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

Falling mortgage rates energized builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes: The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) rose two points to 58 in January. Adobe Stock/bbourdages Home Under Construction “The gradual decline in mortgage rates in recent weeks helped to sustain builder sentiment,” said NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, a custom home builder from LaPlace, La. “Low unemployment, solid job growth and favorable demographics should support housing demand in the coming months.” “Builders need to continue to manage rising construction costs to keep home prices affordable, particularly for young buyers at the entry-level of the market,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Lower interest rates that peaked around 5% in mid-November and have since fallen to just below 4.5% will help the housing market continue to grow at a modest clip as we enter the new year.” Due to the partial government shutdown, there will be n...

For the fourth month in a row, home and condo sales in  California  fell on a year-over-year basis in November 2018, moving down 12.2% from October 2018 and 12.1% from November 2017, according to CoreLogic public data records. While sales typically fall between October and November, according to CoreLogic, the average change between these two months has been 9.4% since 2000. Home sales below $500,000 fell 16.9% YOY in November, while sales over $500,000 fell 8.4% and sales over $1 million fell 9.6%. The median price paid for all houses and condos rose to $490,000 statewide in November, up 1.0% from October and up 4.3% from November 2017. The sales slowdown, which began during the heart of the 2018 Spring-Summer homebuying season, reflects then-rising mortgage rates that worsened affordability, as well as a shift in buyer psychology that left some would-be buyers waiting to see if the market was nearing a peak, after which buying conditions might improve. In recent months,...

“Homeowners yearn for beautiful outdoor spaces without the hassle of upkeep. With the rise of multifunctional landscape design and automated processes, consumers can spend more time enjoying their landscapes than ever before,” says Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs, NALP. “This year’s trends reflect current lifestyle preferences as well as innovations happening in the industry that are transforming landscapes across the country.” In 2019, NALP predicts the following five trends to influence outdoor spaces: 1.  Two-in-one landscape design.  Functional elements are no longer a perk, but rather a necessity in today’s landscapes, as consumers desire stunning outdoor features that have been cleverly designed to serve a dual tactical purpose. An edible vertical garden on a trellis that acts as a privacy fence, a retaining wall that includes built-in seating for entertaining, and colorful garden beds that divide properties all combine function and style. 2. ...

It's a buyers' market in these five cities. The  Washington  Post 's Michele Lerner presents the findings of the first National Knock Deals Forecast from Knock, a home trade-in company that assists repeat home buyers by purchasing their new home and then selling their current home. The research found that 62% of homes in the top 45 largest metro areas sold for an amount below their original list prices this year. The five markets where buyers found the most discounts were Miami,  New Orleans ,  Chicago ,  Houston  and  Tampa . While the average discount from list price to sales price was 1.4% nationally, in  Miami  the discount was 4.4%.

The last, severe drought caused many Californians to rip out their lawns, but some now believe the emergency is over, writes  CityLab  contributor Aleksandra  Appleton . During one of the most notable droughts in California's history, residents of the Golden State opted for artificial turf, rock beds or bricks, wood chips and Century plants, or plain dirt, instead of grass. Statewide, the interest in rebates for lawn conversion appears to be dwindling. From August 2015 to August 2016, the Department of Water Resources handed out more than 8,000 turf rebates, representing more than 9 million square feet. In 2018, just 114 rebates were given out. This tracks with an overall  decline in water conservation since the drought ended. Fresno’s estimated residential water use in 2017 was lower than in 2013, but had crept up from 2015 levels, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board. But to see the Californian suburb of the future, you only have t...

Household vehicle ownership has increased in cities where Uber and Lyft are most heavily used, using 2012 (the year the companies started offering affordable everyday ride services like UberX) as the starting point. Moreover, the rate of vehicle growth substantially exceeded population growth in five of the eight cities ( Boston , Los Angeles,  New York ,  Philadelphia  and Chicago). At the same time, more urban households also have no or relatively few cars. These households are often referred to as “car-free” (no cars available to the household) or “car-light,” e.g., a working couple that owns one vehicle. (For data availability reasons, “car-light” is defined here as households with fewer vehicles than workers.) These data thus show that accounts of, “I gave up my car when I moved to this or  t hat walkable urban neighborhood” should not be dismissed as mere anecdotes. But how can we reconcile more car-free/car-light households with rapid growth in total car ow...

Though the shapes and textures and colors change, wood flooring never goes out of style. And because flooring is an investment, it’s important to choose a material that’s not only beautiful and stylish, but also timeless, says Andrew Denny of  Textures Flooring . “Probably the easiest way to achieve this is combining a wide-width plank with a long-board look,” Andrew says, “and then combining color that is timeless with a very matte finish.” Popular choices for wood species include European white oak, French oak, Northern Appalachian white oak and walnut. And in 2019, more homeowners are opting for lighter toned colors and matte finishes on the floor. “There is definitely a shift toward lighter hardwoods. Smooth in texture,” says Sara Ray of  Sara Ray Interior Design . “Plank width of 4 inches to 5 inches seems to be very popular, and white oak is still a very popular choice due to its ability to stay true to the selected stain color.” Not all flooring consumers are optin...