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

In November, consumers felt better about the housing market as a slight boost of housing affordability spurred an increase in consumer confidence, according to  Fannie Mae ’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index. The government-sponsored enterprise’s report revealed that sentiment rose by 2.7 points in November to 91.5. This rate not only moved back up towards  August’s survey high,  but also remains 5.3 points above 2018’s rate. Although November’s increase highlights improvements in the market, Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s senior vice president and chief economist, warns confidence is still dampened by several factors including  supply  and  home price appreciation .   “Over the past year, a growing share of consumers say that they expect  mortgage rates  to remain steady,” Duncan said. “While low rates have helped boost  housing affordability  compared to last year, the HPSI has increased only moderately in that timeframe.” D...

Despite  recent data  that younger generations are beginning to buy houses, on the whole, those same generations are waiting far longer than their parents did to buy their first house. There are various reasons for that delay, including a  dramatic increase  in student loan debt and a general shifting of attitudes towards the traditional homebuyer cycle. Put simply, people are waiting longer to marry, have kids, and buy houses. But just how much longer are people waiting to a buy house than they used to? Quite a long time, as it turns out. As more members of the younger generation are postponing homeownership and homes are becoming  multi-generational , the median age of U.S. homebuyers is  now  47. That figure has gone up eight years in just the last decade. According to  Realtor.com , the median age has increased by eight years since the financial crisis. But the trend goes back further than that. A new report from  Deutsche Ba...

Ahead of  the start of a new era  that will no doubt bring intense new challenges, the Pantone Color Institute has announced that its 2020  Color of the Year  is PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a deep blue shade that’s at once comforting and relatable. The indigo hue brings to mind both the constant and the classic; the sky at dusk, an impeccably tailored suit, serene waters, or a bowl of perfectly ripe blueberries. Pantone’s selection of Classic Blue for 2020 is richer when you consider the history of the Color of the Year franchise, which began 20 years ago in 1999. That year, the color chosen was Cerulean, a serene shade that represented the excitement of a new millennium and offered a calming visual to the anxieties that preceded Y2K. Cerulean’s impact that year permeated the cultural zeitgeist, ranging from home decor trends to high fashion; for reference, one might consider Meryl Streep’s character Miranda Priestly’s monologue in the early-aughts film, ...

At a time when millennials are reaching key life milestones, the U.S. housing market will continue to slow in 2020 as inventory reaches historic lows and economic uncertainty prompts consumers to pull back on their spending, according to the realtor.com ®  2020 housing forecast released today.  The forecast predicts that despite some relief from new construction, moderating home prices and relatively low interest rates, first-time buyers will continue to struggle with affordability. Sellers will contend with flattening price growth and slowing activity. These trends will drive existing home sales down 1.8 percent to 5.23 million. Highlights of the realtor.com ®  2020 forecast include: Home prices will flatten, increasing just 0.8 percent nationwide. Prices will decline in more than 25 percent of the 100 largest metros, including  Chicago ,  Dallas ,  Las Vegas ,  Miami  and  San Francisco . Inventory shortages will prevail and co...

When you’re tackling a bathroom remodel,  whether with the help of a  bathroom designer ,  architect  or  contractor , including  ample, efficient storage is an important consideration.  Read on for 10 inspiring examples of compact, hallway and kids’ bathrooms that get storage right and see if one (or more) of these ideas might work in your space. Manello Construction, LLC 1. Wall-to-Wall Vanity Off-the-shelf vanities often leave a bit of dead space on either side, which is less than ideal, especially when you’re working with a smaller space. If you have the option, it can be worth it to have a custom vanity made to reach from wall to wall, as seen in this bathroom from  Manello Construction . This setup  maximizes storage space and looks sleeker to boot. DTLA DESIGN If your bathroom layout prevents a wall-to-wall vanity, opt for a design that fills the maximum amount of wall space. In this bathroom from  DTLA Design ...

While all eyes are on  Amazon  today for Cyber Monday, the news of its HQ2 may only be a distant memory.  Believe it or not, it’s been over a year since the tech monolith  announced its second headquarter  would find a home in Arlington County, Virginia, at Crystal City, and Queens, New York at Long Island City. Only three months later,  Amazon backed out  of headquartering in New York and focused solely on Crystal City. With over a year in the rearview mirror,  Realtor.com  released a report recently on the effect that the news of HQ2 had on surrounding housing markets. According to the report, areas around both D.C. and New York experienced sizable changes in the wake of both announcements.  According to the report, New York City is now sitting at a 15% decline in home sales, year over year.  “At the time of the announcement, Manhattan saw a massive leap in home sales of 50%,” the report stated. “Sales in Manhattan mainta...

During the first ten months of 2019, U.S. construction spending amounted to $1.087 trillion, which is 1.7% below last year’s rate of $1.105 trillion, the  Census Bureau  said. Despite this decline, the organization reports October’s construction spending was 1.1% above last year’s rate. Nevertheless, construction during October was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.291 trillion, falling 0.8% from the revised September estimate of $1.302 trillion. Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $956.3 billion, 1% below the revised September estimate of $966.1 billion, and 1.8% below a year ago. Of that, residential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $508.2 billion in October, which is 0.9% below the revised September estimate of $512.6 billion but 0.5% down from a year ago. Nevertheless, a measure of homebuilder sentiment in  October  revealed the nation’s  low-int...