New Construction - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Top Project for ROI: Refinished Floors

Let’s say it costs $3,000 to make old hardwood floors look new again. That’s a lot of money, especially if your client is just getting the house ready to list. But of all the remodeling projects homeowners can do to increase the resale value of their property, refinishing the floors is at the top.Of course, no one can predict with certainty whether the investment will pay off, but recent research suggests it will have a big ROI—most likely

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Vinyl Ranks No. 1 for New-Home Exteriors

Vinyl is the most common primary exterior wall material on single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction data from 2016.Vinyl tops the list at 27 percent, followed by stucco at 24 percent, brick or brick veneer at nearly 22 percent, and fiber cement siding at 20 percent. Wood or wood products comprised just 4 percent, and stone, rock, or other stone materials make up only 1 percent of exteriors nationwide. Ho

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New-Home Sales Hit 10-Year High

Sales of newly built single-family homes rose 18.9 percent last month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This represented the highest sales rate since October 2007, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000 units, after an upwardly revised August reading. Compared to last year, new-home sales are 8.6 percent above their level during the same period in 2016."New-home sal

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Remodeling Activity to Spike Through 2018

As homeowners gain more equity, they are expected to continue heavily investing in home improvement projects and repairs through the third quarter of 2018, according to the latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA index projects annual gains in home renovation and repair spending of 6.3 percent for the fourth quarter of 2017 and up to 7.7 percent by

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Can Developers Please Both Boomers and Millennials?

The preferences of baby boomers and millennials are reshaping multifamily homes in urban areas, but the two generations don’t always agree on what they want in a home, posing challenges for developers who are striving to meet both groups’ needs. Buyers from both generations are sparking greater demand for condos, as baby boomers downsize and millennials look to purchase a starter property.Overall, both generations show a greater desire for sm

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More Renovations in the Forecast for 2018

Projections for next year’s housing market are already underway, as 2018 could be seeing significantly more home renovations and repairs taking place.A report released today from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University predicts a growing momentum in 2018 for money spent on remodeling homes. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity finds annual gains in home renovation spending will surge

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Big Roadblock for Owners of Tiny Homes

Homeowners who have embraced the “tiny home” lifestyle are discovering that it’s not so easy to find a place to put their property. Many tiny houses—usually considered to be between 100 and 400 square feet—are built on trailers with wheels so they can be towed, but zoning regulations in many cities don’t allow for temporary structures such as RVs or other movable homes. These laws also frequently specify a minimum size for a home or l

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Porches Are Making a Comeback

More new homes are coming equipped with front porches. Sixty-five percent of new single-family homes started in 2016 included a porch, according to a Census data analysis from the National Association of Home Builders. It’s only the second time since tracking began that new single-family homes with porches have moved back above 65 percent. For comparison, in 2005, 54 percent of new homes had porches.Certain regions of the U.S. are showing high

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Is This House Indestructable?

The Crete House, a precast concrete structure designed for the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition in Denver this month, is being touted as a home that is impervious to extreme weather, fires, moisture, mold, and insects. The Solar Decathlon, being held Thursday through Oct. 15, is a biennial competition that challenges teams of college students to design and build full-sized solar-powered homes. Thirteen teams from universities

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The ‘Bonus Room’ Makes a Comeback

Home builders and designers say demand is increasing for more flexible living spaces, giving rise once again to “bonus” or “multipurpose” rooms, The Wall Street Journal reports. Such rooms offer extra square footage for owners to create a space that fits their lifestyle. Baby boomers, for example, are showing interest in bonus rooms that could potentially serve as a first-floor master bedroom or suite.Out of the 20 top-selling floor pla

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