Whether you enjoy trend-spotting or wrinkle your nose at the very thought, recurring trends are worth paying attention to, if for no other reason than what they say about the public taste vis-a-vis the times we’re living in. We’re talking about the return of the white kitchen, and if you’ve been in the business long enough, you’ve seen the trend before. So, why now? Depending on your point of view—and your clientele—explanations vary. Economic: In a downturn, moderation prevails, and a white kitchen plays to a bigger variety of tastes than a red one. Strategic: A kitchen that’s all white probably makes a home easier to sell. Stylistic: If, faced with all that white, there’s a craving for color, a white kitchen makes it easier to add a splash of orange or apple-green. Psychological: In anxious, tumultuous times, white is calming. Continue reading
Bright White
Florida’s Existing Home, Condo Sales Up in 2Q 2011
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Florida‘s existing home and existing condo sales experienced an upswing in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales rose 1 percent in 2Q 2011 with a total of 52,421 homes sold statewide; during the same period the year before, a total of 51,973 homes changed hands according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of existing condos in the second quarter rose 14 percent compared to the year-ago sales figure.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110314/DC64568LOGO)
Statewide home and condo sales in the second quarter also increased over 1Q 2011′s sales figures, Florida Realtors’ records show. For 2Q 2011, statewide sales of existing homes rose 17.7 percent over the previous quarter’s activity; statewide existing condo sales increased 8.1 percent over the 1Q 2011 level. Continue reading
Housing and Economic Forecast Points to Rising Activity
Home sales are expected to stay on an uptrend through 2012, although the performance will be uneven with mortgage constraints weighing on the market, according to experts at a residential real estate forum today at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said existing-home sales have been underperforming by historical standards and will rise gradually but unevenly. “If we just hold at the first-quarter sales pace of 5.1 million, sales this year would rise 4 percent, but the remainder of the year looks better,” Yun said. “We expect 5.3 million existing-home sales this year, up from 4.9 million in 2010, with additional gains in 2012 to about 5.6 million – that’s a sustainable level given the size of our population.”
Mortgage interest rates should rise gradually to 5.5 percent by the end of the year and average 6.0 percent in 2012 – still relatively affordable by historic standards. Continue reading
Psychology of color: How popular paint hues affect mood
Photo: Courtesy of The Paint Quality Institute
Whether it’s the soothing effect of blues and greens or the uplifting nature of yellows and oranges, paint color plays a vital role in creating the right mood in a room. Debbie Zimmer, color expert at the Paint Quality Institute, offers insight on the psychology of popular colors.
“Paint color is so powerful that it can influence our state of mind, and even our physiology,” says Zimmer. “Color psychology can help you choose paint colors that create the right mood in a room, affecting not just your own feelings, but those of everyone who enters it.” Continue reading
Is Chinese drywall settlement generous enough? Some attorneys don’t think so.
Some South Florida attorneys are pushing back against a $54.5 million Chinese drywall settlement by Banner Supply Co., arguing that Miami-based distributor has not been transparent.
By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
Top real estate apps for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad
Real estate professionals and consumers are tapping into the mobile revolution with a range of apps designed for on-the-go real estate searches, mortgage and investment-related calculations, property measurements, photography, and real estate licensing quizzes, among other features and functionality.
Inman News has compiled lists of the most popular and highest-rated real estate-related mobile apps designed for Android, iPhone, iPad and BlackBerry devices in a special report, “100 Must-Have Mobile Apps for Real Estate,” based on app rankings and ratings at TopAppCharts.com, Apple’s App Store, the Android Market site and the BlackBerry App World site, sampled June 28.
All of the apps featured in the report have received at least five user ratings, and the lists are based on keyword and category searches of the app sites. In some cases, applications that were only marginally related to real estate or did not have a business focus were not considered in the lists. Continue reading
Secrets to getting a mortgage with so-so credit
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Getting a mortgage can be tough these days — even people with near-perfect credit have been rejected for loans. But for some lucky borrowers, things aren’t as bad as the doom-and-gloom crowd says.
At a recent press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said lending standards for mortgages have tightened so considerably that “the bottom third of people who might have qualified for a prime mortgage in terms of, say, FICO scores a few years ago — cannot qualify today.”
Indeed, roughly one-in-four mortgage applicants was denied in 2010, up from about 18% in 2003, according to data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. And those are just the ones that apply — many discouraged potential borrowers don’t even bother to apply anymore. Continue reading
Strong performance for Miami high-end homes, condos
Just like its surging rental market, Miami’s high-end residential sector has been showing significant improvement in the first five months of 2011.
“What’s happened over the last 24 months is really kind of phenomenal,” EWM President Ron Shuffield told The Real Deal. “When you think about what a deep, dark hole we were in, now to see this real sold activity we’re having, we’re fortunate to be where we are.”
Continue reading
The High-Tech, Avant-Garde Design World
Designers are increasingly integrating new materials and technologies into their work. Everyday products already feature innovations like robotics and nanotechnology. So what’s in store for the decades ahead? The new book “Design Futures” (Merrell), by Bradley Quinn, surveys the high-tech avant-garde in design and architecture. Trends include buildings that rotate and revolve to give residents varied views or the best light; robots that help with housework; clothing made of “smart” material that reacts to movement and the environment; and furniture made from thin, ultra-strong fibers.
Photos
See some of the forward-looking ideas from the book.
![[SB10001424052748704116404576263230522140632]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-NN151_vizual_D_20110414154617.jpg)
R&Sie(n)/Merrell PublishersThis design for an art museum in Switzerland, by Paris-based architects R&Sie(n), contrasts organic areas with sleek glass walls. The building, made from wood, is meant to hold plants on its facade, with their containers connected to a fabric support system anchored to rigid PVC panels.
Color Your World with Wall Paint
Being in my home is like sitting inside a paint-store catalog or brochure. Although the rooms in our house are far, faaaaar from paint-store catalog perfect, I do believe in using lots of wall colors.
A buttery yellow by Benjamin Moore greets visitors to my home, whose foyer, living room, stairway and upstairs hall walls all evoke sunshine. The kitchen and family room walls are awash in natural greens. The powder room and dining room are a tasty “pear” color. And the boys’ hangout cave is something like misty mountain cloud. (We thought the restful, palest-of-blue colors would encourage chilling. It doesn’t.)
One teen’s bedroom is decked in Detroit Pistons Red and Blue (no chilling here). And the other son just recently selected wall colors for his room that were inspired by colors in his favorite tie (“Honorable Blue” and “Moderate White,” by Sherwin-Williams).
We encourage our sons to help decorate/design their spaces, and we aren’t afraid to experiment with colors that reflect who we are and who they are.
That philosophy of allowing wall colors to reflect your personality rings true for several interior designers, color experts and homeowners. Continue reading
