Housing Decline Pushing Down the Price of Lumber

Composite lumber prices have dropped from $380 per thousand board feet on Jan. 6, 2006 to $274 per thousand board feet on Nov. 8. The price this time last year was $350, according to NAHB. Prices of drywall and concrete have remained steady, in part due to energy costs, but plastic insulation and other building products have also declined in price. Chris Cromyak, manager of The Lumber Yard in Reading, Pa., said that while big purchases from larger builders and developers are off, smaller contractor purchases remain steady. “Those guys always seem to have something going on,” he said. Reading area builders are expecting the market to remain flat through next spring or summer. (www.readingeagle.com)
Reading Eagle (11/13/06); Dan Kelly

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It’s a Buyer’s Market, Baby: But That’s OK, Because Shoppers Can Now ‘Sleep on It'

The number of existing homes on the market in Albuquerque — 4,695 as of September — has more than doubled from the 2,319 a year earlier. While the talk nationally is of dropping house prices and fears that the market could lead to an economic recession, local real estate experts say the Albuquerque market is merely leveling off from its once-frenetic pace. The price of land is still relatively low, and building should remain steady as employment continues to climb, experts say. “I personally hated the market we were in last year, even though it was so good,” said one real estate agent. “Buyers didn’t have the opportunity to think about it or sleep on it. I’m one of those ‘Let’s sleep on it’ kind of people. You had to show people the property and had to ask them right in the driveway. You knew the next day it might not be there. Now they can look in a neighborhood and visit them all.” (www.abqtrib.com)
The Albuquerque Tribune (11/13/06); Erik Siemers

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Bathrooms to Fit Clark Kent

A tiny bathroom, well designed, can be a jewel of the home. Creative designers have come up with sleek, efficient bathrooms in areas as small as 4 by 5 feet ― so compact that you can stand in one spot and turn on the shower, flush the toilet and brush your teeth. Putting a bathroom where there was none can make a house not only more appealing, but more valuable, says Gopal Ahluwalia of NAHB. He says home owners are increasingly converting downstairs powder rooms into bathrooms with a shower or tub: “As we are growing old as a nation, people are saying, ‘Do we want to have a bathroom downstairs?’” One redesigned 20-square-foot bathroom in Chelsea has a shower stall with a fixed glass wall and bath towels that hang on racks that swing out from the wall above the toilet. The room’s renovation cost $14,000 and best of all, the owner says, it can be cleaned in 15 minutes. (www.nytimes.com)
The New York Times (11/16/06); Elaine Louie

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Boomers Spur Remodeling Trend

The largest, most comprehensive study of baby boomers found that the majority of those 50 and older plan to stay in their current homes for the foreseeable future and plan improvements or remodeling. Contrary to downsizing reports, the survey showed that retirement, the birth of a grandchild or caring for an elderly parent tend to trigger home improvement plans. Sixty percent of respondents expect to live in their current residence during the next five years, two-thirds plan to remodel or improve their homes and three-quarters say the kitchen is the most important room in the house. Many projects are expected to include universal design features. The study was completed by Focalyst, a joint venture between AARP Services Inc. and Kantar, a research and consultancy firm. (www.sun-sentinel.com)
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (11/13/06); Robyn A. Friedman

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For Homes, Rich Drivers Pick 4-Door Model; Some Towns Changing Regulations to Fit Trends

Four-car garages are the latest example of super-sized American culture. In 2005, 30% of all new homes included garages with three or more bays. Home buyers in a new, upscale development in Farmington , Conn. are requesting four bays on the houses, where prices start at $1.6 million. Another new development nearby includes a $1.8 million home with a four-car garage below and a children’s suite above — two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a shared common room. Some people say bigger garages are another sign of out-of-control consumption, and have grown substantially since they first became popular, when they had only one bay and were set behind the house at the end of a driveway. (www.courant.com)
The Hartford Courant (11/12/06); Robin Stansbury

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Splitting the Difference; Some Want a Taste of City Life without Giving Up the Suburbs

Realtors® have a name for people who keep their suburban family homes but buy downtown condos in the city: splitters, and the trend is growing in cities like Chicago, says NAHB. The splitters are mostly baby boomers who are old enough to afford two homes yet lively enough to partake in Chicago’s weekend getaway activities, living Monday through Friday in the far-flung suburbs. “In Chicago, we are anonymous. So it’s family time. We go to plays, museums or shopping, or just spend time together,” says one splitter. Another couple bought a suite at the Elysian Hotel and Private Residence on Chicago’s Gold Coast, slated for completion in 2008. Until then, they rent hotel rooms when they go downtown on Friday or Saturday nights for dinner, the theater or to watch sporting events, and plan to use the new digs for family gatherings, as well. Developers say the splitters tell them they are enjoying Chicago’s renaissance. (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chicago Tribune (11/11/06); Leslie Mann

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Informal Reaches New Level: As Entertaining Goes Casual, Guests Sit at Higher ‘Gathering Table'

Like a lot of Americans these days, Tanya and Andrew Smith have only a distant relationship with their dining room. "We use it for Thanksgiving, Christmas and special occasions," Tanya Smith says. Most parties take place in the couple's commodious, high-ceilinged kitchen, which is why the Smiths recently decided to replace their kitchen table with the latest in home furnishings ― a counter-height table that can seat eight. Generally called "gathering tables," these higher dining sets began appearing on the market only a few years ago. A phone survey done last year by Electrolux, the appliance manufacturer, found that more than two-thirds of adults said they used their kitchens for socializing and entertaining guests. "It just ends up being easier," says Tanya Smith. The bigger gathering table solves the kitchen-seating shortage she regularly faced. In open-plan dwellings with just one area for eating, they're replacing dining tables. Some families are even putting them to use as work and craft tables. But gathering tables won't work in every house. They're largely a creature of newer home-building trends. NAHB notes that more than half of all newly built single-family homes in 2004 had ceilings on the first floor that were 9 feet or higher. Thirty years ago, only about 15% of homes had ceilings that high. Says Tomkins: "We're seeing the older, more mature set getting interested in them — the 50- and 60-somethings who are having issues with their joints...and don't like a lot of ups and downs. With a counter-height seat, you just slide into that chair." (www.phillynews.com)
The Philadelphia Inquirer (11/17/06); Eils Lotozo

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