating healthy that, frankly, it gets really confusing. You don't know if it's healthier, worth the cost or if you're just getting ripped off.

Is it time to clean out the cabinets this weekend and start from scratch? Well, decide for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

WILLIS: They say organic, Urvashi. But you look all through this store and you can buy organic anything - organic grapefruit, organic kiwi - you name it, grapes, mangos. It's everywhere.

But at the end of the day, what really pays to buy organic?

URVASHI RANGAN, SENIOR SCIENTIST, CONSUMER REPORTS: It's a great question. And people don't have umpteen dollars to spend, and there's often a premium associated with organic.

WILLIS: As much as 50 percent, right? I mean, a lot of money.

RANGAN: That's absolutely right. Yes. And there are some ways to cut that. You can shop at local farmers' markets, as well.

But if you're going to prioritize your organic dollars - you're buying, say, for health reasons. But there's also certain vegetables and fruits that typically contain higher numbers of pesticide residues and higher levels conventionally.

And so, if you want to get the most value for your organic buck, buying organic versions of those can be really helpful.

WILLIS: So, what's on the dirty dozen list? Which wouldn't you buy and which would you buy, Urvashi?

RANGAN: Well, for example, apples have been shown to have very high pesticide residue levels. Peaches, as well. So those are great examples of fruits that you might want to choose organic.

WILLIS: Wow, this is awesome.

So, what does it mean when meat is organic? Does that have any real meaning?

RANGAN: Yes. Actually, organic meat production is very significant in terms of value added. The animals don't eat animal byproducts, they don't receive antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones, steroids.

They eat all organic diets from vegetables that were grown organically. So, there's a lot of value to having it.

WILLIS: So, you say that when you eat seafood, you really take your chances. Right?

RANGAN: Well, I think that a lot of people are looking for, say, more natural seafood than not.

Here are the key labels when you're trying to decipher that.

"Wild caught" means that a particular seafood was fished from the ocean. "Farm-raised" means that it was generally raised in a fish farm.

WILLIS: So, Urvashi, when I'm picking up cleaning supplies, there are lots of labels that are confusing. I don't know if they're marketing labels or they actually mean something.

Are these meaningful? Or is it just a marketing gimmick?

RANGAN: A number of cleaning products make a lot of natural claims. And if you see something that sounds vague or just meaningless, treat it as such.

Take the product, flip it over. You're going to need to do some additional work.

So, if something says "natural," for instance, there are no standards for what that has to mean. If something says "nontoxic," there are no standards for what that has to mean.

WILLIS: So many of these products, the number one ingredient is water. That's natural, right? Does that count?

RANGAN: That's a great question. And, in fact, water is exempt from, say, organic certification.

So, for products that are labeled as organic, or maybe even natural, there's no one water that's more natural than another.

WILLIS: So, Urvashi, you say that it is critically important to buy organic when you're buying baby food. Parents spend so much money on baby food.

Why is it so important to make sure you've got that organic label when you're shopping?

RANGAN: Scientific studies have actually shown that children who eat fruits and vegetables that organic and drink organic juice actually have less pesticides floating in their bodies than kids who don't.

WILLIS: Wow. I think the issue for so many parents is, maybe shopping organic doesn't fit their budget. They worry that they're paying more for each and every one of these little jars they buy.

RANGAN: It's true that organic can often carry a hefty premium, but if you shop around, especially for baby food, sometimes you'll only spend a few more cents on the dollar for every jar of baby food.

WILLIS: So, more, but maybe just a little bit more, particularly if you're willing to shop around.

RANGAN: And for a lot more value.

(END VIDEO)

WILLIS: Always pays to shop around.

As always, if you have an idea for a weekend project, send us an e-mail to OpenHouse@cnn.com.

And if you want to check out this weekend's projects, again, check out our Web site, cnn.com/openhouse.

Up next, it's easy to use and it could save somebody's life. A fool-proof, at-home defibrillator. This is one segment you can't afford to miss.

But first, to a city known for its harbor and with quite an impressive health care system in this week's "Local Lowdown."

(BEGIN VIDEO)

WILLIS (voice-over): Johns Hopkins, ranked the number one hospital by "U.S. News and World Report" for the last 15 years. CPR was developed there, as well as a method for administering chemotherapy directly into the brain.

Baltimore itself is home to around 640,000 people. On October 2, 1996, the city became the first in the nation to introduce 311 as a non-emergency hotline phone number, thereby keeping 911 clear for genuine emergencies.

And did you know, Baltimore served as the capital of the United States from December, 1776, through February, 1777.

That's your "Local Lowdown."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS: According to the American Heart Association, less than 5 percent of people who go into sudden cardiac arrest survive.

Here with hope to improve that statistic and save lives, Michael Miller. He's the senior vice president and general manger of cardiac care for Philips Electronics.

And Ed Stapleton, assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at SUNY Stony Brook.

Thanks to both of you for being here.

You know, I read somewhere that 80 percent of heart attacks happen in the home. You know, and that is so scary for people. But you actually have hope for people who are worried that's going to happen to them.

ED STAPLETON, CLINICAL EMERGENCY MEDICINE, SUNY STONY BROOK: That's correct. The key variable, when somebody has a collapse or a cardiac arrest - sudden cardiac arrest - is defibrillation. If you get defibrillated quickly, the probability to survive is very good.

WILLIS: Well, you know, I'm used to seeing professionals do this. You say that I can do this myself?

STAPLETON: Absolutely. I often say that defibrillators are easier to use that TV sets.

WILLIS: Easier to use that TV sets? Is that true?

STAPLETON: Not VCRs, TV sets.

MICHAEL MILLER, CARDIAC CARE, PHILIPS MEDICAL SYSTEMS: It's very easy to use. In fact, a lot of the effort that went into designing this went into making it easy to use.

And lots of research went into it, so that we tested it on people who had never seen it before, to see what would happen.

WILLIS: OK, show me how it works. I'm really interested in seeing.

We have a dummy here named Ann. And give us the 101 on how you would do this, if you were in the home.

STAPLETON: OK. The first thing you would do, if you notice somebody collapses, is check for responsiveness.

Are you OK? Are you OK?

If the patient doesn't respond, go call 911, which is very important, and get a defibrillator quickly.

Then you would check for breathing. And if, in fact, the person is not breathing, you would start CPR.

But since the defibrillator is here, I would use it immediately.

So, all you do is turn the defibrillator on, and then it will talk you through the procedure.

DEFIBRILLATOR: Again, by removing all clothing from the patient's chest.

STAPLETON: Straightforward direction, get the clothing off.

DEFIBRILLATOR: Cut clothing, if needed.

STAPLETON: Then you'd actually pull and expose the pads.

DEFIBRILLATOR: Look carefully at the pictures on the white adhesive pads.

STAPLETON: And the pads actually have a picture that shows where they go.

DEFIBRILLATOR: Peel one pad from the yellow plastic liner.

STAPLETON: And you take the pad, put it in place.

DEFIBRILLATOR: Place pad exactly as shown in the picture. Press firmly to patient's - press pads firmly to patient's bare skin.

STAPLETON: Then the machine will take you through it.

DEFIBRILLATOR: No one should touch the patient.

STAPLETON: Clear. Everybody clears the patient.

The machine will recognize the need to shock the patient ...

DEFIBRILLATOR: No one should touch the patient.

STAPLETON: ... and automatically charge.

DEFIBRILLATOR: Analyzing. Shock advised.

STAPLETON: Everybody clear?

DEFIBRILLATOR: Stay clear of patient. Press (ph) shock delivered.

STAPLETON: And at this point I would start CPR, so that after the shock you would do CPR until EMS gets there.

WILLIS: And what if I sort of misdiagnosed what's going on? I mean, will the machine not shock the patient?

MILLER: You can't miss. You can't miss.

WILLIS: How come?

MILLER: Because the system has algorithms in it, software in it, that senses whether it's a rhythm that needs to be shocked, or the patient's healthy, or some other problem.

WILLIS: So, the machine will know.

MILLER: You could put it on you or me and it wouldn't shock us.

WILLIS: And how expensive is this? This is really sophisticated equipment that I would think is very, you know, costly, certainly for institutions, much less to have in the home.

MILLER: Well, this is the home version and it sells for under about $1,300. You can buy it through Amazon.com or other online sources.

WILLIS: OK. Thank you so much to both of you for showing us this. Of course, this is not a substitution for an actual training course. Check with your local American Red Cross chapter or EMS for training classes.

As always, we thank you for spending part of your Saturday with us. OPEN HOUSE will be back next week, right here on CNN.

And you can catch us on HEADLINE NEWS every Saturday and Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Don't go anywhere. Your top stories are next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Have a great weekend.

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