Florida? Better Climate Can Make People Relocate

What states are the top picks for Americans looking to move? Florida, California, Hawaii, Colorado, and New York, according to a new survey by Harris Poll of more than 2,200 U.S. adults.

Besides looking at the most desired moving locations, the survey asked respondents to name their top reasons for wanting to move. The number one moving motivation for respondents was wanting to live in a better climate. In fact, the survey found that more than six in ten residents who live on the East Coast – 64 percent – and 61 percent of Midwesterners say they’d consider moving in order to live in an area with a better climate and weather.

These are the top moving motivations for survey respondents:

• 52% said they’d consider moving to another state to live in for a better climate or better weather.
• 41% said they’d consider moving for a job opportunity.
• 35% said they’d factor in proximity to family.
• 25% said they’d consider a move for health reasons
• 18% said they’d move to be closer to friends.
• 16% said they’d relocate to be closer to a significant other.
• 14% said they’d move for greater educational opportunities.
• 13% wanted to live in an area with a more accepting lifestyle.
• 11% said they wanted to move to a place with political views that are more accepting.
• 11% wanted to move to an area where recreational marijuana is legal.
• 7% said they’d consider moving to a place where their religious views are more accepted.

Plansource, Inc., www.plansonline.com, remains a portal of information for homebuilders and the homebuilding industry.

 

Reprinted from Realtor Today

Builder Confidence Highest since 2005

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes in July hit a level of 60 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today while the June reading was revised upward one point to 60 as well. The last time the HMI reached this level was November 2005.

“The fact that builder confidence has returned to levels not seen since 2005 shows that housing continues to improve at a steady pace,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods. “As we head into the second half of 2015, we should expect a continued recovery of the housing market.”

“This month’s reading is in line with recent data showing stronger sales in both the new and existing home markets as well as continued job growth,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “However, builders still face a number of challenges, including shortages of lots and labor.”

Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 30 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as good, fair or poor.

Plansource, Inc. remains a portal for information for homebuilders and the homebuilding industry.  http://www.plansonline.com.  http://www.facebook/plansource

Reprinted from Builder Magazine

New Home Design Trends

Nick Lehnert, executive director at Irvine, Calif.–based KTGY, and Mollie Carmichael, principal at John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, assembled for BIG BUILDER 14 ethnographically informed design trends. All 14 of these trends fall within three primary assertions in today’s new-home market: scale trumps size; livability trumps salability; technology can solve for both scale and livability. Below are this year’s top design trends in the new-home market.

1. Scale and Function

The latest American Institute of Architects’ Design Trends Survey notes that households have a “growing interest in going smaller due to an effort to contain energy costs, and a significant higher number of architects report demand for smaller homes.” Scale and function are the solution here, not sheer square footage.

2. ”Private” Space

Boomers, empty nesters, and Gen Y cohorts express a desire for less maintenance and more privatized outdoor space, breaking away from the traditional “public” backyard. This design trend can be achieved by creating spaces that are private from the neighboring house by either positioning architecture around the outdoor space or by allowing the outdoor space to pierce architecture, affording more interior living spaces to be exposed to the outdoor area.

3. Indoor/Outdoor Connectivity

Bring the outdoors into the home experience. These thresholds to the outdoors offer more light and exciting access to “private” outdoor space. The result makes the interior feel like it extends beyond walls.

4. Covered Outdoor Rooms

Outdoor rooms expand the utility of the adjoining interior rooms and become outdoor retreats, still covered and protected but open to the outdoors.

5. Personal Touches

Whether it is a resale or a new home, the consumer is looking for and purchasing feature elements—such as kitchen products, bath fixtures, and custom flooring—that reflect their lifestyle and aesthetic preferences. Now take this trend to the architecture/structure of the house. Each consumer will “live” the interior space of a home differently.

6. Super Kitchens

The kitchen is viewed as the “hub” of the house. While providing the main function of a place for food preparation, the kitchen also serves as an entertainment/conversation area. Kitchens are now open to other rooms, visible and exposed. An island offers additional seating capacity along with prep space, and pantries need to be able to store more packaged foods, which often are purchased in bulk at stores like Costco. As the hub, it becomes a consumer’s dream to design these elements together with function, practicality, and flair.

7. Spalike Master Baths

The bathtub is not dead—rather, it has become an afterthought in most designs. However, trends reveal that women tend to take more baths than men as they’re more apt to dedicate the time. It is an experience and offers an opportunity for relaxation, so why not design the setting to enhance the experience?

8. Larger Media Areas

Many households these days possess at least one large flat-screen TV. The new, larger sizes of these televisions create a design need for more wall space and more seating capability.

9. More Garage Space

Garages are more than “housing” for vehicles. In fact, the garage is one of the only places within a “programmed” house that will offer the consumer what we call idea space. Creating a larger garage to accommodate more functions becomes a value to the consumer.

10. Smarter Storage

Always an important factor, storage rarely gets designed into a home, leaving the consumer to create their own space. Smarter, well-designed storage is especially useful within smaller spaces.

11. Office Space

The office/den is trending to a higher need and the “want” issue dictates the best location within the home. Who uses it and where it is located becomes critical to the consumer and how they value the space. As a “utilized” office space, the front of the home off the entry is not considered an intelligent and practical location. The better location is closer to the “living” area of the house—the kitchen hub and family room.

12. Entry and Exits

Buyers are looking for entry drama and home announcement when greeting guests. As such, the entry and exits become important for impact. Over the past 10 to 15 years, we have stacked living over the entries. To be able to create some level of volume increases demand.

13. Dual-Use Homes

Multigenerational living has become part of the “next” culture. Families are staying together longer and the coupling of families becomes economic as well as cultural.

14. Technological Advances

Technology products create a need for a new lifestyle that revolves around the constant use handheld electronic devices. We will be designing small “server” rooms as smart technology continues to enter the home.

 

Reprinted from Builder Magazine

Plansource, Inc., remains a portal of information for homebuilders and the homebuilding industry. http://www.plansonline.com

15 Fastest Growing Metros

Reprinted from Builder Magazine

 

Metrostudy does a 100% count within markets across the country of move-ins into newly-built homes.  This is a powerful and reliable measure of end-user demand.  The top two markets have outsized percentage changes because they are starting from a low base number.  In terms of the large markets, Central Florida has seen a 24.3% increase in new home demand in the past year, and Charlotte, NC, has seen a 23.4%.  Atlanta, which was savaged by the downturn, has seen a 22.9% increase.  New home construction is picking up in all of these markets, as builders scramble to meet increased demand.

Here are the top 15 markets by change in move-ins:

Rank	Market	2Q13 Move-Ins	2Q14 Move-Ins	% Change
1	Reno	233	464	99.1%
2	Rio Grande Valley	336	466	38.7%
3	Central Florida	3,104	3,859	24.3%
4	Charlotte	1,643	2,027	23.4%
5	Atlanta	2,508	3,082	22.9%
6	Northern Virginia	865	1,037	19.9%
7	Jacksonville	1,119	1,303	16.4%
8	Sarasota/Bradenton	647	739	14.2%
9	St.George/Mesquite	296	336	13.5%
10	Austin	2,216	2,497	12.7%
11	Houston	6,072	6,797	11.9%
12	Nashville	1,101	1,217	10.5%
13	Dallas/Ft.Worth	4,775	5,249	9.9%
14	Central California	1,496	1,627	8.8%
15	South Florida	938	1,020	8.7%

New Bathroom Trends

What’s the greatest thing since indoor plumbing? His-and-hers shower stalls. But say bye-bye to the bidet.

Luxury bathrooms have undergone some notable changes since 2008, considered the peak of the real-estate bubble, according to a survey by the Home Innovation Research Labs (HIRL). The biggest casualties are whirlpool bathtubs and stand-alone bidets, down 9.4% and 34.9%, respectively, over the six-year period.

   

In the study, conducted between January and March, roughly 1,400 home builders cited trends in new construction in 2013. Analysts at HIRL, a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders, then compared the findings with its 2008 survey results.

“Since the recession, there have been a lot of trade-offs,” said Ed Hudson, director of the group’s market-research division. Luxury homes have shrunk slightly, from 4,190 square feet in 2008 to 4,049 square feet in 2013. Home buyers, even on the luxury end, are more conscientious about what they look for in amenities, he said.

In some cases, buyers toned down the guest bathrooms to focus on the master suite, said Scott Hobbs, president of custom home builder Hobbs Inc. in New Canaan, Conn. “People choose to spend money where they’re most going to enjoy it,” he said.

Aesthetically, new homes today are less ornate than they were in the go-go days of the housing boom, said April Saxe, an agent with Houlihan Lawrence who sells multimillion-dollar homes in Westchester, N.Y. “The [whirlpool] tub has certainly been on the way out,” she said. Instead, that space may be going toward a new soaking tub or shower stall.

Even for buyers who weren’t hit hard by the downturn, decorum dictated some stylistic changes. The bathroom is less showy and much more contemporary since the recession, said Leo Birov, founder of Heritage Luxury Builders in Northfield, Ill. “Everything looks more transitional now,” he said, with popular features including heated floors, steam showers and computerized controls.

But that doesn’t mean bathrooms are less luxurious. Mark Pulte, founder of luxury home builder Mark Timothy Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla., said he is building showers with a half dozen body sprays, his-and-her shower heads and waterproof keypad controls for all the nozzles.

He is noticing one demographic shift on the ultrahigh end. Younger clients want one large his-and-hers shower with two entrances; “the older crowd wants separate showers.”

Plansource, Inc., http://www.plansonline.com, remains a portal for information on the homebuilding industry.

Reprinted from WSJ and Builder magazine

What Ethnic Home Buyers Really Want

Findings from the latest NAHB study on housing preferences, What Home Buyers Really Want: Ethnic Preferences, show there are both similarities and differences in what home buyers of different racial/ethnic backgrounds most want to have in their homes.

Based on an extensive list of more than 120 home and community features that buyers rated as essential, desirable, indifferent, or ‘do not want’, the table below shows the top 10 most wanted features for White, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian buyers.

The four features that are common to all four lists, i.e., they are really wanted by buyers of all racial/ethnic backgrounds:
 A laundry room 
 Energy-star rated appliances
 Energy-star rating for the whole home
 Exterior lighting

Three features that are relatively more important to minority buyers than to White buyers, since they appear on the top 10 list for the minority groups but not for White buyers:
 Living room
 Dining room
 Patio

Two features that make it into White buyers’ top 10 most wanted list, but are ranked lower by the three minority groups:
 Garage storage
 Insulation higher than required by code

When building homes, it is as critical to understand which features home buyers really want, as it is to know which ones they do not want and will probably not pay for.

Interestingly, there are quite a few similarities in what home buyers reject across the different groups: 7 of the 10 most unwanted features are common across the four rejection lists:
An elevator – the single-most unwanted feature across all four groups
 Golf course community – second most unwanted feature across the board
 High density community
 Only a shower stall in the master bath (no tub)
 Gated community (with a monthly fee of $100 to $200)
 Wine cooler
 Wet bar

Plansource, Inc., www.planonline.com, remains a portal of information for homebuilders and the homebuilding industry.

 

Reprinted from Builder Magazine/NAHB

 

 

Slow Selling Now? No Need To Panic

NAHB says brutal winter weather and shortages of labor and land caused the annual pace of housing starts to fall 16% month-over-month to 880,000 units in January. And it cites the same reasons for the 10-point drop (the biggest in 30 years) in its Housing Market Index (see chart), which gauges builder sentiment about the state of the market.

Land is not only in short supply but in many markets its prohibitively expensive. So I think builders are wise to be cautious. As for labor, there are 50% more job openings in construction–about 150,000 positions–than there were a year ago. So many builders need to staff up before starting more houses.

An off the record meeting with the CEOs and other top executives of about 50 large home building firms and building product manufacturers was held recently. Here are some examples of what was said.

“Mortgage credit is easing.”

“Pricing, profits and margins are all strong.”

“We feel strong tailwinds.”

“The market is far, far better than it’s been.”

“Housing values are up, but affordability is still good.”

I could go on and on, but will add just one more comment from the meeting:

“This is a solid recovery. Slow and steady as it goes.”

So, maybe the spring selling season won’t be gangbusters, but slow and steady as it goes doesn’t sound so bad.

Plansource, Inc., a Tampa FL based residential design firm, remains a portal of information for homebuilders and the homebuilding industry.  http://www.plansonline.com

Reprinted from Builder Magazine

US Builder’s Confidence Back Up for December 2013

U.S. homebuilders’ confidence bounced back strongly this month, a sign that construction and industry hiring may pick up in coming months.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday climbed to 58. That was up from 54 in November and matched an eight-year high reached in August. Readings above 50 indicate that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

In addition, builders’ view of current sales conditions jumped this month to the highest level in eight years. And their outlook for sales heading into next year’s spring home-selling season also improved.

The index has stayed above 50 now for seven straight months after being below that level since May 2006. This month’s reading is 11 points higher than a year ago. It reflects a U.S. housing market fueled by steady job growth and still-low mortgage rates.

The latest index suggests that builders remain optimistic that the housing recovery will endure even though mortgage rates have risen in recent months.

“The recent spike in mortgage interest rates has not deterred consumers as rates are still near historically low levels,” said David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist. “We continue to look for a gradual improvement in the housing recovery in the year ahead.”

Mortgage rates peaked at 4.6 percent in August and have stabilized since September, when the Federal Reserve surprised markets by taking no action on starting to reduce its bond purchases. Its bond purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low, including mortgage rates.

The Fed ends a two-day policy meeting Wednesday, after which it will release a statement and projections for the economy.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said last week that the average rate on the 30-year loan declined to 4.42 percent from 4.46 percent a week earlier. In November last year, the average had dipped as low as 3.31 percent, the lowest on records dating to 1971.

Sales of new homes slowed over the summer after mortgage rates rose sharply and a tight supply of homes for sale boosted prices. The combination made home-buying less affordable.

But Americans ramped up purchases of new homes in October 25.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000, according to the Commerce Department.

All told, sales of newly built homes have risen 21.6 percent for the 12 months ending in October. Still, the pace remains well below the 700,000 consistent with a healthy market.

And there are signs that builders are preparing for less growth. Approved permits to build single-family houses began to flat line in the spring, while spending on home construction spending fell 0.5 percent in October from September.

Still, the latest NAHB survey, which included responses from 346 builders, shows builders’ outlook is rising again after dimming during the 16-day partial shutdown in October.

A measure of current sales conditions for single-family homes climbed six points to 64, the highest level since December 2005. Builders’ outlook for single-family home sales over the next six months rose two points from November to 62, while a gauge of traffic by prospective buyers increased three points from last month to 44.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the homebuilders association.

Plansource, Inc., http://www.plansonline.com, remains a portal of information for hombuilders and the homebuilding industry.

Reprinted from AP

Majority of Buyers Prefer New Housing

According to the National Association of Home Builders’ What Home Buyers Really Want report, more than half of new and potential home buyers prefer to purchase a new home.

Custom home builders and building companies have a nearly-equal shot at the market of buyers purchasing new homes; 27% preferred a custom build on a private lot, and 28% preferred a new home from a developer.

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Plansource Inc., www.plansonline.com, remains a portal of information for homebuilders and the homebuilding industry.

 

Reprinted from Builder Magazine

Homes Sales improve in October 2013

Americans ramped up purchases of new homes in October after three months of soft sales, evidence that the housing recovery is improving fitfully.

Sales of new homes grew 25.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was the largest monthly percentage increase since May 1980.

But the increase came after sales had fallen 6.6 percent in September to a 354,000 annual rate, the weakest since April 2012. And sales in August and July were revised lower to 379,000 and 373,000, respectively.

Sales had slowed over the summer after mortgage rates rose sharply and a limited number of homes for sale boosted prices. The combination made home-buying less affordable.

New-homes sales have risen 21.6 percent higher for the 12 months ending in October. Still, the pace remains well below the 700,000 consistent with a healthy market.

“The report suggests sharp weakening through September and then a rebound in October, but the volatility in the data argues against putting much emphasis on a single month,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics.

Prices for new homes eased in October. They fell 4.5 percent to $245,800 from September and have declined slightly over the past 12 months.

The number of new homes available for sale was 183,000 in October. That’s still relatively lean — at the August sales’ pace it would almost take five months to exhaust the supply.

The Commerce Department delayed the release of the September sales figures because of the partial government shutdown in October. As a result, new-home sales for October and September were released on Wednesday, in addition to revisions for the two previous months.

Plansource, Inc., www.plansonline.com, a Tampa based residential design firm, remains a portal of information for homebuilders and the homebuilding industry.

Reprinted from AP