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Time to Reality Check the Real Estate Market

March 15, 2013 by

Time to Reality Check the Real Estate Market

Rarely does a day go by that I don’t get asked if this is a good time to buy and/or sell a home. Some people might think that my response is always an emphatic “YES!” because I work in real estate. But in truth, there is no right or wrong answer. Every person’s circumstances are unique, so in some cases the answer might be yes, but for others it might make more sense to wait. Allow me to explain.

The good news is that we’re finally coming out of the housing slump of the past five-plus years. Housing is a major driving factor of the U.S. economy, so regardless of whether or not one owns a home, a stronger housing market is good for everyone. For some would-be home sellers, this positive momentum, combined with a rise in home prices and buyer activity, is enough to compel them to list their home. And right now the statistics appear to be on their side.

According to the most recent findings from the National Association of REALTORS®, total housing inventory has fallen for the past several months, settling at just under two million existing homes on the market that are available to buyers. This represents about a four-month-supply of homes throughout the U.S. This is the lowest housing supply the nation has seen since May of 2005 – during the peak of the housing boom.

“Months supply” basically means that if existing homes were to continue selling at the current rate, the inventory of homes would be sold by that many months. A “normal” market usually has around six months of supply; therefore lower numbers mean a shortage of inventory. If demand is greater than supply, this often leads to competition amongst buyers – and rising prices – as we’ve seen in many markets throughout the Western U.S.

Here are the current inventory levels in key markets along the West Coast, all of which fall below six months of supply and report strong competition among buyers.

· Seattle: 1.4 months
· Portland: 4.2 months
· San Francisco: 1.8 months
· Las Vegas: 3.8 months
· Palm Springs: 2.5 months

The following graph demonstrates the downward trend in the overall U.S. month’s supply of homes which is currently at about 4.4 months:

Existing-Homes-Chart [1]

So what does this mean for buyers and sellers?

It means as long as inventory levels remain low, competition amongst buyers will remain high, and home prices should continue to steadily rise – albeit at a healthy rate – not like what we saw during the housing boom. As evidence of this, in the recent Home Price Expectation Survey, 105 leading housing analysts called for a 3.1 percent increase in home values by the end of 2013. And in a recent report by the National Association of REALTORS®, median home prices last quarter showed the strongest year-over-year increase in seven years.

Another thing that buyers and sellers need to keep their eye on is interest rates and their impact on affordability. Interest rates have been at such historical lows for so long that it’s easy to take them for granted. But the truth is that several lending institutions, including Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association, project that interest rates will rise from 3.4 to 4.4 percent by the end of 2013. A full point increase can have a significant impact on the amount of your mortgage over the long term.

OB Jacobi is the president of Windermere Real Estate.

For more information, visit www.windermere.com

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Homebuilding takes a breather; wholesale prices up

March 14, 2013 by

Homebuilding takes a breather; wholesale prices up

A vacant and blighted house sits next to a well-kept occupied house in a once thriving eastside neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON | Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:30pm EST

(Reuters) – U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes last month but a jump in permits for futureconstruction to a 4-1/2-year high indicated thehousing market recovery remains on track.

Another report on Wednesday showed wholesale prices rose in January for the first time in four months. However, the gain was smaller than expected and left scope for the Federal Reserve to keep buying bonds to stimulate the economy.

Housing starts dropped 8.5% in January to an 890,000-unit annual rate, pulled down by a sharp drop in the volatile multi-family unit category, the Commerce Department said.

Starts for single-family homes hit their highest level since July 2008, and permits for future construction, which lead starts by at least a month, were at their highest level since June 2008.

The drop in starts followed an outsized gain in December and was confined to the Northeast and Midwest, suggesting winter weather likely contributed to the pullback.

“The fundamentals are there and the drivers are looking good,” said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “We see more new construction this year. The only question is whether it will be in the multi-family or single-family segment.”

Housing has shifted from being a headwind for the economy to being a pillar of support, although mortgage rates have crept higher in recent weeks, cooling loan demand.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers on Wednesday reported disappointing quarterly results, hurt in part by lower selling prices, but other homebuilders have been able to take advantage of the recovering market.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed producer prices rose 0.2% last month as rebounding food costs offset declining gasoline prices. Wholesale prices had slipped 0.3 % in December, and economists had expected them to rise 0.4 % in January.

Food prices accounted for more than 75 % of the rise in wholesale prices last month.

INFLATION PRESSURES MUTED

Away from the spike in food prices, the producer price report showed inflation pressures were generally muted.

In the 12 months through January, wholesale prices were up 1.4 % and data on Thursday is expected to show consumer inflation below the U.S. central bank’s goal of 2 %.

“Inflationary pressures remain well contained,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago. “The Federal Reserve would rather see inflation slightly higher in response to stronger economic conditions than benign because the recovery remains tepid.”

In an effort to drive down borrowing costs and spur stronger growth, the Fed last year launched an open-ended bond buying program and said it would keep it up until it saw a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market.

But minutes of the U.S. central bank’s January 29-30 meeting showed a number of policymakers believed the Fed might have to slow or stop asset purchases before seeing an acceleration in job growth because of concerns over the costs.

U.S. stocks fell on the minutes, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index posting its biggest one day percentage decline since mid-November.

The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. Prices for U.S. Treasury debt ended higher.

Wholesale prices excluding volatile food and energy costs edged up 0.2 %  last month after gaining 0.1 percent in December. In the 12 months through January, those so-called core prices rose 1.8 %, the smallest gain since February 2011.

(Additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Tim Ahmann and Leslie Adler)

 

John Marcotte

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Existing home sales edge higher, inventory at 13-year low

March 13, 2013 by

Existing home sales edge higher, inventory at 13-year low

A vacant and blighted house sits next to a well-kept occupied house in a once thriving eastside neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

U.S. home resales edged higher in January and left the supply of homes at its lowest level in 13 years, a sign that steam is gathering in the U.S. housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales rose 0.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million units.

That was the second highest rate of sales since November 2009, when a federal tax credit for home buyers was due to expire.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 4.9 million-unit rate.

The U.S. housing market tanked on the eve of the 2007-09 recession and has yet to fully recover, but steady job creation helped the housing sector last year, when it added to economic growth for the first time since 2005.

The nation’s inventory of existing homes for sale, which is not seasonally adjusted, fell 4.9 percent from December to 1.74 million, the lowest level since December 1999.

Many Americans are holding back from putting their homes on the market because they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. A sharp drop in inventories over the last year has given developers more incentive to build homes. Home building is expected to boost the economymore in 2013 than it did last year.

Inventories were down 25.3 percent from January 2012.

At the current pace of sales, inventories would be exhausted in 4.2 months, the lowest rate since April 2005.

The low inventories are also helping pushing prices higher.

Nationwide, the median price for a home resale was $173,600 in January, up 12.3 percent from a year earlier.

(Reporting by Jason Lange)

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Young Adults After the Recession

March 12, 2013 by

Young Adults After the Recession: Fewer Homes, Fewer Cars, Less Debt

 

SDT-2013-02-Financial-Milestones-00-01After running up record debt-to-income ratios during the bubble economy of the 2000s, young adults shed substantially more debt than older adults did during the Great Recession and its immediate aftermath—mainly by virtue of owning fewer houses and cars, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Federal Reserve Board and other government data.

SDT-2013-02-Financial-Milestones-00-02From 2007 to 2010, the median debt of households headed by an adult younger than 35 fell by 29%, compared with a decline of just 8% among households headed by adults ages 35 and older. Also, the share of younger households holding debt of any kind fell to 78%, the lowest level since the government began collecting such data in 1983.

Debt reduction among young adults during bad economic times has been driven mainly by the shrinking share who own homes and cars, but it also reflects a significant decline in the share who are carrying credit card debt, from 48% in 2007 to 39% in 2010.

On the other side of the ledger, many more younger households were carrying student loan debt after the recession than before: 40% had such debt in 2010, up from 34% in 2007 and 26% in 2001.

These shifts in the debt profile of younger adults reflect a broader societal shift toward delayed marriage and household formation that has been under way for decades. This report analyzes the patterns of debt holding and asset ownership among younger households over time.1 Here are its key findings:

Home

The share of younger households owning their primary residence fell sharply from 40% in 2007 to 34% in 2011. Among younger households, the fall in ownership was accompanied by a decline in how many younger households had debt secured by residential property.2 In 2007, 38% of younger households had debt secured by residential property. By 2010 only 35% had such debt. The median outstanding amount of residential property debt owed (by younger households with such debt) fell from about $150,000 in 2007 to $128,000 in 2010.

Cars

In 2007, 73% of households headed by an adult younger than 25 owned or leased at least one vehicle. By 2011, 66% of these young households had a vehicle. Among households younger than 35, outstanding vehicle debt declined from 2007 to 2010. In 2007, 44% of households younger than 35 had vehicle debt. By 2010, only 32% had vehicle debt. The typical outstanding amounts owed among young households with vehicle debt fell from $13,000 in 2007 to $10,000 in 2010.

Credit Card

Younger households have pared their credit card balances. In 2010 only 39% of them carried a balance, down from 48% in 2007 and 50% in 2001. The median outstanding amount owed among younger households with balances has fallen over the decade from $2,500 in 2001 to $2,100 in 2007 and diminishing further to $1,700 in 2010.

Student Loans

Student debt was the only major type of debt to increase in prevalence among young households during the recession. In 2007, 34% of young households had outstanding student debt. By 2010, 40% of younger households had student debt. However, the median amount owed by households with student debt fell from $14,102 in 2007 to $13,410 in 2010.

Debt-to-Income Ratios

SDT-2013-02-Financial-Milestones-00-03One way to measure a household’s financial well-being is its debt-to-income ratio, which compares total outstanding debt to annual income. As the figure to the right indicates, the debt-to-income ratio of younger adult households more than doubled from 1983 to 2007, when it peaked at 1.63. By 2010 it had fallen back to 1.46. By contrast, the ratio among older households continued rise through this entire period. As of 2010 it has risen to 1.22, still below that of younger households.

Concentration of Young Adult Debt

A significant majority of the outstanding debt of households headed by young adults was owed by households with college-educated heads. This partly reflects that better-educated households were more likely to owe student debt, but they were also much more likely to own their homes and have debt secured by residential property.

Younger and Older Households

During the Great Recession, households headed by younger and older adults were on different debt trajectories. From 2007 to 2010, the median debt of households headed by those 35 and older fell by just 8% — from $32,543 in 2007 to $30,070 in 2010 — compared with a 29% drop among younger households. The share of older households having any kind of debt declined slightly, from 75% in 2007 to 74% in 2010, as did the homeownership rate of older households. In 2011, 72% of older households owned their principal residence, down from 74% in 2007. But there has been very little change in the share of older households that have debt secured by a residential property, or the median amount of such debt.

SDT-2013-02-Financial-Milestones-00-04With regard to other types of debt, older households have shed less than younger households. The prevalence of vehicle debt fell from 32% in 2007 to 30% in 2010 among older households, compared with a 12 percentage point drop among younger households. The share of older households carrying a credit card balance declined from 45% in 2007 to 40% in 2010, while the share among younger households dropped by 10 percentage points.

Debt Profile by Age

The recession did not significantly alter the overall debt profile of households 35 and older. In both 2007 and 2010, 86% of all their debt was secured by residential property. But among younger households, the debt profile has shifted. Student debt is a growing share of their total debt (rising from 9% in 2007 to 15% in 2010), and debt tied to residential property and vehicle and credit card debt have become relatively less important. Debt tied to residential property constituted 74% of the debt of young households in 2010, down from 79% in 2007.

Financial and Non-Financial Assets

SDT-2013-02-Financial-Milestones-00-05Younger and older adults both saw their median household assets – which includes homes, cars and other durable goods, plus all financial assets such as savings accounts and stock holding — decline from 2007 to 2010. Older adults have many times more assets overall than younger adults, and they suffered steeper asset declines during this period – a 22% drop, compared with 14% among younger adults. One reason for the difference is that older adults have more of their assets in financial holdings, and stock market valuations took a steep downturn from 2007 to 2010. Since then, the stock market has regained virtually of all its losses, while the housing market in most of the country has remained well below its historic peak.

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Household debt falls sharply among younger Americans: study

March 11, 2013 by

Household debt falls sharply among younger Americans: study

A newly built housing project is seen near downtown Detroit, Michigan, January 4, 2012. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

(Reuters) – The recession had a strong impact on young Americans who saw the credit crisis up close: they are taking on less credit card debt, delaying plans to buy homes and owning fewer cars, according to a study released on Thursday.

From 2007 to 2010, the median debt of U.S. households headed by people aged 35 and younger fell by 29 percent – from $21,912 to $15,473 – while debt of older Americans fell by just 8 percent, to $30,070, according to a Pew Research Center study titled “Young Adults After the Recession.”

Residential property accounts for at least three-quarters of average American debt, so much of the drop may be connected to a decrease in home ownership. The number of Americans under 35 who own their primary residence dropped to 34 percent in 2011 from 40 percent in 2007, Pew said. Meanwhile, the percentage of homeowners over age 35 fell by 2 percentage points to 72 percent.

“As younger people invest in education and wait longer to enter the workforce or start families, that may mean they will wait longer to buy homes,” said Richard Fry, a senior economist at Washington-based Pew and the author of the study.

Young adults are cutting back on credit card usage as well. Young households with credit card debt fell by 10 percentage points to 39 percent between 2007 and 2010.

Car ownership is an area in which younger Americans also cut back. The number of households led by adults under 35 with auto debt fell by 12 percent between 2007 and 2010. The typical outstanding car loan fell to $10,000 from $13,000.

As unemployment drove many young people to return to school, student debt increased during the recession. By 2010, 40 percent of households headed by young adults had student debt, up from 34 percent in 2007 and 26 percent in 2001.

Squeezed by increasing student debt, younger Americans are cutting debt in other areas. Their median level of debt fell to $15,473 in 2010 from $17,938 in 2010, according to the study.

(Editing by Lauren Young and Dan Grebler)

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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February – 2013 Real Estate Market Update

March 10, 2013 by

February – 2013 Real Estate Market Update

Inventory Levels

Entire MLS (All Areas)

Residential Highlights:

  • 19.5% increase in the number of closed sales year-over-year
  • 18.5% increase in the number of closed sales year to date
  • 23.6% decrease in average days on market (81)
  • 31.4% decrease in active listings
  • 11.7% increase in average price – sold
Condo Highlights:
  • 16.8% increase in number of closed sales year-over-year
  • 22.1% increase in number of closed sales year to date
  • 27.7% decrease in average days on market (73)
  • 37.9% decrease in number of active listings
  • 8.8% increase in average price – sold

Click here for Full report of entire MLS

 

Courtesy of Land Title

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Regulators move forward on foreclosure relief

March 9, 2013 by

Regulators move forward on foreclosure relief

A lock secures a chain on the steel fence of a foreclosed home previously owned by U.S. Bancorp in Los Angeles, California July 17, 2012. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

By Aruna Viswanatha

(Reuters) – Borrowers whose homes were foreclosed on during the U.S. housing crisis will start receiving payments in April from a $3.6 billion fund under a previously announced settlement with 13 banks, regulators said on Thursday.

Certain borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by one of the 13 banks can expect to receive between a few hundred dollars and $125,000, under settlements designed to end case-by-case reviews of past foreclosures.

The Office of the Comptroller Currency and the Federal Reserve in 2011 ordered banks including Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Wells Fargo to review individual loan files after widespread mistakes were discovered in the way mortgage servicers had processed home seizures.

The reviews were initially expected to determine which borrowers were harmed and to compensate them based on their individual experiences. The process proved slow and expensive, though, with more than $1.5 billion going to consultants.

In January regulators replaced the reviews with about $9.3 billion in settlements, including $3.6 billion in cash payments to foreclosed borrowers. Struggling borrowers will receive the rest of the money in the form of assistance, including loan modifications and forgiveness.

By the end of March, regulators will provide information about the payments to borrowers who fall into one of 11 categories, including those eligible for protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, those who were not in default when foreclosed on, and those denied a loan modification, the OCC said.

Regulators are still determining how many borrowers fall into each category, OCC Deputy Comptroller Morris Morgan said on a conference call with reporters. Once they have that figure, they can calculate how much money each borrower is likely to receive, he said.

DECLINING ERROR RATE

The OCC and the Fed have faced criticism from Congress over both the reviews and the settlement that ended them. Lawmakers have asked for more information about the consultants who conducted the reviews and what they turned up.

Regulators initially said about 6.5 percent of the loans reviewed appeared to have some errors. On Thursday Morgan said that error rate had declined, but did not provide a specific figure.

The banks are expected to try to keep borrowers in their homes, but the settlement does not mandate specific kinds of relief.

The servicers will receive varying degrees of credit for modifying first and second loans, waiving deficiency judgments, offering short sales, and other types of relief.

Three servicers subject to the original reviews, Everbank, OneWest and GMAC Mortgage, did not enter into the settlements and will continue their reviews, the OCC said.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)

 

John Marcotte

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February’s U.S. Home Prices Signal Solid Start to Spring Buying Season

March 8, 2013 by

February’s U.S. Home Prices Signal Solid Start to Spring Buying Season

Clear Capital recently released its Home Data Index(TM) (HDI) Market Report with data through February 2013. Using a broad array of public and proprietary data sources, the HDI Market Report publishes the most granular home data and analysis earlier than nearly any other index provider in the industry.

According to the report, February’s home prices are up 6.1 percent over the year, and quarterly price trends at the national and regional levels show moderate improvement over the typically slow winter season. Additionally, 11 (of 15) of the lowest performing major metro markets saw quarterly price trends in February give way to minor losses.

“While February’s yearly growth of 6.1 percent is encouraging, let’s remember this rate of growth is measured against the market’s bottom, which we reported in our March 2012 Market Report,” says Dr. Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital.” Consumer confidence continues to be vital to a broader housing recovery and national quarterly home prices expanding 1.0 percent in the midst of winter is confirmation the recovery has legs. While 1.0 percent is weaker in comparison to more recent rates of quarterly growth, the positive trend continues to support homebuyer confidence and is on par with the new normal.

Recent updates on the regulatory front could also build momentum in the housing revival. The Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule gives lenders more definition on extending credit to homebuyers, who continue to be encouraged by positive economic signs. The real question now is how many of those sidelined borrowers will qualify for a loan under the new rules. All told, February’s home data shows the housing recovery on track.”

For more information, visit www.clearcapital.com

 

John Marcotte

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January Existing-Home Sales Hold with Steady Price Gains, Seller’s Market Developing

March 7, 2013 by

January Existing-Home Sales Hold with Steady Price Gains, Seller’s Market Developing

homebuyers_sold_sign Existing-home sales edged up in January, while a seller’s market is developing and home prices continue to rise steadily above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales rose in every region but the West, which is the region most constrained by limited inventory.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million in January from a downwardly revised 4.90 million in December, and are 9.1 percent above the 4.51 million-unit pace in January 2012.

“Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady,”says Robert Lawrence. “In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market in much of the country.”

Total housing inventory at the end of January fell 4.9 percent to 1.74 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.2-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.5 months in December, and is the lowest housing supply since April 2005 when it was also 4.2 months.

Listed inventory is 25.3 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.2-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is at the lowest level since December 1999 when there were 1.71 million homes on the market.

“We expect a seasonal rise of inventory this spring, but it may be insufficient to avoid more frequent incidences of multiple bidding and faster-than-normal price growth,” Yun explains.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $173,600 in January, up 12.3 percent from January 2012, which is the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases; that last occurred from July 2005 to May 2006. The January gain is the strongest since November 2005 when it was 12.9 percent above a year earlier.

Distressed homes– foreclosures and short sales– accounted for 23 percent of January sales, down from 24 percent in December and 35 percent in January 2012. Fourteen percent of January sales were foreclosures and 9 percent were short sales. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 20 percent below market value in January, while short sales were discounted 12 percent.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.41 percent in January from a record low 3.35 percent in December; it was 3.92 percent in January 2012.

NAR President Gary Thomas says homes are selling faster. “The typical home is selling nearly four weeks faster than it did a year ago,” he said. “In this environment, REALTORS® can help buyers strike a balance between moving quickly and protecting their interests, such as making offers contingent upon a satisfactory home inspection and obtaining a loan; of course, a loan pre-qualification may help too.”

The median time on market for all homes was 71 days in January, down from 73 days in December and is 28.3 percent below 99 days in January 2012. Short sales were on the market for a median of 94 days, while foreclosures typically sold in 47 days and non-distressed homes took 75 days; 31 percent of all homes sold in January were on the market for less than a month.

First-time buyers accounted for 30 percent of purchases in January, unchanged from December; they were 33 percent in January 2012.

All-cash sales were at 28 percent of transactions in January, down from 29 percent in December and 31 percent in January 2012. Investors, who account for most cash sales, purchased 19 percent of homes in January, down from 21 percent in December and 23 percent in January 2012.

Single-family home sales increased 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.34 million in January from 4.33 million in December, and are 8.5 percent above the 4.00 million-unit level in January 2012. The median existing single-family home price was $174,100 in January, up 12.6 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 1.8 percent to an annualized pace of 580,000 in January from 570,000 in December, and are 13.7 percent higher than the 510,000-unit level a year ago. The median existing condo price was $169,600 in January, up 9.4 percent from January 2012.

 

For more information, visit www.realtor.org 

For additional commentary and consumer information, visit www.houselogic.com  and http://retradio.com

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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What Do Home Buyers Really Want?

March 6, 2013 by

What Do Home Buyers Really Want?

homebuyers_young_couple_inside Many in the housing industry are wondering not only what today’s home buyers really want, but also what they are ready to leave behind in light of current economic realities. A new study recently released by NAHB, What Home Buyers Really Want , was designed to answer these questions, and more specifically, to provide the most current and accurate information on buyer preferences so that NAHB members can deliver the home (and community) that today’s buyers want and are willing to pay for.

So what do home buyers really want? The first answer is energy efficiency. Four of the top most wanted features involve saving energy: 94 % of home buyers want energy-star rated appliances, 91% want an energy-star rating for the whole home, 89 % want energy-star rated windows, and 88% want ceiling fans.

The second message buyers are sending is they want help keeping their home organized. The laundry room is wanted by 93 % of buyers; in fact, 57 % consider it essential and would be unlikely to buy a home without it. This shows that most buyers want to keep the dirty laundry contained in a room and away from plain view. Moreover, nine out of ten buyers want a linen closet in the bathroom to help keep towels and toiletries organized. A garage door that is working and regularly maintained with the help of garage door repair specialists, as well as space in the garage to store bikes, sports equipment, or gardening tools also ranks high on the buyers’ wish list: 86 % want it. And a walk-in pantry in the kitchen is something most buyers care a lot about as well (85 %).

More than half of all buyers also discard the option of having only a shower stall in the master bathroom with no tub (51%), and many are saying ‘no’ to two-story spaces as well. About 43% of buyers do not want a two-story family room and 38% feel the same way about a two-story entry foyer. Many buyers now consider these large, open spaces as energy-inefficient – the last thing they want for their homes. A complete outdoor kitchen is not a very important priority to many buyers either, as 31% flat out discard the possibility of washing dishes, cooking, and keeping food refrigerated outdoors. For most buyers (62 %), an outdoor grill will suffice.

For more information, visit www.nahb.org

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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