Forget the Open Floor Plan--It's Time to Bring Back Walls

While the adage, "first comes love, then comes marriage," may ring true, for many millennials, "first comes home, then comes marriage" might be more accurate. According to a new SunTrust survey conducted online by The Harris Poll among over 2,000 U.S. adults, nearly half of millennials (ages 22-38) who have been married say they and/or their spouse owned a home before marriage (48%), compared to only 35% of Baby Boomers (ages 55-73). Today, it's increasingly common for both parties in a relationship to own a property when entering a marriage. However, some individuals not currently married would still prefer to start fresh with their significant other and sell both properties before tying the knot. According to the survey, 25% of unmarried women and 21% of unmarried men said if faced with this decision, they would prefer to sell both places and buy a new one after getting married. Also, when it comes to motivations for buying their firs

For the first time in U.S. history, older Americans will outnumber children by 2035, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and already hold nearly two-thirds of the home equity in the U.S., which amounts to $8 trillion. With boomers making up such a large portion of the population, it only makes sense that home builders are expanding the definition of what targeting this demographic means. For firms that are targeting more traditional age-restricted communities, there can be benefits beyond just tapping into the bulging boomer generation with its outsized share of America’s home equity. Since age-restricted active adult communities don’t typically put the same burdens on local schools and roadways—guidelines of the Housing for Older Persons Act prohibit anyone under 19 from living in the house, and retirees don’t usually add more cars to the road during rush hour—municipalities are often more welcoming to them than typical developments. Not only is that a stark

Freddie Mac's (OTCQB: FMCC) Primary Mortgage Market Survey®, out Thursday, reports that fixed-rate mortgages held mostly steady over the past week. News Facts 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.06% with an average 0.5 point for the week ending May 23, 2019, down from last week when it averaged 4.07%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.66%. 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.51% with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.53%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.15%. 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.68% with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.66%. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.87%.

Earlier this week,  California  Senate bill SB 50, which would allow higher density development near mass transit hubs, was left for dead, at least for the next year. Now, supporters are working to bring the bill back to life.  The Mercury News  reports: In a last-ditch attempt to save the year’s most controversial housing measure, supporters of a stalled bill to overhaul California’s zoning rules are pressuring the state Senate leader to resurrect the legislation. After the Appropriations Committee last week  killed Senate Bill 50 for the year , the measure’s backers have come out in force, calling for the decision to be reversed. Dozens of affordable housing developers and activists, labor groups and other community organizations have sent letters to Senate leaders, urging them to save the bill that would  bring taller, denser apartment buildings  to California neighborhoods. Mayors of major cities across the state, including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and San Francisco Mayor Lo

While home prices rose by 6.9% YOY at the national level in April 2019, this rate still marks the lowest new home price growth in five years, and one in five metropolitan areas is seeing decreases in home prices, according to  Realtor.com  data. San Jose, Calif. has seen the steepest downward shift at -8.4%. Realtor.com  attributes this to a tremendously overheated market – especially after last year, when the median list price soared 28%. The San Francisco metro market is the 5th most overheated market with a -4.1%.

Oversupply and softening demand are prompting a slowdown in new-home construction in Southern California. The  Orange County Register  reports: Southern California builders, stuck with the largest supply of unsold homes in seven years, have slashed construction to the slowest pace since 2016. First-quarter data from MetroStudy shows 3,750 new homes went unsold in the four counties covered by the Southern California News Group — an increase of 688 units in a year or 22% and up 37% vs. the five-year average. It was builders’ largest inventory of unsold units since 2012’s first quarter. As a result, the building pace cooled. In the quarter, Southern  California  had 8,829 units under construction, down 1,950 or 18% in a year but up 1% vs. the five-year average. It’s still the slowest development pace since the start of 2016. Local builders are struggling with numerous selling challenges. According to CoreLogic, builders started 2019 with new home sales down 25% from a year ago. Fir

2019's Top 5 Outdoor Living Trends Mixed Materials.  This summer, design elements that were once considered for indoor use only – brass, rope, textured upholstery and webbing – are being combined in new, unexpected ways for outdoor spaces. Chandeliers, soft rugs and cozy floor cushions are now popular for outside, and new fabric options now include outdoor-safe velvets, leathers and nubby chenilles. Minimalism to the Max.  Scandinavian minimalist design, beloved by social media, is now showing up in outdoor furnishings. Lounge chairs, love seats and bistro tables are trending this summer in lightweight, powder-coated aluminum. Make it Pinterest-worthy with neutrals like black, white, gray or mix-and-match with a natural material like teak. Some Like it Hot.  This summer it's all about elevated outdoor spaces that feel as stylish, comfortable and functional as interiors – with all the amenities. Fire features and outdoor kitchens continue to be extremely popular, providin

2019's Top 5 Outdoor Living Trends Mixed Materials.  This summer, design elements that were once considered for indoor use only – brass, rope, textured upholstery and webbing – are being combined in new, unexpected ways for outdoor spaces. Chandeliers, soft rugs and cozy floor cushions are now popular for outside, and new fabric options now include outdoor-safe velvets, leathers and nubby chenilles. Minimalism to the Max.  Scandinavian minimalist design, beloved by social media, is now showing up in outdoor furnishings. Lounge chairs, love seats and bistro tables are trending this summer in lightweight, powder-coated aluminum. Make it Pinterest-worthy with neutrals like black, white, gray or mix-and-match with a natural material like teak. Some Like it Hot.  This summer it's all about elevated outdoor spaces that feel as stylish, comfortable and functional as interiors – with all the amenities. Fire features and outdoor kitchens continue to be extremely popular, providin

The Federal Reserve Board’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) shows tightening of net lending standards from Q4 2018 to Q1 2019, but not as much as they had anticipated in Q4 2018, according to Litic Murali of NAHB’s  Eye on Housing  blog. In the previous quarter’s survey, 11 to 12% of banks reported a likelihood on tightening loan standards for Commercial and Industrial (C&I) loans to large- and middle-market firms, while 25% said they would tighten standards on CRE loans of all sizes. By the first quarter of 2019, only 3 of 71 banks had tightened standards on C&I; the rest had eased them or left them unchanged. Between 13% to 19% of banks reported tightening of standards on CRE loans to middle- or large-market firms during this period, and the rate of tightening varied depending on the type of CRE loan – construction and land development loans, nonfarm nonresidential loans, and multifamily loans.

California single-family detached home sales fell 0.1% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 396,760 units in April, according to information collected by the California Association of Realtors. The rate was off 4.8% from a year earlier. Sales remained below the 400,000 level for the ninth consecutive month and have fallen on a year-over-year basis for a full year. "Weak buyer demand, largely prompted by elevated home prices, is playing a role in the softening housing market," said C.A.R. President Jared Martin. "However, with low interest rates, cooling competition and an increase in homes to choose from, buyers can take advantage of a more balanced housing market." Hand-out Even as demand weakened and home sales stumbled, the statewide median home price set another record high in April, hitting $602,920 and surpassing the previous high of $602,760 set last summer. April's price was up 6.5% from $565,880 in March and up 3.2% from a revised $584,4

America’s educators are continuing to struggle to become homeowners, says two new real estate studies. Trulia reports that teachers can afford fewer than half of all currently listed homes in 76% of major cities, due to their average teaching incomes coupled with rising home prices. Homeownership is especially out of reach in several markets along the West Coast, including  San Francisco ,  San Diego ,  Denver , and  Seattle . Even markets in the typically more affordable Southern region are difficult for those in the teaching profession. In  Raleigh , North Carolina, teachers can afford just 11% of all available properties. In  Orlando, Florida , and Dallas-Fort Worth,  Texas , they can afford only about 20%. Data from Apartment List shows that one in five teachers is burdened by housing costs—a 21% increase over other college-educated heads of household. Housing costs are particularly burdensome for preschool and kindergarten teachers, 41% of whom spend more than 30% of their in

According to  Curbed , the city of Bakersfield, located in the middle of California–and some would say in the middle of nowhere, is showing signs of a development turnaround. “It’s like a California version of the  New York  versus  New Jersey  thing—but maybe worse,” says  Austin  Smith a Bakersfield boomerang who has begun developing projects in his hometown. “You’re so close to one of the biggest metro areas in the country, but never quite there.” Since opening in 2016, the high-end three-story, 44-unit downtown development represents the first market-rate housing built in the city’s core in decades. It’s not every day the city gets new housing, complete with a dog park, fountains, and a fire pit. Now that the development is fully leased—not a small accomplishment for new housing asking the highest rent in town, at between $1,630 and $1,830 for a two-bedroom—its success has convinced Smith and his firm,  Sage  Equities Real Estate, to break ground later this year on a new 53-unit

Homes-for-sale inventory increased and metro market prices rose in the first quarter of 2019, but at a slower pace than the previous quarter, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors®. The national median existing single-family home price in the first quarter was $254,800, up 3.9% from the first quarter of 2018 ($245,300). Despite recent rebounds in the U.S. homeownership rate, minority home buyers continue to struggle to recover from t he foreclosure crisis. Single-family home prices increased in 86% of measured markets last quarter, with 153 of 178 metropolitan statistical areas1 showing sales price gains compared to the first quarter of a year ago. Thirteen metro areas (7%) experienced double-digit increases, down from 14 in 2018’s fourth quarter. The five most expensive housing markets in the first quarter were the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., metro area, where the median existing single-family price was $1,220,000; San F

New data from the state of  California shows that Sacramento added the most new homes of any California city north of  Los Angeles  in 2018. The city’s builders added 2,400 new dwelling units last year, most of them single-family detached homes. According to the Sacramento Bee’s Tony Bizjack and Michael Finch II, much of this growth took place in the Natomas community, located across the Sacramento River from downtown. City officials say that there are enough new housing projects in the construction pipeline to top last year’s numbers in 2019. Sacramento housing analyst Greg Paquin said builders in the  Sacramento  region are reacting to population growth here, including from Bay Area refugees. There is “a general feeling that the economy is sound, job growth is strong and more importantly, wages are rising,” Paquin said. “People are generally feeling optimistic and not necessarily worried about a recession this year or next. All of this together results in greater consumer conf

The Federal Reserve Board’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) shows tightening of net lending standards from Q4 2018 to Q1 2019, but not as much as they had anticipated in Q4 2018, according to Litic Murali of NAHB’s  Eye on Housing  blog. In the previous quarter’s survey, 11 to 12% of banks reported a likelihood on tightening loan standards for Commercial and Industrial (C&I) loans to large- and middle-market firms, while 25% said they would tighten standards on CRE loans of all sizes. By the first quarter of 2019, only 3 of 71 banks had tightened standards on C&I; the rest had eased them or left them unchanged. Between 13% to 19% of banks reported tightening of standards on CRE loans to middle- or large-market firms during this period, and the rate of tightening varied depending on the type of CRE loan – construction and land development loans, nonfarm nonresidential loans, and multifamily loans.

The new numbers, which track annual population trends through July 2018, indicate that for the first time this decade, the nation’s three largest metropolitan areas—New York,  Los Angeles , and Chicago—all lost population. At the same time, outer suburban, exurban, and non-metropolitan counties nationwide registered renewed growth. Although there are some exceptions in growing parts of the country, the latest data reveal that broad-based population “concentration” toward large urban areas in the early 2010s was an aberration related to the post-recession economy and housing crunch.

More than 5.2 million (5,223,524) U.S. properties were seriously underwater at the end of 2019's first quarter, up by more than 17,000 properties from a year ago, according to ATTOM Data Solutions Q1 2019 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. That represented 9.1% of all U.S. properties with a mortgage, up from 8.8% in the previous quarter but down from 9.5% in Q1 2018. States with the highest share of seriously underwater properties were Louisiana (20.7%); Mississippi (17.1%); Arkansas (16.3%); West Virginia (16.2%); and Illinois (16.2%). Among 99 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report, those with the highest share of seriously underwater properties were Baton Rouge, Louisiana (21.3%); Scranton, Pennsylvania (20.0%); Youngstown, Ohio (19.2%); Toledo, Ohio (19.2%); and New Orleans, Louisiana (17.8%). States with the highest share of equity rich properties were California (43.0%); Hawaii (38.1%); New York (34.2%); Washington (33.2%); and Vermont

Mortgage applications rose 2.7% on a seasonally-adjusted basis from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s most recent Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 3rd, 2019. On an unadjusted basis, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose 3% from one week earlier. The Refinance Index rose by 1% over the same period. The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index rose 4%, while the unadjusted Index rose 5%. The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 37.9% of applications, down from 38.8% last week. “With purchase activity increasing and mortgage rate movements mostly unchanged, the refinance share of applications were at their lowest level since last November,” Kan adds. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity rose to 6.4% of total applications this week. The FHA share remained unchanged at 9.5%, the VA share rose to 11.1% from 10.9%, and the USDA share remained u

Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are becoming a popular option for housing affordability where regulation allows them. Who better to live in the home on the same property than relatives or parents? This article from  CALmatters explores the growing trend in California. How will it translate across the country? Paul Boehm wasn’t sure how his daughter would react to the idea of moving into her childhood backyard. The 63-year-old retired San Jose school teacher thought there was a good chance Daniela and her husband, Rigoberto, would instead join the growing exodus of young Bay Area families heading east to the more affordable Central Valley. They already had seen a few  Sacramento  properties with a Realtor, and liked what their middle-class salaries—Daniela a special ed teacher, Rigoberto a family counselor for a nonprofit—might be able to buy there. Paul and his wife, Rosa, 60, didn’t want to travel that far to visit any future grandchildren. So they approached their daughte

Builder confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market continued to strengthen in the first quarter of 2019 with a reading of 72, up six points from the previous quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI). It was the highest reading since the inception of the index in 2008. All three index components of the 55+ single-family HMI posted increases from the previous quarter: Present sales rose four points to 76, expected sales for the next six months increased seven points to 77 and traffic of prospective buyers climbed eight points to 61. The 55+ multifamily condo HMI posted a gain of 10 points to 57. All three index components posted increases from the previous quarter: Present sales increased seven points to 58, expected sales for the next six months rose 13 points to 62 and traffic of prospective buyers jumped 14 points to 52. Two of the four components of the 55+ multifamily rental market we

The United States Trade Representative’s third wave of tariffs on Chinese imports comprises 5,745 items, with approximately 450 that are commonly used in the residential construction industry. In order to understand the economic effects the proposed 10% tariff would have, the NAHB economics department published a special study estimating the tax increase. The value of the 450 building materials is roughly $10 billion. With the 10% tariff, the housing industry could see a $1 billion tax increase.

While updates to the exteriors of homes have traditionally considered the backyard, Jane Chertoff of  Realtor.com  writes, many of today's popular outdoor design trends are bringing an added focus to the front of houses. The website shares several of the hottest design ideas for exteriors just as the weather warms outside. Front Yards and Porches as an Extended Living Room The front porch is having a moment again—and not just in the South. Homeowners everywhere are embracing the idea of an inviting front-of-home space that almost mirrors what's on the inside. "People are rediscovering the joys of using the front yard and porch as an extended living room," Pablo Solomon, a designer in  Austin , Texas, says. "This gives the homeowner actual benefit from the front yard other than just showcasing the house from the street. And by having neighbors enjoying their front yards, it creates more of a sense of community." Mixed Materials Layering materials is th