Top 10 Must-Have Features in Today’s New Homes

January 25, 2010

Americans want smaller houses and they are willing to strip some of yesterday’s most popular rooms—such as home theaters—from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles, consumer experts told audiences at the International Builders Show.

“This is a traumatic time in this country and the future isn’t something we’re 100% sure about now either. What’s left? The answer for most home buyers is authenticity,” said Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill. Buyers today want cost-effective architecture, plans that focus on spaces and not rooms and homes that are designed ‘green’ from the outset,” she said. The key for home builders is “finding the balance between what buyers want and the price point.”

For many buyers, their next house will be smaller than their current one, said Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio, Texas. Large kitchens that are open to the main family living area, old-fashioned bathrooms with clawfoot tubs and small spaces such as wine grottos are design features that will resonate today, she said. “What we’re hearing is ‘harvest’ as a home theme—the feeling of Thanksgiving. It’s all about family togetherness—casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces,” Lavender said.

Paul Cardis, CEO of AVID Ratings Co., which conducts an annual survey of home buyer preferences, said there are 10 “must” features in new homes:

1. Large kitchens, with an island. “If you’re going to spend design dollars, spend them where people want them—spend them in the kitchen,” McCune said. 2. Granite countertops are a must for move-up buyers and buyers of custom homes, but for others “they are on the bubble,” Cardis said.

3. Energy-efficient appliances, high-efficiency insulation and high window efficiency.Among the “green” features touted in homes, these are the ones buyers value most, said Cardis. While large windows had been a major draw, energy concerns are giving customers pause on those. The use of recycled or synthetic materials is only borderline desirable.

4. Home office/study. People would much rather have this space rather than, say, a formal dining room. “People are feeling like they can dine out again and so the dining room has become tradable,” Cardis said. And the home theater may also be headed for the scrap heap, a casualty of the “shift from boom to correction.”

5. Main-floor master suite. This is a must feature for empty-nesters and certain other buyers, and appears to be getting more popular in general. That could help explain why demand for upstairs laundries is declining after several years of popularity gains.

6. Outdoor living room. The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow, even in Canada. The idea of an outdoor room is even more popular than an outdoor cooking area, meaning people are willing to spend more time outside.

7. Master suite soaker tubs. Whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, but they clearly went down a notch in the latest survey. Oversize showers with seating areas are also moving up in popularity.

8. Stone and brick exteriors. Stucco and vinyl don’t make the cut.

9. Community landscaping, with walking paths and playgrounds. Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.

10. Two-car garages. A given at all levels; three-car garages, in which the third bay is more often than not used for additional storage and not automobiles, is desirable in the move-up and custom categories.

(c) 2010, MarketWatch.com Inc.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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U.S. Housing Values Continued to Show Stabilization in November 2009

January 18, 2010

U.S. home values in November 2009 showed continued stabilization when compared to previous months, with the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) down slightly (-0.1%) from October, and down 5% from levels a year ago. The ZHVI was $190,000 at the end in November, down 21% from its peak value of $239,500 in June 2006.

But, as always, conditions vary by market. This table shows trends in twenty-five selected metro markets. Of these markets, twelve had negative monthly changes in home values in November versus only nine with negative monthly changes in October, an indication that some of the markets that have exhibited positive appreciation in recent months are seeing renewed depreciation, as we expected.

The three cities with flat or positive performance in October that turned slightly negative again in November were San Diego (down 0.1% in November after six consecutive months of gains), Seattle (down 0.1% after four consecutive months of gains) and Washington D.C. (down 0.1%). Other metros with several months of gains turned in much weaker appreciation in November and are very likely to show renewed depreciation in the coming months. These include Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Denver and Los Angeles.

Nationally, the percentage of homes foreclosed in the month (out of all homes) regained its former peak of 0.1% in November indicating that foreclosure activity is picking up again. Foreclosure re-sales as a percentage of all transactions remained steady at 20% but would have likely risen higher had it not been for robust sales activity fueled by the anticipated expiration of the first-time home buyer tax credit (which was expanded and extended to the end of April).

This figure shows the month-over-month and year-over-year changes in home values for the past nine years. The annualized appreciation rate continues to moderate but we think its unlikely monthly appreciation is going to break into positive territory near-term. Instead, we expect monthly appreciation to get more negative in the coming months as foreclosures continue, inventory levels stay high, and mortgage rates increase.

For more information, visit www.Zillow.com.

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National 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Falls Back Under 5%

January 18, 2010

The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for 30-year fixed mortgages decreased six basis points last week to 4.99%, down from 5.05% the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by real estate website Zillow.com. Rates for 15-year fixed mortgages fell seven basis points to 4.41% from 4.48%, and 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages fell nine basis points to 4.06%, from 4.15 percent the week prior.

The volume of mortgage requests last week rose 18% from the prior week. Of last week’s requests, 31% were for refinance loans, 66% were for purchase loans and 2% were for home equity loans. The prior week, 32% of requests were for refinance loans, 65% were for purchase loans and 2% were for home equity loans.

Rates for 30-year fixed purchase mortgages had fallen slightly, with the average rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.97%. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates varied by state. New York mortgage rates and Connecticut mortgage rates decreased the most, from 5.26% to 5.11% in New York and from 5.19% to 5.08% in Connecticut. South Carolina mortgage rates (5.13%) and New York mortgage rates (5.11%) were the highest in the country, while Colorado mortgage rates (4.92%) and Texas mortgage rates (4.93%) were the lowest. California mortgage rates were the most requested among all states.

For more information, visit www.Zillow.com.

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6 Home Trends You Can Bank on in 2010

January 11, 2010

Is glamour dying? At the very least, it’s being redefined during an uncertain economy. “There’s a change away from the hip modernism we’ve borrowed from hotels with all the Lucite, mirrored furnishings and bright yellow and turquoise geometric carpets,” said interior designer Peter Dunham of Los Angeles, whose client list includes Ben Affleck. “We want comforting things.”

So what exactly is in store—and will be in stores—for our homes in 2010? “More craft and things that have been touched by hand,” said Keith Johnson, buyer-at-large for Anthropologie stores and the subject of the Sundance Channel’s “Man Shops Globe.”

Black on track
Black walls are turning up in home magazines and blogs, much bolder versions of the grays we’ve grown used to. “Dark walls actually make smaller rooms look bigger,” said Susan Bartlett Crater, granddaughter of Kennedy White House decorator Sister Parish. “Black also pops color in a sophisticated way.”

Patricia Shackelford of Kansas City, author of the nationally recognized design blog “Mrs. Blandings,” included a post on world-renowned interior designer and Kansas City native Thomas Britt’s black walls of the 1970s. Some of the rooms looked as if they could have been ripped from modern magazines that feature black rooms with crisp white trim and accents.

Designer Peter Dunham is even seeing black in furniture upholstery, such as black Chesterfield sofas. And Edwardian-like black coincides with what’s popular in fashion, he says.

To Grandmother’s house we go
Patricia Shackelford thinks we’ll see more patchwork quilts, hooked rugs, needlepoint and chintz. “On ‘Top Design,’ a contestant (Ondine Karady) was criticized for being too ‘grandma’ for using a crocheted throw,” Shackelford said. “Actually, she was on to the next trend.” Shackelford said it’s the return of Sister Parish design, using heirlooms or pieces with history. “It’s a way to bring comfort to formality,” she said.

Susan Bartlett Crater said using family pieces can be stylish. “My grandmother always said houses should be receptacles of memories,” Crater said. “What better way than using grandmother’s things?”

Graffiti furniture
Antiques in recent years have become more affordable, but some pieces can be unwanted, drab even, and call for help. “Antiques don’t always have to be these sacred things,” Keith Johnson said. “They can be reinterpreted.”

Made in the U.S.A.
In 2010 and beyond, a “made in the U.S.” label will resonate strongly with buyers, because people want to strengthen the economy. Buying more local items also is better for the environment.

Homestead chic
More of us are growing vegetables, crafting our own cheeses and battling city hall to keep chickens in our backyards. Just as we’ve been reconnecting with the land, look for that bond to strengthen in the rest of the home. We’ll use more locally harvested wood and reclaimed barn wood.

We’re becoming fonder of burlap-style grain-sack and rustic linen pillows. The fabrics follow on the heels of the classic rural European look popularized by Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt. He sparingly mixes industrial furniture with worm-holed unstained wooden pieces.

Flea market frenzy
Many homeowners made their first visits to flea markets and thrift stores in 2009, a trend that will get even bigger in the New Year. “People aren’t doing the full-scale bathroom and kitchen re-dos they were a few years ago,” Dunham said. “But they can easily perk up a room with textiles or a new lamp.”

(c) 2009, The Kansas City Star.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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U.S. Consumer Confidence Rises Again

January 4, 2010

Consumer confidence rose for the second straight month as more Americans expect the nation’s economy to improve in 2010, the Conference Board reported recently.

The New York-based research organization’s confidence index climbed to 52.9 for December 2009, up from a revised 50.6 in November. Confidence had been expected to rise to 54.0 compared with November’s original reading of 49.5, according to a MarketWatch survey of economists.

The Conference Board’s Expectations Index jumped to 75.6 from 70.3 in November, reflecting more optimism about the future. Yet the Present Situation index, a gauge of how consumers feel now, fell to 18.8 from 21.2—and remained at a 26-year low.Recession

“In general, the survey suggests that individuals are more optimistic about where the economy is headed than where it stands today,” said Jim Baird, chief investment strategist for Plante Moran Financial Advisors. Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board’s consumer research center, agreed. She said consumers are “rather pessimistic about their short-term prospects.”

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