By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
The trend of the shrinking home size may finally be leveling off, according to the latest Home Design Trends Survey by the American Institute of Architects.
Since 2005, architects have increasingly reported home sizes on the decline as the sluggish economy prompted more home owners to desire smaller homes with lower maintenance and upkeep costs. But the downsizing trend is showing a few indications that it may be coming to an end.
In the first quarter of 2010, nearly 60 percent of the architects surveyed in AIA’s Home Design Trends Survey reported home sizes declining. Fast forward to the first quarter of 2011 and that number now has dropped to 52 percent, while 5 percent of architects are now reporting an increase in home sizes. Home sizes in the upper-end of the market, in particular, appear to be stabilizing ahead of more affordable entry-level homes.
“While this doesn’t suggest that home sizes are suddenly and dramatically increasing, it does indicate that the pace of decline has slowed,” writes AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker in the report. “Until home prices begin to accelerate, it is unlikely that homes sizes and volumes will show significant gains.” (What are you seeing in your market? Take our poll!)
This follows on the heels of an AIA home design trends survey earlier this year that showed nearly a quarter of architects reported the size of kitchens was increasing after years of being downsized. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine
Married couples no longer hold the majority in households. In 1960, married couples made up 75 percent of total households. In 2010, that percentage has dropped to 48 percent, according to U.S. Census data.
Meanwhile, “family households”–which includes married couples with no children–has bloomed from 45.1 million in 1960 to 77.5 million in 2010. And non-family households (people living alone or households where no one is related) has soared–increasing nearly five times in the last 50 years–from 7.9 million in 1960 to 39.2 million in 2010.
“These significant demographic shifts create opportunities to design and sell homes to a growing group who cannot find what they want in the resale market because the resale market was primarily built for families,” according to a report by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
So given the growth in non-family households, what do these potential home buyers desire? Here are some of the findings from John Burns Real Estate Consulting:
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
I’m working on an upcoming article for REALTOR® Magazine featuring home staging solutions for spicing up common household areas. I’m looking to showcase some of your best staging solutions and tips for the following areas in a home …
- Fireplace
- Dining room table
- Kitchen countertops
- Bathroom countertops
- Bookshelves
If you have tips to freshen up these areas with staging, please e-mail me at mtracey@realtors.org, and be sure to include your name, company, and city/state. Photos are encouraged (even better if you can show before and after photos)!
We will be featuring some of your best examples and tips in an upcoming article in REALTOR® Magazine.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine
Wall decals–or pretty much wall stickers–are increasingly growing in popularity to decorate walls in a room, but should you use them in staging properties for sale or will it send the message as tacky? (Take the poll.)
These peel-and-stick decals can depict anything and everything, from bold graphics to cartoon characters to motivational phrases. They are inexpensive and easy to stick onto a wall and just peel off when you’re ready to move on.
“Those old-fashioned, ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’ kind of sayings in that script, I think those are a little cheesy,” designer and TV host Sabrina Soto, a guest designer on HGTV’s “HGTV’d” series, told Florida Today (“Designers’ Do’s and Don’t for Decorating With Decals”).
But wall decals aren’t just for spreading “cheesy” messages or showing off the latest “Cars” or “Toy Story” character in children’s bedrooms. Some designers are actually using wall decals more artistically and incorporating them like wallpaper or an accent wall (see video below). Unlike wallpaper, though, the decals are easy to peel off. And as an art accessory to the walls, they won’t leave any holes behind either. Continue reading »
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