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

A survey by the  National Association of Homebuilders  this fall revealed that  80% of American households  now believe the nation is suffering from a housing affordability crisis.  Even more recent, a report last week by the  National Association of Realtors  revealed that more than  30% of first-time homebuyers  used down payment help from family and friends. Across the housing industry, experts are pointing to new inventory concerns. Economic research consultancy Capital Economics echoed these sentiments in its latest report. “With volumes low, builders have concentrated on more expensive, higher-margin homes,” the report stated. “By the end of 2017, just 40% of new homes sold for under $300,000. That compares to a share of around 65% in early 2007, when overall house prices were only 7% lower.” But change may be on the horizon. Economists at Capital Economics are anticipating a rise in new homes sold for under $300,000, from unde...

Mortgage  rates  near three-year low are helping to boost homeownership rates for black and Hispanic Americans, the  National Association of Home Builders  said in a blog post on Friday. The minority homeownership rate rose to 48.3% in the third quarter, up almost a percentage point from a year earlier, the post said. The 0.9% gain was higher than the 0.4% increase in the overall U.S. homeownership rate, which rose to 64.8%. “Lower mortgage rates (at a three-year low) and a healthy job market have helped to make homeownership more  affordable ,” the post said. “These factors are most likely contributing to the recent upticks in the overall and minority homeownership rates.” The average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage declined every month of 2019 until ticking up eight basis points in October. The average was 3.69% last month, rising from a three-year low of 3.61% in September, according to Freddie Mac data. The higher rate seen in October is still ...

Continuing a trend that  stretches back  to one year ago, Millennials are still dominating the homebuying landscape, taking on more mortgages than previous generations. A report from  Realtor.com  says that at the end of the third quarter, the Millennial share of mortgage originations increased 3% from last September, coming in at 46%. Meanwhile, Gen X and Baby Boomer shares continued to fall, to 35% and 17% this year, from 37% and 18% last year, respectively. As for primary home loan originations, Millennial shares increased also. In September, Millennial share was 44%, up from last year’s 40%. Gen X shares fell from last year’s 41% to 39%, while Baby Boomer shares fell to 16% from 17% last year. Millennials were also  found to move  once every two years, a study from  Porch  said. Gen Xers moved about every four years and baby boomers stayed in the same place for nearly six years at a time.  According to the report, Mill...

As vacation rental app  Airbnb  and other like it become more and more popular, more homeowners are renting out their spaces for income. In fact, in order to make ends meet, 51.2% of homeowners said they had to rent out a space in their home, a study from  Homes.com  said. While it  costs more  to own a home than to rent one, homeowners are taking advantage of the rental market, and making the most of their extra spaces. What part of the house are these homeowners renting out? Of those surveyed, 42.9% said bedrooms, 26.9% said finished basements, 16.6% said a detached guest house, and 13.5% said they rent out their garage apartment. Notably, 11% of Millennials told  Redfin  that they would get a roommate to help pay their home bills, and 10% said they  would rent their space  on a home rental site such as Airbnb or  VRBO . According to the survey, 74% of homeowners rent out their properties in order to make some extra mon...

1. Change Out Fixtures Start with the faucets. “Fixtures are the jewelry of the space,” says Muller, owner and principal at  Four Point Design Build . “When you swap those out, you can shift the whole look. You can have a lot of fun and add a lot of personality with the finishes.” Try a matte black finish for a bolder choice, as seen here;  a swooping spout  adds an  au courant  elegance to the look. Or go with  a low-profile brushed nickel faucet  for a metallic twinkle and streamlined style. Match hardware and hinges to your faucet for harmony, or mix metals for an on-trend option. Also keep function in mind. Look at faucets that conserve water while keeping flow steady. Handles that are ADA-approved make them easy for everyone to turn on, regardless of age or ability. American Standard Brands 2. Upgrade the Shower A quick switch can take your shower from ordinary to indulgent. “There’s now a diversity of options so you can get al...

Sales of new homes probably will rise to a 13-year high in 2020 as the U.S. dodges a recession, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the  National Association of Realtors . New-home  sales  probably will jump 11% to 750,000, according to Yun’s new forecast, which would be the highest reading since 2007. Sales of existing homes likely will increase 3.7% to 5.56 million in 2020, the highest tally since 2017, Yun said. “Some loosening in inventory will happen in 2020, and so we expect home sales to rise,” Yun said at NAR’s convention in San Francisco. “We’ll see an increase in inventory, but not any oversupply, so home prices should continue to move higher – our hope is in a much tamer fashion.” Yun said he expects the median price of an  existing  home in the U.S. to be $270,400 next year, rising 4.3% from 2019. That would be a slower pace than the 4.9% annual gain in the median price he forecasts for 2019 and the 5.7% recorded for 2018. The me...

Many homeowners who renovate their master bathroom use the refreshed spaces to relax and unwind, and the shower or tub plays a key role in this process, new data from Houzz reveals. Cleanliness and a lack of clutter are also quite important for relaxation, the  2019 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study finds. Read on to learn what changes homeowners are making to their master bathroom showers and tubs to create refreshed spaces they love. MAW Chicago LLC. More than half of renovating homeowners upgrading the shower in their master bathroom increase its size. The 2019 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study includes responses from more than 1,300 registered users of Houzz who had completed a master bathroom remodel in the past 12 months, were working on one or were planning to start one in the next three months. Size Matters — for the Shower When it comes to remodeling the master bathroom, homeowners aren’t necessarily looking to create a larger room. In fact, homeowners  ...