7 Bathroom Remodeling Trends

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

What’s trending in bathroom remodels? Houzz recently released its 2014 Winter Bathroom Trends Study showing the top bathroom remodel preferences of more than 7,500 home owners in the U.S. and Canada. The report shows that 60 percent of home owners are targeting the master bathroom for their bathroom remodels. The two main drivers for their remodels: To upgrade features and fixtures as well as to make space more functional.

Here are some of the growing trends that emerged from the Houzz report:

#1 Goodbye, bathtubs. The bathtub is starting to move out of the master bathroom. More than four in 10 – 43 percent – are forgoing a bathtub in the master bathroom, according to the report.

Contemporary Bathroom by Mansfield Kitchen & Bath Designers Kitchen Views at National Lumber

#2 Frameless glass is “in.” The majority of the home owners surveyed say they prefer glass shower enclosures and frameless glass. Glass block is “out,” according to the report.

Contemporary Bathroom by San Francisco Architects & Designers Feldman Architecture, Inc.

#3 Let there be lots of light. Adding light was one of the top goal for home owners with their bathroom remodels, from adding windows to skylights to LED lights in the showerhead.

Traditional Bathroom by Duxbury Design-Build Firms ARCHIA HOMES

#4 Showing showerhead preferences. Rain and multiple showerheads are the clear choice for home owners under 45, while the 55-plus age group tends to prefer hand showers and sliding bars.

Contemporary Bathroom by Glen Ellyn Kitchen & Bath Designers Drury Design

#5 Seeing white. White cabinets are the top choice in master bathrooms (with medium and dark wood coming in No. 2 and No. 3, respectively). Maple is the most common type of wood used, followed by cherry and oak.

Traditional Bathroom by Dc Metro Interior Designers & Decorators Liz Levin Interiors

#6 Silver bling. Silver-tone faucets remain the most popular, with brushed nickel topping the list. Polished chrome is also popular, while brushed bronze came in as the least popular choice for current bathroom remodels.

Contemporary Bathroom by Portland Kitchen & Bath Designers Kirstin Havnaer, Hearthstone Interior Design, LLC

#7 Unique powder rooms. The powder room is getting more unique features than other bathrooms. Hardwood floors, wallpaper, pedestal sinks, and furniture-like cabinets are more commonly used in these spaces than in other bathrooms.

Traditional Powder Room by Rockford Interior Designers & Decorators KannCept Design, Inc.

Homebuyers Gaining Bargaining Power as Inventory Increases

By Zillow | Posted Feb 20th 2014 4:25PM

Updated Feb 21st 2014 10:54AM

Shutterstock

By: Camille Salama

Home values saw their smallest monthly increase since May 2012, up just 0.2 percent in January from December according to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Year-over-year, U.S. home values rose 6.3 percent in January, down from peak gains of 7.1 percent in August 2013. This slowdown is in part due to the rise in inventory of for-sale homes across the country. The number of homes listed for sale on Zillow was up 11.1 percent annually in January, the fifth straight month of rising year-over-year inventory.

Stan Humphries, home shoppers should expect to have more buying power this spring as more inventory comes onto the market and home prices start to level off. This slightly more balanced market is another step on the road back to normal, and will help offset the impact of rising mortgage rates and more expensive homes for buyers.

Inventory rose year-over-year in 82 percent of metro areas covered by Zillow, with the largest inventory gains coming in some of the areas that were hit hardest by the housing recession, including Las Vegas (up 42.8 percent), Phoenix (up 30.5 percent) and Sacramento (up 26 percent). These metros also experienced significant cooling in the pace of home value appreciation in January, as buyers had more homes to choose from and were less apt to engage in the kinds of bidding wars that helped drive prices up so quickly last year.

Want to know what the current state of the housing market is where you live? Dive into Zillow's data, available all the way down to ZIP code and neighborhood levels, here.

For a deeper analysis from Dr. Stan Humphries visit Zillow Research.

Home Value and Inventory Trends in the 35 Largest Markets
U.S. Metro	Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Jan. 2014	Y-o-Y % change in ZHVI	Median # of Homes for Sale on Zillow, Jan. 2014	Y-o-Y % Change in Inventory
United States	$169,600	6.3%	1,512,949	11.1%
New York, NY	$369,900	6.7%	73,794	9.0%
Los Angeles, CA	$501,300	17.3%	19,935	0.3%
Chicago, IL	$178,100	9.1%	38,868	-4.5%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	$144,400	4.6%	21,379	-12.3%
Philadelphia, PA	$193,700	3.0%	31,024	5.2%
Houston, TX	$143,700	3.8%	22,630	-13.2%
Washington, DC	$345,500	9.0%	13,847	14.6%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	$187,100	18.9%	36,627	7.7%
Atlanta, GA	$137,600	16.2%	22,925	10.7%
Boston, MA	$351,600	8.0%	13,915	-11.2%
San Francisco, CA	$642,400	18.4%	4,188	-1.8%
Detroit, MI	$106,600	20.0%	15,520	-1.8%
Riverside, CA	$259,600	27.3%	13,607	18.0%
Phoenix, AZ	$187,000	10.2%	20,607	30.5%
Seattle, WA	$310,000	9.6%	8,984	12.7%
Minneapolis-St Paul, MN	$197,300	7.8%	10,243	15.0%
San Diego, CA	$442,500	16.3%	6,820	-12.3%
St. Louis, MO	$131,500	-3.3%	17,509	6.9%
Tampa, FL	$135,700	16.4%	19,735	15.4%
Baltimore, MD	$237,300	5.5%	10,493	9.4%
Denver, CO	$243,900	8.0%	7,827	-3.8%
Pittsburgh, PA	$121,000	7.2%	11,678	9.0%
Portland, OR	$260,500	10.9%	7,067	9.1%
Sacramento, CA	$306,200	21.8%	3,929	26.0%
San Antonio, TX	$146,600	2.3%	8,023	-13.6%
Orlando, FL	$155,200	19.8%	9,168	22.0%
Cincinnati, OH	$131,900	4.1%	9,925	1.3%
Cleveland, OH	$115,700	1.4%	11,527	-3.5%
Kansas City, MO	$139,100	2.8%	9,551	-1.4%
Las Vegas, NV	$168,800	26.9%	8,412	42.8%
San Jose, CA	$744,800	14.5%	1,764	-5.9%
Columbus, OH	$137,300	7.7%	8,965	1.8%
Charlotte, NC	$147,600	6.0%	10,406	8.4%
Austin, TX	$201,500	7.0%	4,330	-12.8%
Virginia Beach, VA	$206,200	3.6%	11,184	15.3%