10 Must-Have Features in New Homes
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
So what home features are buyers asking for the most in their search for a new home?
AVID Ratings Co., a firm that provides surveys and employee training to home builders across the United States and Canada, conducts an annual survey of home buyer preferences.
The company found the following hot home features reign supreme in today’s market:
1. Large kitchens with an island.
2. Energy-efficient appliances and high-efficiency insulation and windows. (These were the most sought-after “green” features from buyers.) Read more
It Ain’t Worth What it Used To Be
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
So what’s the going rate for a 132-room, 55,000-square foot mansion with 18 acres, 16 family-guest rooms, three kitchens, three elevators, 28 fireplaces, and an underground bunker? Oh, and we forgot to mention: The president happens to live there too.
Apparently the White House can’t seem to escape the sagging housing market either. In the last year, the posh 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. address dropped in value by 5.1 percent—from $308 million to $292.5 million, according to a recent post on Zillow’s blog. Read more
From the International Builders’ Show: Room to Consider
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
A quick takeaway from the Thursday morning International Builders’ Show session “Top 10 Technology Trends” – the average age of a gamer is 33 years old.
Why does this matter to a real estate practitioner?
Well, video games aren’t just for teenagers anymore. And this American pastime is impacting space needs in a home.
Gaming systems such as the Wii are incorporating interactive elements more and more. Homes will need open spaces for these activities.
Also consider Avatar. The movie has racked in $320 million at the box office, breaking records and resetting the bar for cutting-edge entertainment. The future is heading towards 3D everything, says Matt Carter of Encore Technology and Design in Columbia, S.C. This, too, will require more space for viewing and media interaction in the home.
The bottom line? Ask your clients what they want to use their spaces for.
Knowing whether your buyers are big movie buffs, or if are keen on the latest video games and gaming systems, will help you find them a home that best suites their space needs.
For more coverage from the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, also visit our Speaking of Real Estate blog.
From the International Builders’ Show: Reach Out to the ‘Green Goddess’
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
About twice as many single women purchase homes than single men, accounting for 20 percent of all home buyers. So, if you’re serious about selling homes – especially homes with green features – single women are the ones to watch.
To address this very statistic, Sara Lamia, president of Building Coach Inc.,was one of three panelists presenting her take on selling green to women during day one of the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas Tuesday. Fittingly, the session was entitled, “Evolution of the Green Goddess: Green Technologies Women Want and How to Capture Her Buying Power.” Here are a few of her trends and tips to connect women with green:
Think First Date: On a first date, people are conscious of how they look, how they act, and what they say. They want to put their best foot forward, to be impressive without being overwhelming. The same goes for selling to women, Lamia says. “In order to get more sales, you need to have more first dates.” Read more
How Do You Keep Your Home Office Organized?
According to the 2009 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Member Survey, 72 percent of all practitioners maintain a home office. With important business being conducted in the home, how do you stay organized? How important is it to keep business life and home life separate?
We want to hear your tips for keeping a home office in order! We also encourage you to send us photos of your home office.
Your feedback and images may be included in an article for REALTOR® Magazine’s April “List Issue.” The magazine is dedicating the month to tips and suggestions from our readers — the real estate pros!
Please e-mail your comments and photos to Contributing Editor Erica Christoffer at echristoffer@realtors.org with your name, company, and city/state.
10 Hot Home Products for the New Year
By Don Logay
As the unofficial “What’s New Guru” of the home improvement industry, I attend numerous trade shows throughout the year and scour lots of magazines and trade publications looking for new and exciting products, intriguing concepts and “gotta have” gadgets that make life just a little bit better.
My checklist for “Hot Home Products” includes simplicity, ingenuity, affordability, and great end results. Here are a few of my most recent finds and all-time favorites:
1. Giani Granite Countertop Paint
Got a kitchen countertop that’s seen better days? Laminate chipped and discolored? Solid surface counter stained and scratched? Giani is the world’s first granite paint kit for countertop makeovers. Get the premium “look” of granite at a fraction of the cost — with lots of extra benefits too. Water-based paint kits come in five realistic-looking color combinations and include everything needed to go “granite” in three easy steps in 24-hours or less. One $39.95 kit covers 35 square feet (16 running feet of 24-inch wide counter). Available at paint and hardware stores nationwide. Visit www.GianiGranite.com or call 1-800-650-5699.
2. One2Flush Dual Flush Conversion Kit
Saving water is as “easy as 1, 2…” with the brand new award-winning One2Flush toilet conversion kit. In about 20-minutes, you can quickly and easily turn a standard water-guzzling tank-type toilet into an eco-friendly, high-efficiency, water-saving dual flush model. University tests prove One2Flush — with its “half flush for liquids and full flush for solids” — reduces water use by more than 38 percent and can save an average family over 10 percent on monthly water bills. Fits all standard two-piece toilets, 1.6-gallon flush and up. Starts paying for itself immediately. Available nationwide at most hardware stores (Ace, True Value, Do-It-Best). For more information visit www.one2flush.com. Read more
Remodelers Report Signs of Market Improvement
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Some home owners are starting to take on improvement projects they previously pushed off due to financial constraints.
For the third straight quarter, the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) reported slight increases in its Remodeling Market Index (RMI). Although still far from ideal, NAHB chief economist David Croew said that markets are no longer deteriorating to the levels they were earlier this year.
The RMI is calculated through the use of member surveys that ask remodelers to describe the current market conditions and future expectations. Last month, NAHB released the most recent RMI, which rose from 34.2 to 38.7 from the previous quarter.
“Some remodelers are receiving more calls for bids, but it is still extremely difficult to close a sale,” said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Greg Miedema in a statement. The index remains below the break-even point of 50, and has been since the last quarter of 2005.
Many home owners are unable to secure a home equity loan or other lines of credit, which is holding up remodeling projects, Miedeman said.
But signs of continued improvement are on the horizon with the report showing a rise in calls for bids from 38.8 to 46.5, appointments for proposals growing from 40.3 to 43.5, and the amount of work committed for the next three months up from 23.3 to 27.5. The backlog of remodeling jobs also climbed from 34.4 to 37.2.
For more information, visit: www.nahb.org/remodel
Picture It: Create a Character to Guide Your Design
By Mary Cook, Mary Cook & Associates
Now more than ever, model homes are key sales tools for developers. In the current housing market crisis, people are weighing every factor in their decision on buying a home.
Beyond the typical questions on the quality of the finishes, school districts, and mortgage rates, those who are looking to spend their life savings on a place are looking for deeper psychological reasons to sign on the dotted line.
Does this home speak to me? Can I imagine my lifestyle being a fit here?
That’s why my firm spends so much time getting to know the prospective audience for which we design model homes. We design for specific people, often taking the time to create fictitious characters such as “John the Wall Streeter,” who lets his girlfriend decorate his place. Read more
Biggest Losers: 20 Home Design Features That Send Buyers Running
By Barbara Ballinger, Architecture Coach columnist and guest blogger
Design glitches draw attention away from a home’s best features. Don’t let out-of-date fixtures and unappealing decor cost you a sale. While some buyers may actually appreciate “vintage” features, home and design experts say these 20 features almost always serve as a turnoff.
1. Dated and excessively bold or dark paint and tile colors, such as “Pepto Bismol” pink, avocado green, deep plum, or jet black. “Dark can be cool, but it has to be a color that’s popular today,” says sales associate Jennifer Ames, crs®, of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Chicago.
2. Lacquered or high-gloss painted walls that are expensive to repaint and show all defects. Likewise, faux- and sponge-painted walls can be so passe.
3. Painted trim that’s very dark-and costly to remove.
4. Wallpaper, which is a lot of work (and potentially expensive) to remove. Most disliked: Dated flowered or striped patterns. Read more
Men From Mars, Women From Venus? Not So Much When Shopping for a Home
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
Women and men home buyers don’t differ too much when it comes to what they look for in a home, according to a new survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate, which asked 1,000 women and men about their home buying preferences.
However, women do tend to make up their minds more quickly about a home than men. In fact, according to the survey, 70 percent of women had made up their mind the day they walked into the house compared to 62 percent of men—who often needed two or more visits to decide.
Men and women mostly agree on how they would use a spare 12 x 12 room, if they had their choice. Their top choices: Read more
