Monday, March 3, 2014

The Hottest Outdoor Trends for 2014

On March 3, 2014, in Curb Appeal, Home Trends, by Melissa Tracey

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine
A home’s inviting outdoor space may be just enough to get a home buyer to fall in love. TheAmerican Society of Landscape Architects recently surveyed nearly 180 landscape architects asking them to rate the expected popularity for 2014 of a variety of residential outdoor elements.
Across all categories, respondents rated the following as “somewhat” or “very in-demand” for 2014: lighting, seating/dining areas; fire pits/fireplaces; grills; installed seating, such as benches, seatwalls, ledges, steps, and boulders.
“Home owners know that designed landscapes add value to their lives as well as their property values,” says Nancy Somerville, ASLA executive vice president and CEO. “They’re interested in livable, open spaces that are both stylish and earth friendly.”
Here’s a breakdown of how home owners are sprucing up their outdoor spaces, and some of the top trends that landscape architects pinpointed for 2014 in each category.
Top Outdoor Design Elements
1. Gardens and landscaped spaces
2. Outdoor living spaces (kitchens, entertainment spaces)
3. Outdoor recreation amenities (pools, spas, tennis courts)
4. Sustainable design practices
Top Outdoor Living Features
1. Lighting
2. Seating/dining areas
3. Fire pits/fireplaces
4. Grills
Top Outdoor Recreation Amenities
1. Decorative water elements, such as ornamental pools, splash pools, waterfalls, grottos, water runnels, or bubblers
2. Spa features (hot tub, Jacuzzi, whirlpools, indoor/outdoor sauna)
3. Swimming pools
4. Sports/recreational spaces (tennis courts, bocce ball, etc.)
Top Landscape/Garden Elements
1. Low maintenance landscapes
2. Native plants
3. Fountains/ornamental water features
4. Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards/vineyards, etc.
Top Sustainable Design Elements
1. Native/adapted drought-tolerant plants
2. Drip/water-efficient irrigation
3. Permeable paving
4. Reduced lawn
Top Outdoor Structures
1. Terraces/patios/decks
2. Fencing (includes gates)
3. Pergoals
4. Decks
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Friday, February 28, 2014

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.
#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.

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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.
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Homebuyers Gaining Bargaining Power as Inventory Increases

By Zillow | Posted Feb 20th 2014 4:25PM
Updated Feb 21st 2014 10:54AM

Row of nice homes on a street, all of them for sale
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%
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