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

Adults in the U.S. over the age of 18 say they have an average of $29,800 in personal debt (not including mortgages), and 15% of Americans say they think they will be in debt for the rest of their lives.  According to  Northwestern Mutual ’s 2019 Planning and Progress Study, this is still an improvement from last year's average of $38,000 in personal debt.  "The road to financial security is long, even in the best of circumstances," Emily Holbrook, senior director of planning at Northwestern Mutual, said in a release. "By carrying high levels of personal debt that road gets even longer, often requiring all kinds of detours and other twists and turns. The fact that there's been some year-over-year improvement in debt levels is good, but the numbers still remain worryingly high." An average of 34% of people’s monthly income goes towards paying off debt, the study showed,  while another 34% of respondents said they aren’t sure how much of their monthl...

Furniture Straight lines are giving way to rounded shapes, and circles are seen everywhere: in lamps, rugs, mirrors, furniture and more. Ovoid and oval shapes also are seen. The sofas and chairs of the year have curved lines, giving interiors a soft feeling. AGENCE MARN DÉCO Materials Interiors continue to revolve around raw wood, usually light-colored oak or darker walnut. Thin furniture legs in powder-coated or galvanized black metal are continuing to have momentum. Terrazzo and light-colored woven rattan are essentials, while sophisticated notes dot interiors in the form of brass details and marble finishes. Armchairs and sofas are upholstered in short-pile velvet or curly wool. DF Habitat Glass is showing up in gridded, textured and iridescent forms. My Bespoke Room Patterns Geometric patterns — herringbone, stripes, small checks and circular patterns — are being paired with floral motifs. Speckled patterns are continuing to rise to the occasi...

As housing affordability continues to be a cause of concern for the nation’s homeowners, a report from the  National Association of Homebuilders  indicates that many Americans now perceive the problem to be a crisis. In August, the NAHB surveyed more than 19,000 adults to gauge the public’s attitude on housing affordability in their housing markets. According to their findings, 80% of American households now believe the nation is suffering from a housing affordability crisis. Additionally, at least 75% reported housing affordability was a problem at both the state and local level. "Housing affordability is near a  10-year low  and this poll confirms the challenges hard-working families face to keep housing within reach as rising costs continue to outpace  wage growth ," said Greg Ugalde, NAHB chairman. "Policymakers must roll back inefficient zoning rules, costly impact fees and outmoded land development regulations that are driving up housing costs, co...

Millennial home buyers are going to some troubling lengths to foot the bill for their first homes, according to a new survey. Millennials are more likely than their older counterparts to fund their down payment and closing costs by dipping into retirement savings (13%, versus 8% of Generation Xers and 7% of baby boomers), saving money by moving in with family or friends (14%, versus 5% of Gen Xers and 2% of boomers) or selling personal items (12%, versus 5% of Gen Xers and 2% of boomers), a recent Bankrate survey of 2,582 U.S. adults found. Their most common funding sources for home-buying costs included saving their own money (53%, versus 47% of Gen Xers and 45% of boomers), receiving a gift from family or friends (33%, versus 23% of Gen Xers and 14% of boomers) and using a down-payment assistance program (33%, versus 27% of Gen Xers and 15% of boomers). “[Millennials are] having to be very creative and diversify the ways that they’re coming up with their down-payment and closi...

Californians for Homeownership, a new nonprofit organization that aims to address California’s housing crisis through impact litigation, today announced that it has filed its first lawsuit against the City of Whittier, Calif. The lawsuit seeks to protect the right of every homeowner in California to develop an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) through the conversion of an existing garage, studio or other underutilized space.  “State law is simple: If you own a single-family home in California and your garage can be safely converted to housing, you are allowed to convert it,” said Matthew Gelfand, the in-house litigator for the Californians for Homeownership nonprofit. “Whittier is one of a small number of cities that is refusing to comply with the state law. These cities hope that they can get away with their illegal behavior because homeowners are ill-equipped to sue. Our lawsuit sends Whittier and cities like it a clear message: No city is above the law.” ADUs, often called “in-...

About three-quarters of buyers reported finding their homes using their phones, according to a report from the  National Association of Realtors . Mobile-phone use differed by generations: about 80% of Millennials, meaning younger than 38 years old, began their search on their phone, while 78% of Gen Xers, meaning 39 to 53, and 68% of Young Boomers, meaning 54 to 63, started there. The typical buyer contacted an agent and visited a median of 10 homes over 10 weeks before purchasing a home, NAR said. Broken out by generations, it was older buyers who spent the shortest amount of time looking at houses. The so-called Silent Generation, meaning people older than 73, spent eight weeks searching for homes, while Young Boomers spent 12 weeks on their home search. All the other generations found a home in 10 weeks, the report said. Finding the right property ranked highest among all generations as the most difficult step in home buying, with 56% putting it at the top of the list....

Hispanics are responsible for 63% of homeownership gains in the U.S. over the past decade.  And the number of homes purchased by Hispanics has steadily gained each year since 2015. With almost 60 million Hispanics living in the U.S., reaching this untapped demographic can make a huge difference in expanding your targeted buyer market. Most members of the U.S. Hispanic or Latinx (Latino and Latina) communities are bilingual to some degree. Some may be more comfortable in English, and some may be more comfortable in Spanish. (And some may not be fluent in Spanish at all – so offering materials in English and Spanish, is key.