Posts Tagged housing

Millennial Home Buyers’ Priorities

A recent survey of 503 Millennials (people ages 25 to 34 including 203 current homeowners and 300 individuals who plan to buy a house within 12 months) reveals that Millennial home buyers are interested in maximizing space and affordability while maintaining a level of community found in urban environments, and capitalizing on opportunities to customize and personalize their homes.

More than half of survey respondents (53%) are eager for a suburban lifestyle, and millennials are four times more likely to opt for more space over living in a populated community. However, urban benefits of being within walking distance to parks, grocery stores, schools, and work were high priorities for respondents.

Millennials named “desire to have outdoor space” the most important reason to purchase a home – more important than both financial and emotional readiness for homeownership.

Millennial homeowners are mostly focusing on purchasing a home as their primary residence. But millennials are a demographic that’s dealing with more diverse living situations than previous generations. While many millennials will choose to start families, we also know from Census data that single-adult households are on the rise. Meanwhile, millennials’ retiring parents could add another twist to the question of household composition—especially if those grandchildren come along. So, millennials are looking for flexible living spaces, and 71% say the ability to customize a new home is somewhat or very important. Nearly 4 out of 5 respondents (78%) said a children’s play space was important or a must-have in their home design, and 74% said the same when asked about having a separate living suite. Other flex spaces, including finished basements and office areas, also ranked high in importance, but more respondents were willing to compromise on those spaces.

A full 75% of respondents said they’re looking to purchase a home because they’re tired of renting, and 84% said they feel “financially ready” to purchase a home. The same amount said they’re interesting building personal financial equity through a home purchase. In order to achieve the level of flexibility and location amenities they’re looking for, millennial home buyers plan to spend about a fifth of their budgets on renovations and customizations.

Are you a Millennial considering buying a house? What are your priorities?

Posted in: building, home buyers, homeownership, Millennial Home Buyers, real estate

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Prices Of Newly Built Homes Are On The Rise

Prices of newly built homes are on the rise again, illustrating that home builders are grappling with the same supply-and-demand problems bedeviling the existing home market.

New-home prices, which appeared to lose momentum over the past year, actually have caught a second wind of late.
New Commerce Department figures show that, after four consecutive months of slight declines, the median price of a newly built home in the U.S. rebounded by 4.1% in April to $297,300. That puts it back within striking distance of the all-time high of $302,700 set last November.

Some economists say demand simply is exceeding the pace at which builders can construct homes. Builders have started construction of 7.6% more single-family homes in the first four months of this year than at the same time last year, according to Commerce Department data, but they’ve sold 23.7% more than a year ago.

Some of those homes sold so far this year are speculative homes built at the end of last year. But others just haven’t gone under construction yet. Once builders get threatened with falling behind schedule, many opt to raise prices in a bid to temper demand.
“There just aren’t a lot of homes out there for sale,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. “The market looks like it’s going to get even tighter because the level of construction remains very low compared to improving demand. I sense that, until builders can start ramping things up more significantly, pricing is going to be strong.”

In the resale market, the inventory level had held at about 4.6 months in the first quarter before rising to 5.3 months in April, meaning it would take that long at the current selling pace to burn through the available inventory of existing homes for sale. A balanced market, in which buyers and sellers are on roughly equal footing, is typically 6 to 7 months of supply.
Tight inventory in the resale market has resulted in prices close to the all-time high set nine years ago. In April, the median resale price reached $219,400, up 8.9% from April 2014. That increase likely will help to create more supply by pushing up home values and thus fattening homeowners’ equity cushions. However, the downside is that it makes buying a home more expensive, especially for first-time and entry-level buyers.

Posted in: building, cost of building, economy

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What Will Happen to Housing After the Downturn?

I just finished reading an article on ResidentialArchitect.com in which several Hanley Wood editors shared their predictions on how the downturn may transform housing and several architects shared their predictions of the future of housing and design. What are your predictions?

Whether you are visiting BuildIdaho.com for the first time or are a regular visitor, you are here because you have an interest in housing. The contributors to the article on ResidentialArchitect.com were editors and architects. But I would like to hear from you. I would like to hear from future homebuyers. I would like hear from industry professionals – Builders, Developers, Realtors, lenders, suppliers, building officials, planners. What are your predictions for the future of housing in the Treasure Valley.

I have my thoughts, but I would really like to hear from you before I share my thoughts.

Chuck Miller GMB CGB CGP MIRM CMP MCSP CSP
President / Builder – Chuck Miller Construction Inc.
(208) 229-2553
chuck@chuckmillerconstruction.com

Posted in: building, home building, land development, real estate

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