Despite some pushback against the open floor plan, it remains a popular layout concept for younger buyers and homeowners. Forty-three percent of millennials say they want a completely open plan for their family and dining rooms, a higher share than any other generation, according to research from the National Association of Home Builders.However, the desire for an open layout tends to drop with age: Only 40% of Generation Xers, 37% of baby b
Bathrooms are getting more technological. Many homeowners say they desire to play music in the bathroom, and they’re adding in voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home to make it easier to do so, new research from the National Kitchen & Bath Association shows. “Bringing voice control into the bathroom is a big request,” David VanWert, a technology integrator in Los Angeles, told Forbes.com. “Being able to ask your house
All four major regions of the U.S. posted growth in sales contract activity last month, led by the West, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings—rose 1.6% last month, erasing last month’s decrease. Contract signings are now up 2.5% year over year, NAR reports.“It is very encouraging that buyers are responding to exceptionally low inte
Don’t count bricks-and-mortar retail out. It’s still more profitable than e-commerce, and online retailers are starting to pay attention to that, according to a new report released by CCIM Institute, a commercial investment real estate organization, and the Alabama Center for Real Estate.The industry is rapidly evolving against the threats of e-commerce that has taken the blame for the glut of bankruptcies and store closings over the past dec
Retiring baby boomers are finding that downsizing is not always the answer. Empty nesters transitioning from their longtime houses are finding they still need plenty of space, The Washington Post reports.“Older home buyers today are ‘smart-sizing’ rather than just downsizing,” Mollie Carmichael, a principal with the housing research firm Meyers Research, told The Washington Post. “Affordability is a big priority before an
“Hipsturbia” is one of 10 emerging trends in real estate to watch, according to a newly released report by the Urban Land Institute and PwC. The term refers to the trend of suburbs that are creating their own versions of downtowns featuring vibrant “live/work/play” districts. More suburbs are taking a chance on these mixed-use, walkable developments, researchers note in the “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” report.“Many of these ‘c
Paint company Sherwin-Williams has announced its pick for 2020 color of the year: a deep navy blue. The firm’s design team predicts the hue will make a bigger splash across home interiors next year, from walls to kitchen cabinets.PPG, another paint company, also chose a blue hue as its 2020 color of the year, although it’s a brighter cobalt tone called Chinese porcelain.Sherwin-Williams’ choice, Naval SW 6244, serves as a nod to art de
More people are working from home, and that is having a big effect on their real estate needs, The New York Times reports. About 24% of employed people in the U.S. worked at least part of the time at home last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among those with advanced degrees, 42% worked from home part of the time.In a separate survey by John Burns Real Estate Consulting of 23,000 new home shoppers, about 30% of r
Low rental-home inventory is prompting single-family rental prices to rise, driven mostly by an upswing in demand from millennials. However, annual increases are slowing, according to a new report from CoreLogic, a real estate data firm.U.S. single-family rent prices rose 2.9% year over year in July, which is lower than the 3.1% gain in July 2018. The highest annual rent price increase was in Phoenix, at 7.2%.Rent growth continues to be propelled
Today’s homes are filled with sensitive, sophisticated electrical appliances that may take commands from phone apps and voice-activated devices. But they can’t yet ward off increasingly unpredictable weather.Bad storms bring powerful lightning and hurricane-force winds that cause an increase in power surges that shut off lights, stop refrigerators, and in worst cases, overheat and fry appliances. Replacing equipment can become costly.Plugging
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