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Five Housing Trends for 2011

January 22, 2011 By Brian Kinkade

With the start of the New Year upon us, it’s time to take a look at some of the housing trends expected for 2011. Here’s a look at 5 housing trends for the New Year.

Trend #1: Purchasing a Home for the Long Run

According to the Census, the average person moves about 11 times. Many experts are predicting, however, that this trend will change in 2011.

“Thankfully, the idea of a home as a short-term moneymaker is essentially gone, so when people do buy, they’d to it with the intention of staying put for closer to 10 years rather than two to three,” said Jim Chittaro, who is the president of Smykal Homes, in a recent RISMedia article.

As a result, buyers will be putting more thought into the floor plans they select when building a new home to ensure the home is able to grow with them.

“Floor plans that can adapt to lifestyle changes with flexible features like second family rooms should do well in 2011,” continued Jim Chittaro.

Trend #2: Smaller is Better

For the first time in decades, the average size of a new home fell from 2008 to 2009 and the trend is likely to continue into the New Year. Not only are buyers working off of smaller budgets, but many have learned that there is no reason to buy a bigger home than necessary. As a result, builders are likely to look for ways to cut back on home sizes while making the most out of the square footage at hand.

Trend #3: Going High-Tech

A growing number of home buyers are looking for high tech gadgets that will make full use of technology. Rather than having a centralized control panel that controls lighting, appliances and entertainment systems, however, buyers in 2011 will want to use a smart phone app instead. By connecting electronic devices to a phone app, homeowners can have everything up and running before they even step in the door.

Trend #4: Making it Green

Buyers in 2011 will be looking for homes that are green without sacrificing beauty. Thanks to new products and design concepts, homes in 2011 can be stylish and sophisticated as well as eco-friendly. Furthermore, sustainable building materials and other green features are far more cost-effective than they were in the past, which means home buyers don’t have to break the bank when going green.

Trend #5: Creating a Healthy Home

With the number of people suffering from allergies being on the rise, it stands to follow that more home buyers will be looking for healthy homes in 2011. Things such as indoor air quality and the use of healthier materials during the construction process will be important to buyers in 2011. HVAC systems with top-notch filtration systems and the use of low-VOC materials are two items that are likely to be quite popular in 2011.

John Allen represents buyers and sellers of Sarasota homes for sale, condos and vacation properties. His team of experienced agents cover the entire area from downton Sarasota to the barrier islands.

Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: Housing Trends for 2011

The Impact of Lower Interest Rates

August 31, 2010 By Brian Kinkade

This past week the government announced that home sales for the month of July were down. The media reported the story of gloom and doom and some buyers ran for cover quickly as they predicting things like continued decreases in real estate prices, and the famous double dip. Many in the know yawned as they heard this news, as they knew it was coming. It marked the end of the leftover deals from the government’s tax credit which ended in June. The news itself made many potential buyers ask the same question they have asked themselves over and over again, Is it a good time to buy?

Then the rumor started to spread that because home sales were down the government was going to have to come out with a new tax credit or some other stimulus package. Naturally buyers had to ask the question again but word it a bit differently. If there is a possibility of a new tax credit, is it a good time to buy or should I wait?

A new rumor hit the street that once again made buyers think twice if it was the right time to buy. There is now talk of lower interest rates. Yes, rates lower than those 4.5% rates you have been seeing could be in the not too distant future. If this is the case as a buyer, Should I wait to buy until rates go lower or is now a good time to buy a house?

With lower interest rates coming, certainly more home buyers will be driven into the market place. The first impact of lower interest rates is that the home affordability index drops, simply making homes more affordable to more people.

The cause and effect has been seen before and it will happen again. In is impossible to time any market. From the stock market, to the real estate market, picking the exact bottom or top only happens out of luck and perception. It you perceive you sold at the top of the market, then you did. Today years after the peak of our real estate prices in the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate market, it is almost impossible to find two real estate professionals who agree when the peak was.

However, when more buyers come to market, and start to buy, because of great prices or low rates, or needing a home, the reason does not matter; inventory starts to shrink (we already see this happening), the days on market for the best homes becomes less (we all ready see this happening), great home priced right, get multiple offers (we all ready see this happening), and then finally as all the pieces fall into place we will start to see prices begin to stabilize and increase.

So the next line is not an original but I have always loved it, with prices this low and interest rates this low, when is a great time to buy a house? When you find the one you like.

So let’s start hunting.

Simply tell us what’s on your Fort Lauderdale real estate wish list, and we are here to help with real answers!

About the Author:
Eric Miller is a broker associate /owner with Keller Williams Realty in Fort Lauderdale. Eric Miller and Associates is an award winning team of realtors and be found on line at www.FortLauderdaleGroup.com. Thinking about purchasing a home in the Fort Lauderdale area Eric Miller provides complete access to all listed Fort Lauderdale Homes for sale. Thinking about a Fort Lauderdale Condominium, you can find all Ft. Lauderdale Condominiums for sale. Eric and his team have worked in East Fort Lauderdale for over ten years where Eric was a top agent at Prudential prior to joining Keller Williams.

Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: Interest Rates

Experts See a Bright Future for Colorado’s Economy

August 25, 2010 By Brian Kinkade

According to Henry Cisneros, who is a national housing expert as well as a former Cabinet secretary, it appears as if the worst of the housing market challenges have been put behind the state of Colorado.

“I think the bleeding has stopped in Colorado,” said Cisneros when referring to the state’s housing market. “There are no huge drops in price here, no large inventories.”

Cisnero, who is an advocate for equal opportunity ownership as well as the executive chairman of CityView, was recent in Denver discussing the recent Housing Finance Summit put on by the U.S. Treasury Department. CityView, which is a Los Angeles-based real estate investment company, has demonstrated its confidence in Colorado by investing in The Peloton condo development project taking place in Boulder.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, both of which are government-sponsored enterprises that purchase mortgages available on the secondary market and then pools then and sells them to investors as mortgage-backed securities, were also popular topics at the summit. It is no secret that the two government entities have taken partial blame for the national housing crisis and, as a result, were taken over by United States regulators just before property foreclosures and high loan delinquencies almost brought them to a collapse. Since this time, lawmakers have been trying to determine what to do with the two entities, with some even considering disbanding them, splitting them into multiple pieces or replacing them with an entirely new entity.

“I think it’s playing with fire to abolish Freddie and Fannie,” said Cisneros. “I think there will be a restructuring of them, but I don’t know what it will look like yet.”

Cisnero went on to explain that, despite the recent troubles, Fannie and Freddie both play a large role in helping Americans purchase a home. Furthermore, he maintained that privatization of the services they provide would result in an increase in mortgage costs.

When it comes to the Colorado housing market, and the Denver housing market in particular, Cisnero believes the area is starting to experience an upward trend partially because it was one of the first housing markets to experience troubles. Furthermore, economic experts believe the state’s relatively strong economy, which is largely based on future growth industries such as bioscience, technology and sustainable energy, will continue to attract workers from other states while also assisting the housing market.

“Colorado has the kind of economy that can come back…and Denver is a prototype for smart growth – sustainable, denser building,” added Cisneros in a recent report in the Denver Business Journal.

Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: Colorado Housing Market, Colorado’s Economy